Esbit carrying question

I only freezer bag cook when I do cook. So my esbit tabs sit right in my mini pot..which I only use to boil water. So, for me..no worries.

I've always stored mine in a small zip bag that goes inside my pot. I'm not worried about any contamination but rather my need for "tidyness" in some areas of my life. There was some comment in the past about the little titanium stove inside the plastic bag and how it would shread it. It never has and the only reason I've replaced the bag occasionally is because the zip closure starts to fail.

Small ziploc baggie

Just like Don….in a baggie IN my pot. Funny that he mentions replacing the bag – I have used a little bag with a failed zip for years! I feel so cheap. Just don't think to replace it til I'm cooking at dinner time. Inside the small baggie are my dryer lint, sparker, and Esbit or Coghlan's tabs, & my Ti-wing stove. It won't hurt anything but convenience to store it outside your pot. But don't be concerned with contaminating your food, either – just use a baggie.

In the pan too. I cling-film mine then put in a ziplock – seems a bit more odour-free that way (perhaps that is in my mind…..)

I keep all my ESBIT in used coffee bags. Works great. But you need bags that have a laminated aluminum layer because it is that layer that keeps the smell inside. You may need to Gorilla tape or hot glue the closure wire on the bag so it doesn't get lost. BTW… I've tried using only ZipLoc type plastic bags for ESBIT but since the plastic is air permeable (yep) the smell gets out. AND if you are in bear country you absolutely need to keep ESBIT tablets in your bear can. (What does ESBIT smell like? Fish. What do bears like to eat? Fish.)

I, also, keep them in a small zip lock bag in my cook pot. To reduce/eliminate the smell of the tabs for storage (not when burning), open them up from the foil package for a couple of days. If you do this outside (so as to not smell up the garage), don't forget to keep them away from sprinklers and rain… Got this tip from a hiker at a GGG that Don organized. Steve

Good tip Steve. Does it affect the burn time at all by airing them out?

I haven't noticed a decrease in burn time in casual use (JMT last month), but I haven't done any timed, controlled boils. I'm *sure* someone here would be more than willing to do an experiment of this kind :) Steve

If you air out your Esbit tabs, keep them as dry as you can during and after. If they absorb much moisture, they pop like popcorn while burning, throwing off small burning chunks of Esbit. Not recommended. — Rex

Hey Steve, I tried airing out the Esbits to get rid of the stink and it worked great thanks. Now I might not worry so much about keeping the Esbit stored in my cook pot.