Backpacking Light Ti Esbit stove

[dan kutcher]

Normally, I reserve the use of Esbit tabs for warm weather. Today, it was 38F with a light wind, and I was itching to try my new “stove”.
I set up the stove on the patio table with 2 cups of cold tap water, placed a tab in the holder, and went back to playing with my other gear in the yard.
I lost track of time, but remembered the stove, looked over, and there was steam coming out from under the lid of the 1.3L Evernew ti pot.
My windscreen was the ti foil with holes which I purchased last month with the stove.
Very nice. No more looking for the perfect set of rocks, tramping among the campsite vegetation.
Set it and forget it. I may take it on my Georgia AT section next month (just bought 12 more Esbit tabs).
Sweet!

[Bernard Shaw]

Well made and my own fault for not noting dimensions and specs. That said, fit is marginal at best for MSR titan kettle. I have to bend and grind it to modify it so it would work.

[James Yancey]

I have been using the Ti Esbit stove with a Snow Peak 600 mug. It is lightweight, compact, stable and very effective with a Ti foil windscreen. It would rate a 5, except that the center rivet is apparently just a tad too short. The bottom leg has detached from the stove on several occasions. I have to “fiddle” with it to get the leg back on the rivet, and then handle it very carefully to keep it from coming apart again. I am considering taking the rivet out and replacing it with a miniature SS bolt and nut. If I do, I may just leave the pan off (making the stove even more compact) and using a piece of Ti foil as the Esbit tablet holder.

[David Lewis]

It’s a sweat little stand / holder… but it’s too big for a small cup or my beer can pot. I wish they’d make a smaller version.

p.s. Despite the photo below, I still would never use this stand with a beer can. Too small… unstable… even if bent… in my experience at least.

p.p.s. You can remove the pan without removing the rivet. A bit of cutting and twisting will get it off and leave the rivit in place.

[Al Shaver]

I’ve used my 1 oz., 15 year old steel wing stove for years with great success. When I took Dr.J’s suggestion and switched over to the .85oz. (with lid) Foster’s Can Pot (which fits my old stove) I quit using any other pot since all my Ti pots are much heavier.

I never cook a meal greater than the 730ml volume of the Foster’s pot. If I’m cooking for 2 people I cook sequential meals. When the first is done (about 7 minutes) I toss it into a .4oz. 1.5 quart Nalgene Cantene with the top cut off (thanks Carol Crooker!)for my partner, and then cook my meal and eat it out of the pot.

Consequently any esbit stove that doesn’t fit the Foster’s pot (the current 1.3oz. steel wing stove from BPL and the Ti wing stove) are of no use to me.

Edit: I wasn’t able to get the stove to fit either the Foster’s or Heineken can by bending it. I’ll try again or re-set rivet as suggested below if I can get a drill to penetrate the Ti. Thanks to M4 for suggestions.

[Michael Moccia]

Nice stove. Too big for beer can pot but I drilled a new hole and reset the rivet. Now its a perfect fit.

[Michael Martin]

If you just bend the arms up slightly, it will support a Heineken Pot cleanly.

[Curt Peterson]

If Esbit is the fuel choice, this little stand is a fantastic option.

Fits the GSI double boilers well and my Snowpeak bowl nicely.

The real appeal is the ridiculously light weight. I can toss this stove, a fuel tab, and a ti bowl in my pack for a quick 1-boil overnight or a dayhike cup of tea for a load of about 3 ounces.

The Esbit gunk comes off the titanium better than the steel options, as well.

[Raymond Evans]

Works incredibly well with the Titan when coupled with Howard Johnson’s windscreen design http://www.kzpg.com/Backpacking/Stove/Howard’s_Esbit_Stove_3.0.html

You can eliminate his tent stake support if you are using the legs of the stove to support the pot.

I didn’t time it on the trail, but I was getting two cups of water to boil for breakfast and dinner in what seemed like just a couple of minutes with a lot of the fuel tab left.

[JW]

Just got mine in the mail and tinkered with it a bit. Like the previous reviewer, the rivet looks very suspect. I will write more after some use.

Drilled the rivet out to remove the pan. The pan weighs 3.4g/0.12oz. Ordered some ti rivets to put it back together w/o the pan. I’m making it duel use for alcohol to by adding a small bowl that will sit in the middle.

Fits my Snow Peak 700 mug great. Very nice product would recommend.

[Michael Neal]

This gear purchase was one of the best I have ever made, it so small and light and works perfectly. I used the BPL titanium foil and had a rolling boil going about halfway through the esbit tablet. I will try timing it next time and will post the results.

I also have the MSR Titan Kettle and didn’t have much of a problem using it on the stove. Sometimes you can put the kettle on the stove and its a little off from being perfectly level if you are not precise but it was stable none the less.

[Johnny Gish]

I love this little stove. It fits my SP Trek 700 pot perfectly and I was suprised to find it is very stable. I have had no issues with the rivet. It gets great looks when you pull it out.

[Doug Johnson]

Great stove- I use it often and it’s great- especially with the new BPL ti kettle/cup. Unfortunately, mine blew the original rivet when I was playing with it at home. I drilled it out, out in a new steel rivet (ti rivets- cool- I want those!!!). Now the thing is perfect. I’m sure I just got unlucky but it shouldn’t have broken so easily.

I’ve returned things to BPL before and it was quick and easy. I’m sure this would have been also (if I tried). For their return policy, I bump it from a 2 to a 3. In use, though, it’s a 5.

[b d]

I had never used a fuel tab stove, let alone an ultralight, until just now. I bought the BPL Firelite Esbit Wing Stove (.46 oz./13 g) at the BPL Gear shop:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/titanium-esbit-wing-stove.html

It actually worked, which for me is a good sign it is not a 3 or less to start with.

The water boiled in my MSR Titan in about 8 minutes, enough to make my dinner meal of one "main course" by Mountain House, while testing my tent set up in the snow outside the house while my partner runs errands.

The only draw back is I am waithing to see if there is a residue on the pot, but so far it seems not.

This is my "survival stove." Carried with a few fuel tablets, like 2 -6 depending on how far out we are going. So it was great getting to use it for the first time. I have no worries about the construction, as I had heard about for the stove assembly itself.

Here is the BPL Firelite Ti Esbit Wing Stove inside a Bushbuddy, under a homemade grill and an MSR Titan Kettle:

[Eric Blumensaadt]

I bought my Backpacking Light ESBIT stove as a superlight emergency stove.
I tested it with a cut down MSR windscreen & the included base reflector. The reflector is, to me, more of a safety item to keep the stove off the ground and any flammable duff I didn't clear.
First impressions are that the stove (with a windscreen) is much "mightier" in operation than its diminutive size makes it appear.

The stove worked well UNTIL THE CENTER RIVIT BOTTOM FLANGE BROKE.
**I replaced it with a mini bolt and nut from Lowe's. No problems after that.**

I also made a 1 1/4" "chimney" from an aluminum hair mouse can that just fits around the tablet pan. It directs the flame a bit better but is not entirely necessary.

Primarily this stove will be my backup stove when I carry my MSR Wind Pro or Vargo Jet-Ti canister stove as estimating fuel consumption with canisters is still iffy.
But I have taken it on Sierra Club day hikes where I've cooked lunch with a tab or two. Works just fine and amazes those who don't know about ESBIT stoves.
Also I'd say this ultra light, ultra compact stove and 6 or 10 ESBIT tabs absolutely belong in a survival kit.

For trips where my PRIMARY fuel must be ESBIT I'll carry my Vargo Triad EX alcohol/ESBIT convertable stove because the Triad EX will permit 2 ESBIT tabs to be burned side-by-side for more heat when needed.

All in all the BPL Ti Wing stove is a very good piece of equipment that only needs a better center fastener to match the quality of the rest of the stove.

UPDATE: Having cooked a lot recently with the base from my Vargo Triad XE alky stove using ESBIT/FireLite fuel tabs I'd recommend that the BPL Ti ESBIT Stove have the fuel tray expanded to hold two tablets. I may do this myself soon.

One really needs two fuel tabs for heating larger pots and to get smaller, less efficient pots' contents heated more rapidly.

[Greg Vaillancourt]

I rarely give anything a 5. Really great gear gets 4 from me so the rivet breaking on mine dumps it to a 3.

I too went the nut & bolt routine with a tiny lock washer. No more worries about breaking it.

I think I may remove the pan as others have done. It would save weight and make the Esbit tabs easier to light.

[Eric Viviano]

I will admit, this is my first experience with esbit, but I was not impressed at all. For being so small and compact, I wasn't expecting a 6 burner Wolf range, but it let me down. I bought it along with a pack of tabs from BPL. Upon receiving it, took it out back, lit the esbit tab, and placed my snowpeak solo 700 pot and lid with 16oz of tap water. The tab burned out completely, and it wasn't even boiling, I'd say it was about 3/4 of the way. Some small bubbles where just forming along the base of the pot. I'll admit there was a intermittent light breeze, but nothing serious. I will give it another try in the future, but no way do I trust this thing to make it my field stove. Maybe a backup.

[Alexander Ross]

go to my site to look at how I use it

http://www.rosshome.dsl.pipex.com/abushcrafter/html/bushcraft_articles_.html

I have had no problems with the rivet.but I got mine from backpackinglight.co.uk . Is there a deferents?

[Richard Gless]

I've used my BPL Esbit stove for 2-3 day solo trips for two years now. I think its a great compromise of lightweight and efficiency. You do have to recognize the stove's limitations and use it properly. Yes, the rivet blew out while playing with it at home even before I got out on my first trip, but I expected that based on posted reviews and did the normal fix.

I usually use Mountain House dinners or Ramen Noodles so I'm cooking with about 2 cups of water. I get the water to boil with three fourths or so of an Esbit tab then put the pot in a pot cozy (foam sitpad folded over the top with a bandana draped over the pot to form an airspace). I've never had a problem, but you have to use a wind screen around the stove and put a top on the pot (both can be aluminum foil weighing almost nothing). I've done this down to temperatures of ca. 35 Fahrenheit and still get nice hot meals. Occasionally I use the rest of the Esbit tab to reheat it a bit after sitting in my makeshift cozy.

[George Matthews]

BPL's Titanium Esbit Folding Wing Stove is almost nothing. However, the little that it is is a nearly weightless, functional solid fuel burning stove. I bought it because I was intriqued by its design and impressed by its lightness.

So far the rivet on mine has held up. Using the Wing Stove, I have boiled water in a MSR Titan Kettle and FireLite SUL-1100. The wings adequately supported each cook pot. As with all things small and light, you need to be careful where you place it and how you position your cook pot. I use an aluminum foil wind screen.

Another plus is that it is fairly inexpensive especially if you are a BPL member. There is a new version available for 2008.

[Shawn Taylor]

I love this stove for use with pots 20 fl. oz. and under. It supports most pots well. My favorite cook system, when I'm cooking only for myself, is- The Esbit wing, 600ml Evernew mug, homemade aluminum windscreen, and aluminum lid. Everything fits inside the mug, including 3-4 days worth of Esbit fuel. With this cook system I typically get 2 cups of boiled with (1) 0.5oz Firelite Tab.

If I will be cooking with a group, we typically go to a Caldera system, using alcohol and/or wood.

[Roger B]

It took me a while to start using the stove but now it is the only stove I will use when traveling light. Its light weight coupled with the ability to use with many different pots makes this a stand out stove for me. Its only competitor in my view is Trail Designs Gram Cracker, but that is designed for a different purpose.

[David Chenault]

After seeing how well Chris Plesko's worked last fall, I had to have one. The wait for it to come into stock was long, and the price for something so small seemed silly, but it's now one of my all-time favorites.

For solo hiking I've been using it with a Ti Sierra cup and a heavy but efficient MSR windscreen. I usually get two full cups almost boiling on a tab. This past weekend on a trip to the Beartooth Plateau we cooked on fires, but I brought the Ti Wing as a backup. I pulled it out at lunch, hoping it would be adequate to make soup. To my surprise, it easily got 16+ oz of water in a 1.3 liter Evernew pot to a rolling boil and kept it there for a good five minutes. Apparently the larger pot is more thermally efficient, or something of the sort.

I give it a five for lightness, durability (no rivet problems in six months), and an ingenious design.

4/10 Update:
My new solo system is a BPL Trapper's mug, custom lid and windscreen. 4.5 oz system including 3 tabs. Tiny and simple, love it.

[Jonathan DeYoung]

This great little stove was a hand me down from one of my friends (guess he was sick of cooking for me). I have used it now on a few occassions and have found it to be great for single use. Meaning heat up a pot of water for a warm drink and use the rest to poor over oatmeal or any other "just add water" product that one might take with them on a trip. For extended use or cooking for more then one person I would suggest going with an alcohol stove or some sort of canister stove. For my personal use I love it but it gets a 3/5 for its inability to maintain a flame long enough per esbit for extended cooking.

[Zack Karas]

As many previous reviewers have noted, this light stove works well and supports my ti pot well. I only use this in lower elevations and warmer weather, but that is due to esbit not the stove.

I also precut little squares of aluminum foil to place under the esbit tabs to make clean up super easy. I believe this also protects the rivet a bit.

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