Esbit Questions

I've used Esbit tablets (for solo hiking) exclusively for the last 5 years.

1) Yes, the packaging is bulky. You will experience some minimal damage (rounded edges, corner chips) depending upon how much freedom they have to move around. Even broken, they'll burn fine – just light the biggest piece and pile the smaller piece on top. Note that trying to light a partial tablet in the Graham Cracker support is exponetially harder than lighting a complete tablet. Be aware that removing the tablets from their sealed packaging will make their inherent odor much more noticeable. Use an odor-proof sack instead of a standard ziplok baggies.

2) I have no trouble lighting mine with a Bic. As you have discovered, they are slower to light that one might expect. You have to keep the flame against them for about 5 seconds. That said, Esbits are impossible to light in a wind – you must shield them and the ignition source first. That's the one thing I don't like about the caldera cones; they can't be used until AFTER the tablet (or alcohol stove) is lit. Folks have reported success by putting a small amount of hand sanitizer on the tablet and lighting that. The alcohol ignites quickly and the tablet lights from that.

3)Bears can smell them easily – that rotten meat odor, though faint, is a big draw. I always kept mine in an OP sack in my bear cannister. I have 5 boxes of tablets in my garage, and I can smell them whenever I go near the shelf, despite still being in their original packaging.

4) Maybe I'm just lucky, but having done the JMT and the high Sierra for 3 summers, I've yet to have a bear get interested in my Caldera Cone or stove. The stove is so tiny it's no problem to add it to the bag with the Esbit tablets in your canister if you're worried about it.

5) You will have to send Esbit tablets to yourself along the trail. Very few places carry them. Last summer, I talked to the owner of the Whitney Portal Store and Hostel about them. He was already carrying the Esbit folding stove with its accompanying 3-pack of tablets. I suggested he'd sell a lot more tablets than stoves and showed him the standard box of 12. He thought he'd start stocking those too. Personally, I never take the chance; I always ship them in my supply boxes so I never face the possibility of being forced to buy a cannister stove and cannister because the store was out of Esbits when I arrived.

YMMV

for the rest of you, a 3-pack of Esbits makes a great emergency fire starter that will burn for about 13 minutes each. Think about it.

It never even crossed my mind to store my Esbit tabs or stove in a bear canister.

No bear wandering around my camp has ever expressed an interest in them.

They smell foul…and quite unlike food or toiletries.

That said, when it comes to Esbit, small OP saks (which I only recently discovered myself) are your friend! Otherwise your entire pack contents will start smelling like…Esbit.

Bob,

Thank you very much! Lots of good information. I was aware of the lack of availability on long hikes. Great tip on the hand sanitizer in windy conditions. I did a test with about 16 oz and it took almost 10 minutes to get to a good boil, and the remaining tab was so small, it wouldn't be worth the trouble to re-use it. So I will probably just let the fuel burn until it is gone.

I'm quite new to esbit and found it easy to burn myself keeping a mini bic lit for long enough, so swapped to a mini chef's lighter

http://www.buyfromhome.co.uk/store/product/20806/SMALL-REFILLABLE-GAS-LIGHTER/

"They smell foul…and quite unlike food or toiletries."

However, we don't know what they smell like to bears. I've seen bears stand over Esbit tablets, take a close sniff, and then move to the burner, take another close sniff, and then walk off.

If you really want to watch something interesting, squeeze some Ben-Gay ointment onto a rock and leave it out overnight when the bears come around.

–B.G.–

"2. Can't light it with a mini-Bic. Seems that I have to touch a match head to the tab. Any hints? Any problems in windy weather?"

I find that I have to hold the lighter flame on it for so long that I blister my fingers. So, I often apply a piece of duct tape or first aid tape to my fingertips to ease that process.

–B.G.–

I agree with Bob on his counts. I usually pack them in my pot. The smell like turned sea-food. Lately I just bring 4-5 for rainy day cooking. Normally I build a fire and just stick my pot on the coals.

I don't like to fuss with liquid fuel. Wood is plentiful and esbit is my backup.

Also, in a pinch, some food will hydrate using cold water. It just takes longer.

Nick, those little bits of leftover Esbit can add up. Just put a new tab on top each time, blow the flame out when you've boiled your water, and repeat each time you boil. Wa-la, you end up with enough leftover Esbit for a free boil (or maybe you'll just need to add 1/4-1/2 tab or something).

OK, Bob, Ben-Gay goes into my entertainment emergency kit from now on.

"OK, Bob, Ben-Gay goes into my entertainment emergency kit from now on."

Don't let NPS rangers catch you doing that.

The other bear entertainment stuff is Oil of Anise. A cook will call that the licorice oil. Pour a spoonful onto an old rag and hang it up on a tree. Black bears will come from miles around to see about that. Apparently it smells similar to the bear sex attractant.

You didn't hear that from me.

–B.G.–

1. Put it in a small OP bag, it will smell up your whole pot

2. You have to hold the corner tip of the esbit to the orange part of the flame

3. It should go in an OP bag to prevent the smell from getting to your other gear and then the OP bag could go into the bear bag.

I carry a very small dropper bottle with methanol or ethanol. I squirt a couple of drops onto the tab and hit it with a flame. it lights first time, every time, even in wind. I guess hand sanitizer might work too. I'll have to try it!

I saw a suggestion on a youtube video before I received my very first Esbit tablet.

The guy said you just scrape a very small bit off the corner with your knife and then light that spot. It sure works for me. They light in a couple seconds and I just scrape off a very small amount on one of the corners.

I also blow out the flame as soon as I'm done with it and save any piece that might be left over for the next boil.

I also scrape a corner, I've had better luck lighting w/ a small birthday candle vs the mini bic (use the mini bic to light the candle though :) )

like one of the above posters, esbit is my backup- 90% of the time I burn wood

About half of my summer camping is above 9000 ft and at that altitude I have trouble with a bic so last year I started using the REI light anywhere matches. All problems gone.