alcohol vs esbit stove systems

[Nick Gatel]

Esbit vs. Alcohol; Ford vs. Chevy.

I have literally gone through cases of Esbit and gallons of alcohol over the years. With either, IMO, a Caldera Cone is the best appliance — pot stability, compactness, fuel efficiency, and wind protection.

Esbit smells like fish. Bears like fish. I have never had a problem, but it is a potential issue. It is always in the back of my mind in bear country. Lighting Esbit in windy weather with cold hands can be really, really difficult. This is an important consideration. I scrape a little off the cube to help light it.

Alcohol isn’t the most efficient fuel. There is a point, on a long trip, where the weight of a canister and stove becomes lighter than of an alcohol system. There are plenty of threads and articles on BPL for reference.

Canister stoves have a lot going for them. Fast boils, efficient boil times, convenience and ease of use. I rarely use canister stoves these days, but over the past 40+ years have used several. I do use a WindPro II on winter snow trips.

Nowadays I mostly use liquid gas or alcohol. On a 10 day trip in the Winds I would probably use my heavy Svea 123 because I trust it. Next to that, I would take my Caldera Cone with alcohol.

In some places there can be a ban on Esbit and Alcohol stoves during fire season. Check for that!

For most people a canister stove might be the best option.

[John B]

thanks, Nick!

[JStanky]

@annapurna  – those are the articles  I thought for some reason it was a more recent article.  I probably read those about 3 years back now…  good stuff.  Thanks

[Matthew / BPL]

Another Esbit fan. I like the 4g tablets. Depending on elevation/temp/wind I can often get water boiling with 6g of Esbit.

My favorite feature is that I can easily plan exactly how many boils I want to be able to achieve on a trip and just throw that many tablets into a baggie.

I prefer a TD Caldera Cone over the Esbit TriWing. I use a piece of foil folded into a U shape as a “stove” which slows the burn rate like a TD Gram Cracker.

Regarding the residue, I find that I get very light soot when I use a TD cone with zero of that sticky residue. I’m sure why but I suspect it’s the magic combination of airflow and height.

I’m just repeating what has already been said but I also appreciate that it is spillproof. I feel like it is less likely to start a forest fire. It’s like blowing out a candle if it gets knocked over.

[Michael B]

How do you search the database for a specific topic?? haven’t figured out how to do that yet??

My preferred search method for this site.

https://www.google.com/search?q=“enter+keywords+here”+site+www.backpackinglight.com

I’ve enjoyed using the alcohol stove I have “made” (literally a cleaned-out cat food can), and it heated water very cheaply using yellow Heet. I use it because it is cheaper than Esbit, but Esbit seems a little more convenient, apparently as long as you don’t mind the smell. I look forward to hearing what you prefer and why.

[John B]

JStanky, finished reading those articles referenced earlier in the chain–great info.

Matthew & Michael-thanks.  Leaning toward esbit for this upcoming trips, but as mentioned I can also see a time & place for alcohol and canister stoves in my future trips.

[Nick Gatel]

esbit vs alcohol site: backpackinglight.com

format to search. Copy and paste into your browser.

[Mark Ries]

I tried alcohol stoves and esbit and for me it’s esbit or actually coghlans and I managed to snag a large quantity at a great price other wise I’d be using esbit which I like better than the coghlans  tabs. My trials with alcohol at home inside went well but out in the real world I feared I would burn the place down. Although if I put a rock in a cat can stove that would help keep it from blowing in the wind

[Matthew / BPL]

I believe Coghlan’s tablets fit in a mini M&Ms tube. (Random information but totally nice for packing).

[Turley]

“I believe Coghlan’s tablets fit in a mini M&Ms tube. (Random information but totally nice for packing).”

They do…….but after using both Coghlan’s and Esbit find I prefer the latter.

[Matthew / BPL]

same. I never figured out a way to slow down the burn rate on the Coghlan’s tabs. I didn’t try very hard.

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

You can’t buy denatured alcohol in California, or at least Southern California. Just so you know. It contributes to smog when used as intended so it is banned. You can still get HEET, and I’d argue it was always easier to find HEET anyway.

I have had trouble lighting esbit. I brought some on a trip once and could not light any of it. I tried everything. I don’t know if it goes bad or what the deal is. I also don’t like the residue. I think if I were to use esbit again I would get a caldera keg system and consider the beer keg pot to be semi-disposable. I kind of wonder now if I could light that esbit if I put hand sanitizer all over it.

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

Apparently, you can still by Crown DA at REI, but I agree that HEET is easier to find.

Lighting Esbit takes practice.  I was on a 3 night trip and forgot my lighter, I figured out how to light Esbit using fire steel.  After the first day, it got easier.

[Matthew / BPL]

Diane, you can shave or even abrade a little chunk off and the increased surface area will make it easier to light. A drop or three of hand sanitizer helps too if you get really desperate.

[Robert Richey]

Using storm proof matches makes the process of lighting an Esbit quite simple.

[Rex Sanders]

Tried virtually every type of stove and fuel on the market, plus some that are long gone, and even fuel experiments that “flamed out” like Fritos.

In theory, denatured alcohol can’t be bought in California since January 1, 2019, and HEET is too toxic for me at 99% methanol plus 1% “proprietary additive.”

ESBIT is my favorite for many reasons – simple to use, easy to count how many days I need and have, almost weightless packaging, and arguably the lightest nearly windproof stove system using a Trail Designs Sidewinder plus Gram Cracker.

The only usability challenge, as others have mentioned, is lighting. Holding a Bic lighter under a near-vertical ESBIT cube mostly works. Shaving the cube plus Bic usually works. Dab of hand sanitizer plus Bic almost always works. Stormproof matches always work, but they are pretty obnoxious, and leave a mess behind. I’m sure something like Vaseline on cotton balls would work, but I’m not talented enough to make those.

SOL Tinder Quik always works, even with a spark wheel, even in serious wind, and I usually take a few for emergency fire starting anyway.

I keep my pot in a lightweight stuff sack, and scrub the ESBIT residue off when I get home. Need to clean up other gear anyway, no big deal.

However

In our new wildfire era, I’m likely to abandon ESBIT for a cartridge stove to keep all the Authorities happy. And since Clumsy should be my middle name, and I’ve been not-burned by the cold-weather performance of traditional tippy upright canister stoves, I’m yearning for a Kovea Spider invertible remote canister stove plus Ocelot windscreen from FlatCatGear.com. At least 7 ounces (195 grams) heavier than my current ESBIT setup, worse for shorter trips.

Yes, I keep looking at Moulder strips, and keep deciding they’re too complex and error prone for my misfiring brain cells when cold, wet, tired, and hungry. And I’d only save about 1.6 ounces (45 grams) for an efficient, reliable, and windproof setup.

Obviously, HYOH.

— Rex

[Flat Hat]

Denatured alcohol “Stove Fuel” can and is still sold in California today.  The “stove fuel” use for DA is exempted from the ban.  For instance you can buy from REI, I have two quarts sitting on my shelf right now, bought in fall 2020.

 

I also was able to fill my fuel container with DA at VVR and Reds in 2020 on the JMT in August.

 

I have used a Trail Designs Kojin, Ti Sidewinder Caldera windscreen and pot support, and a 600ml Evernew, on JMT 2019 and 2020, and will use it this summer on the JMT as well.

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

You cannot buy denatured alcohol at the hardware store on your thru-hike which as was said above somewhere.

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

I think I’m going to give my esbit another try. I think the caldera cone makes esbit or alcohol relatively safe, pretty much as safe as a pot of water balancing on top of a small canister stove. I might be able to get this esbit to light if I also bring a small bottle of HEET and put a few drops on the tablet or in the gram cracker platform.

[Chris FormyDuval]

A couple or so drops of hand sanitizer also helps get esbit going. The other thing I do is blow it out esbit when done and store  the remnant along with the bget in a little takeout condiment container. It often form little dendrites as it cool are easy to light. I put the remnant on a new tab next meal to get it going.

[Flat Hat]

Heet can be used in alcohol stoves, and can be bought at auto parts stores and gas stations all over Calif

[Flat Hat]

Heet can be used in alcohol stoves, and can be bought at auto parts stores and gas stations all over Calif as was said above somewhere

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

You can also burn hand sanitizer (70% ethanol).

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

I think some cotton cosmetic wiped with a little vaseline might work best for esbit. Easy to light. Can count out how much to bring. I look forward to giving this a try when my caldera keg and gram cracker arrives.

[Kevin Babione]

I’ve had good luck lighting Esbit tablets with trick birthday candles.  I’ve found them a lot easier to use than trying to hold my thumb down on my mini-Bic.  I just dip the candle in a little water (or wet my fingers and pinch it) when I’m done.  I can usually light 2-3 tablets with one candle (depending on how vertically I can hold the candle).

[Author]

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