Newcomer Looking for Esbit Kit Help

Since you’ve got good answers to your question

I’m with James – I’ve tried Esbit but it takes so long and if you look at total weight for a trip, Esbit doesn’t save much if any weight because the tabs are heavy.

BRS-3000 costs less than $20, 1 ounce.  Canister stoves are just so convenient, and the fuel weighs less so total weight for a trip may actually be less.  There are some reported quality problems so make sure and try it at home first to make sure it works.  I use Soto Windmaster because it seems like Japanese engineering produces higher quality product – 3 ounces and $70, and the piezo lighter works.

As time went on, the optimum height was established at 1-3/4″ from esbit to bottom of pot for a clean and efficient burn. all this information was shared on my website and here on BPL and also on whiteblaze.

I think when I tried Esbit I had a shorter distance so it didn’t burn good

People tend to forget that fuel is fuel, energy is energy.  ESBIT CAN take a while to burn dependent upon the stove design.  The basic variables are the fuel, oxygen and a spark.It is pretty easy to get 2 cups of water to boil fast by increasing the surface area (sub 5 minutes).  You cany increase the amount of oxygen that can reach the fuel by splinting the tablets in half or just by having them stand up on end.  My 2 cents.

“…I’ve tried Esbit but it takes so long and if you look at total weight for a trip, Esbit doesn’t save much if any weight because the tabs are heavy.”

Totally understand Jerry.  7 days using Esbit has been the extreme (1 boil/day) for me.  Usually no more than 3.  I have an old JetBoil SOL Ti and love the convenience and fast boil times.  Not fond of the weight though.  Suppose I could try the BRS 3000/SOL Ti thing.  I keep clinging on hoping to achieve faster boil times yet maintain the minuscule weight.  At some point I’ll wise up, find a happy balance and move on.

I hope I don’t get banned for starting another thread on this topic, LOL!  You guys have been very helpful and it has been entertaining to follow along.  I don’t usually understand all the technical stuff (hence starting the thread in the first place) but entertaining and educational all the same.

“…It is pretty easy to get 2 cups of water to boil fast by increasing the surface area (sub 5 minutes).  You cany increase the amount of oxygen that can reach the fuel by splinting the tablets in half or just by having them stand up on end.  My 2 cents.”

Thanks Jon.  I’ll keep toying around.  5 min would be sweet!

That makes sense, Esbit are usually placed flat, on end would burn better

Another factor is the energy density

butane – 46 mJ/kg

alcohol – 20

hexamine (Esbit) – 30

This directly translates to how many ounces per day you need.  If you need 1 ounce of butane, you’d need 1.5 ounces of Esbit and 2.3 ounces of alcohol.  For 4 day trip the Esbit weighs 2 ounces more, but the butane canister weighs 3 ounces (4 ounce butane) so Esbit saves 1 ounce.  Alcohol weighs 5.2 ounces more, minus 3 ounces for canister = canister stove setup weighs 2.2 ounces less.

Assuming they are all burned equally efficiently.

Maybe a sane person would realize the weight savings are not significant, so choose most convenient or most reliable : )

Brett, keep in mind that the test was done under controlled conditions starting with 70 F water to boil 2 cups of water.  Splitting and separating the tablets puts you on the edge of reaching a boil.  That being said, if you don’t need 212 F water, but just need it hot then it is a good trick.  Just standing the ESBIT on end speeds things up as well.  The point of the experiment was to get people to realize that ESBIT is fuel and a proper stove design can optimize different parameters or make the appropriate tradeoffs.  So with ESBIT, I have demonstrated that you can get it to burn for 50-60 minutes or boil 2 cups of water in just under 5 minutes.  ESBIT is a pretty cool fuel source that really hasn’t been optimized.  My 2 cents.

“I’ve tried Esbit but it takes so long and if you look at total weight for a trip, Esbit doesn’t save much if any weight because the tabs are heavy.”

Agreed it is not a fast fuel. If that matters then move on.

I think Esbit makes a lot of sense in a few particular use cases:

1. A quick weekend trip. The energy density is lower than isobutane but the overhead saved by not carrying the steel canister and 1-3 ounces of stove make this a net win
2. Tea. I have lost interest in cooking while 3 season backpacking but I like tea at either lunch or evening. I’ve been playing with a TD ULC cone for my MLD 475 (yes they finally made me one! thread history) which allows me to make hot water for tea with 1–1.5 four gram Esbit tables. The whole kit (minus fuel) is around 3 ounces. I’d have to make a LOT of tea before the overhead of a BRS 3000 and a small can of isobutane would make sense.

Firebans change the decision matrix of course.

Well Jerry, you just pooped on my parade!  Joking aside, I’ll keep it mind.  Thanks.

I’m going to have to try Esbit again, set on end : )

@matthewkphx, yeah my typical use-case would be no more than 2-3 days (1 boil or close to boil/day).  Beyond that I should probably be using a canister setup anyway.  I’ll see how Dan’s pot and cone work with a couple of different stoves/trays, while using @jonfong suggestions and go from there.  The dexterity issue is a factor of course but I think I could make this work.

Thanks to all.

In defense of Esbit:

For a short trip, it is incredibly light.  Granted, this changes with trip duration, but what system beats it if you’re only cooking one or two meals?  Alcohol or canisters can’t match it here.

It is very simple.  Wing stove, piece of foil, cookpot. Done.

It is incredibly compact.  I don’t use the fancier systems some people describe here but a Ti wing stove and a foil windscreen fit into just about any cooking container imaginable.  This can’t be said for canister stoves or many alcohol systems (if you include the fuel bottle).

As for speed, who cares?  I don’t.  I’ll have hot water when I have hot water.  4 minutes, 10 minutes, it’s all the same.  If I were racing I would go no-cook.  The fact I’m cooking means I’m stopped, even on a fast trip, and have time for a boil.

Bonus:  It’s quiet.  Alcohol is too, but canisters are not.  Something about the roar of a stove sort of kills the atmosphere of cooking a streamside tea or a morning coffee in the sleeping bag accompanied by birdsong.

For a beginning Esbit user that wants to heat up water

+1  It is very simple.  Wing stove, piece of foil, cookpot. Done.

Other advantages of ESBIT, no spill hazard, no brains required to measure out fuel.

It smells: Open the package and let it air out for a few days: 4 gram Esbits are unwrapped and don’t smell much

It smells while burn – yes it does

It is pretty easy to blow out, alcohol isn’t

In defense of Esbit:

For a short trip, it is incredibly light.  Granted, this changes with trip duration, but what system beats it if you’re only cooking one or two meals?  Alcohol or canisters can’t match it here.

It is very simple.  Wing stove, piece of foil, cookpot. Done.

It is incredibly compact.  I don’t use the fancier systems some people describe here but a Ti wing stove and a foil windscreen fit into just about any cooking container imaginable.  This can’t be said for canister stoves or many alcohol systems (if you include the fuel bottle).

As for speed, who cares?  I don’t.  I’ll have hot water when I have hot water.  4 minutes, 10 minutes, it’s all the same.  If I were racing I would go no-cook.  The fact I’m cooking means I’m stopped, even on a fast trip, and have time for a boil.

Bonus:  It’s quiet.  Alcohol is too, but canisters are not.  Something about the roar of a stove sort of kills the atmosphere of cooking a streamside tea or a morning coffee in the sleeping bag accompanied by birdsong.

I agree with WISNER!   100%

<p style=”padding-left: 30px;”>”…Bonus:  It’s quiet.  Alcohol is too, but canisters are not.  Something about the roar of a stove sort of kills the atmosphere of cooking a streamside tea or a morning coffee in the sleeping bag accompanied by birdsong.”</p>
You know, that’s a very good point.  I’m not one to bust out miles.  I like to putter along looking at flowers, wildlife and such and hearing nothing but the birds and rustling of leaves in the wind.  You arrive at a shelter on the AT at the end of the day only to hear 10 or 15 of those things whirring away.  It does detract a bit from the experience.  I’ll move on, thank you.  The canister stoves aren’t the primary reason of course (there are more than enough other reasons not to stick around…but now I’m drifting).  It does take away a bit from the experience.  And going stove-less has been more and more on my mind as of late.  Would certainly negate some of the dexterity issues.  But I have to agree with you and Matthew: I do enjoy my cup of tea.

One factor for Jerry’s calculations is that with gas canister you rarely bring exactly the amount of gas you need. It’s usually more. While with esbit and alcohol you can be more precise in what you bring.

yep. quiet is good.

strange but I don’t crave coffee on the trail. i drink it at home daily but i’d rather just start walking at dawn while chewing a few cherry shockblocks (they have caffeine).

“…strange but I don’t crave coffee on the trail. i drink it at home daily…”

Same here.  Just need my tea later in the day or evening.

Just got a chance to watch your video Jon.  Very informative.  Thanks.

“While with esbit and alcohol you can be more precise in what you bring.”

Use adapter to transfer canister to canister or cartridge to canister to put the exact amount you need.  But some people don’t want to do this fiddling.

But there’s no best, just characteristics.  Different people will choose different solutions at different times.

I used esbit fuel on the first 150 miles of my thru hike and loved it. The only reason I stopped was because of limited availability along the trail. I still use esbit often on weekend trips.

My favorite esbit set-up is a combination of the Zelph custom Toaks 750ml handless rounded bottom paired with the caldera cone. Then I paired that with a QiWiz carbon felt alcohol stove that screwed together creating a sealed container (think of a Carmex lip balm container). I kept the Trail Designs graham cracker stove inside.

When I was in esbit mode, I’d turn one of the alcohol stove sides over and place the graham cracker on top.  I used the 4g tablets (2 per burn) and could achieve hot enough water to make mashed potatoes/Mountain House as well as water hot enough for tea after dinner. Any left over esbit was kept inside the screwed alcohol stove.

“…I used the 4g tablets (2 per burn) and could achieve hot enough water to make mashed potatoes/Mountain House as well as water hot enough for tea after dinner.”

Nice!  Did you just stack the tablets or, as Jon demonstrated, space them in an upright fashion?  I’ll often cut freeze dried meals down to require just 1.5 cups of water, leaving the rest of a ~2 cup boil for tea.  Hopefully I can find that happy balance between weight and boil time while maintaining the least amount of fiddle-factor. Otherwise, as others have suggested, I’ll move on and stop stressing over it.  LOL!!!

I don’t get why everyone is so hard up for speed and time of boiling water? 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 12 minutes? Huh???? What’s the rush? I understand if you are mountaineering and need that hot water ASAP!!, But let’s be realistic here.. How many of us are actually mountaineering, and if so how often??  If so, and if speed is that imperative.. Just go with a Reactor..

I don’t mind waiting 5, 10 or 15 minutes to boil some water.. Especially if I’m finished hiking for the day, or taking a mid day break to rest.. Take it all in and enjoy being where I am, it is part of the reason I am out there.

I quite agree. Plus slow cooking is a bonus. I like not having to worry about the Esbit flame getting out of hand if not watched. The Evernew Ti screen and TiTrivet with Evernew 400 pot is an efficient and ultralight kit to brew coffee, using the 4g tabs, often split in half, which proves enough for one cup. The same kit in different configuration (wider diameter) with the Evernew 600 pot is good for preparing a meal, and seems to require minimal fuel. Wind protection is excellent, and Dan’s essential Ebitmiser tray sitting on a Ti disk completes the rig. A wet wipe is sufficient to clean everything after coffee at least, for the next use. Content.

To add my two cents since I’m also using Esbit:

Some years ago I read through the articles here on Esbit, especially distance to pot.
This is what I came up with:

It’s a BPL Firelite pot (550ml) and titanium windscreen. The wire stand is cut based on the suggested heights I read here and some tests I did back then. My current stove is a gram cracker.

A normal (not splitted, just lying there flat) 14g tablet of Esbit boils the 550ml easily with a lot of rest. You can then split it, have it upright, etc, etc and it will be even better. I don’t need more than that for a typical freezer bag meal. (Edit: Worst case conditions as mentioned below, -10C, ~3000m, wind).

I’m using this combination in summer and winter at low and higher altitudes (alps), and it works. In fact I just came from a trip in the Bernese Alps, stayed 5 days at an altitude of ~3000m and cooked with this combination twice a day. Winds were strong, temperature was around -10C.

The wind screen is good but in stormy weather it’s somewhat hard to ignite the Esbit. I made small holes for storm matches. It’s slightly larger to allow the heat crawl up at the sides of the pot.

The weight of this combination (pot, lid, stand, stove, windscreen) is 89g. For me it’s the ideal solution and I’m using it for 3-4 years now in summer and winter.

Other than that, the Caldera Cones are very nice (I have one of them as well). They are not as flimsy as this solution.
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