Esbit stoves are awesome. Theyre cheap. You can get one with 6 tabs of fuel at REI or Big 5 for $15; packs of fuel tabs are about $7-10. The fuel tabs burn for about 10 minutes; which is enough to boil about a pint of water in about 5 minutes. Then you can save the unburnt portion for later. The stove itself is ultralight and small enough to fit in a shirt pocket. You can use the fuel tabs to start a fire; theyre great for this. These stove/fuel combos weigh less than a propane or white fuel camping stove. The only thing theyre not good for is cooking things that take significant time and/or intense heat. However they will warm up a can of soup, and are best for boiling water or other liquids quickly. I started out using a pop-can alcohol stove but switched to the Esbit because it was vastly more reliable and easy to use. And lighter than carrying a bottle of alcohol.
LOL Yeah they are kinda smelly. Not good to keep em in the same bag as your food. However I only used 1 or 2 tabs per day; just for morning coffee and then maybe a can of food at night. You have to do a cost comparison to see which is better for you- liquid fuel, gas, etc.
Old thread, but anyways....
You can burn small pieces of wood in the esbit stove and natural fire lighters work well for cooking on, plus there's no chemical smell.
You can burn small pieces of wood in the esbit stove and natural fire lighters work well for cooking on, plus there's no chemical smell.
I have totally done this as well, a fist full or two of dry twigs went a long ways!