Esbit Pocket Stove

The conclusion of the alternate field cooking series: the Esbit Pocket Stove.

The Esbit Pocket Stove is a very simple folding design that is very compact when stowed (3.9"x3"x0.9"). The stove is manufactured in Germany and is constructed from galvanized steel. The Esbit Pocket Stove can be found online for approximately $10.00, which includes six 14 gram Esbit fuel tablets. According to Esbit, this stove is used by NATO forces, though I was not able to confirm which ones.

When fully opened, the stove is able to provide a large enough cooking surface for larger cooksets, such as the excellent GSI Outdoors Ketalist. The stove can also be folded partially open in order to accommodate smaller cups.

As a practical exercise, I will see how long it takes for the Esbit Pocket Stove to boil 2 cups of water in the GSI Ketalist. The reason I decided to use 2 cups as a reference point is because that is the amount of water required to prepare your average Mountain House freeze dried backpacking meal. It was a warm summer day and I performed the test on my concrete patio in my backyard. My backyard is fully fenced so the wind was minimal. In other words, ideal conditions.

 After approximately 7 minutes the Esbit fuel tablet was fullyconsumed. Like with the other Esbit cooking options previously reviewed, the Esbit Pocket Stove failed to bring the water to a full boil.

 Like with the other Esbit and Sterno kits I've reviewed, I don't consider the test to be a failure. The water was plenty hot to make instant coffee or prepare a freeze dried meal. If a full rolling boil is your requirement, obviously look elsewhere. The results appear to be consistent in that Esbit and Sterno fuels, while a great option to heat water or food, are not capable of burning hot enough to bring water to a full boil. Irregardless, these kits supplement modern backpacking and propane stoves nicely.

Sterno Stove Kit

My apologies for the delay over the last few weeks. I really want to wrap up these reviews on alternate field cooking methods, however life has just been...let's say "full" lately. I've had to focus on work and training and haven't had much time for peripherals. That being said, let's get on with it.

Next up is the Sterno Stove Kit.

This set up is very similar to the previously reviewed Sterno Portable Folding Stove, however this kit include a very large pan, an 8OZ cup, and a "multi-use utensil." Like most modern cooksets, all components of the kit nest nicely inside the large pan.

As you can see, this kit is significantly more substantial than the previously reviewed Sterno portable stove. When I look at this kit, I see it as a more long-term, stationary solution. It's quite large, so I can't see it as a packable option, or even for the purposes of a vehicle kit. Vehicles are obviously mobile, vehicle kits should be too. I think this is a great option to have in a "Bug In" kit, as a supplement to  backpacking or propane stove options.

This stove can be had for approximately $20; I got mine from the camping section of my local Walmart. This kit is well constructed using very sturdy materials. The entire kit weighs in the ballpark of two pounds. Instructions are included with the stove, however assembly is fairly straight forward.

Ready to cook!

As a practical exercise, I will see how long it takes for the Sterno Stove Kit to boil 2 cups of water in the included pan. The reason I decided to use 2 cups as a reference point is because that is the amount of water required to prepare your average Mountain House freeze dried backpacking meal. It was a warm summer day, and I performed the test on my concrete patio in my backyard. My backyard is fully fenced so the wind was minimal. In other words, ideal conditions.

 

 Like with the Sterno folding stove previously reviewed, over 12 minutes elapsed without the Sterno fuel bringing the water to a full boil.

 

 Like with the other Esbit and Sterno kits I've reviewed, I don't consider the test to be a failure. The water was plenty hot to make instant coffee or prepare a freeze dried meal. If a full rolling boil is your requirement, obviously look elsewhere. The results appear to be consistent in that Esbit and Sterno fuels, while a great option to heat water or food, are not capable of burning hot enough to bring water to a full boil. Irregardless, these kits supplement modern backpacking and propane stoves nicely.

USGI Canteen Cup & Stand

Next up is another option that can use Esbit or other popular solid fuels as a heat source: the U.S. government issued canteen cup and stand.





There is nothing new or ground-breaking about this equipment; it's been unchanged for decades. The plastic canteens can be found with or without the NBC caps, which allows the user to connect a NATO-spec drinking tube from their gas mask to the canteen. The canteen also happens to be near indestructible.

The canteen cup and stand are both made out of thick stainless steel. For stowing, the canteen nests inside the cup, which nests inside the stand. I can't tell you the exact thickness of the cup or stand, but they're very sturdy and I've never seen them bend or become damaged. As you can see, the stand creates a large enough platform that you could make a small wood burning fire in lieu of solid fuel cubes.



Assembly is simple: invert the stand and place the cup on top.





 As a practical exercise, I will see how long it takes for the Esbit solid fuel cube to boil 2 cups of water in the USGI canteen cup. Will the results be consistent with the previous Esbit test?

The reason I decided to use 2 cups as a reference point is because that is the amount of water required to prepare your average Mountain House freeze dried backpacking meal. It was a warm summer day, and I performed the test on a patch of dirt in my backyard. My backyard is fully fenced so the wind was minimal. In other words, ideal conditions.

I placed an Esbit fuel cube on bare earth and placed the stand over it. I then ignited the cube and placed the canteen cup containing 2 cups of water on the stand.







Again, just over 12 minutes passed without the water coming to a full boil. I had to terminate the test because the cube was flickering out, burning just the remaining traces of the cube left on the dirt.

As with the previous Esbit test, I don't consider the test a failure. Did the Esbit fuel bring the water to a full rolling boil? No, but the water was plenty hot enough to prepare a Mountain House meal or instant coffee.

The USGI canteen cup and stand is yet another excellent minimalist option. It is capable of being integrated into nearly any tactical load bearing equipment or pack. There are numerous manufacturers that make MOLLE compatible canteen pouches in addition to the surplus market. If your equipment is a little more "old school," ALICE canteen pouches are still easy to find as well.

Sterno Portable Folding Stove

Next up in the alternate field cooking series is the Portable Folding Stove by Sterno. Sterno is both the brand name and the word used to refer to the fuel itself, a denatured and jellied alcohol. Sterno or "Canned Heat" is intended to be burned directly from its can. While Sterno fuel is most commonly used to heat buffet dishes, it can also be used as field cooking and heating fuel.



I purchased my Sterno folding stove for $5.97 at my local Walmart. The Sterno fuel cans can often be found in 2 or 3 packs as well, the latter available at a cost of around $10. Sterno can be stored almost indefinitely if left sealed. Once opened and used, the fuel can evaporate or harden over time. The low cost and long shelf life makes Sterno a viable option for stockpiling.

The Sterno brand has expanded to offer a number of camping and emergency preparedness products. This includes: candles, firestarting gel, and several different models of stoves and cooksets. I'll be reviewing Sterno's Camping Stove with mess kit in another post.

Back to the folding stove. It is a simple folding stove that weighs about half a pound. Assembling the stove is straightforward.

Fuel stowed, with the excellent GSI Halulite Ketalist on top.



As a practical exercise, I will see how long it takes for the Sterno Portable Folding Stove to boil 2 cups of water in the GSI Ketalist. The reason I decided to use 2 cups as a reference point is because that is the amount of water required to prepare your average Mountain House freeze dried backpacking meal. It was a warm summer day, and I performed the test on my concrete patio in my backyard. My backyard is fully fenced so the wind was minimal. In other words, ideal conditions.



As you can see here, Sterno fuel is purple with a jelly-like consistency.



Fuel ignited, trap door closed.



Like with the Esbit cookset previously reviewed, over 12 minutes elapsed without the Sterno fuel bringing the water to a full boil.





Like with the Esbit review, I don't consider the test to be a failure. The water was plenty hot to make instant coffee or prepare a freeze dried meal. If a full rolling boil is your requirement, look elsewhere. It would appear as though Esbit and Sterno fuels, while a great option to heat water or food, is not capable of burning hot enough to bring water to a boil. I'm going to be taking a look at some other setups using Esbit and Sterno fuels. Stay tuned to see if the results are consistent.

Esbit Solid Fuel Stove and Cookset

To be honest, I had never heard of Esbit...at least until some friends of mine who served in European militaries turned me onto Esbit's solid fuel cubes. I've since come to learn that Esbit is a European favorite for their outdoor cooksets and solid fuel cubes, which can be used for light cooking and fire starting. The main component of Esbit fuel is hexamine, which has long served in European militaries to heat field rations. The American military has water-activated MRE heaters. The British, Germans, and pretty much every other European military uses/has used hexamine. Hexamine has a long shelf life, can't malfunction, and is obviously compact. Esbit fuel cubes are approximately 1" white squares that are about 0.5" thick, and are more or less smokeless when  they burn. They are individually packaged.

 

I purchased the Esbit Solid Fuel Stove and Cookset off Amazon.com for a whopping $21.47. The unit is manufactured in Germany and appears to be quality kit. The whole unit nests inside the cup/pot and comes inside a mesh storage pouch.

The pot is made out of lightweight, hard anodized aluminum and weighs only 7 ounces. The hardware on the pot appears to be stainless steel and is attached by rivets. The unit consists of a pot, lid, wind deflector/pot stand, and mesh storage pouch.

The foldable handles are rubber coated and fold firmly against the pot. Also seen here is a small spout formed into the rim of the pot to facilitate pouring, and the ounce/milliliter measurement markings.

 

 

The wind deflector and pot stand can be seen here nested inside the pot. As you can see, it is simply a platform to hold the pot over an Esbit fuel cube. Theoretically you could make a small wood burning fire in the stand, but I haven't tried it. 

 

 

Fuel cube on the tray.

Fully assembled cookset.

 

As a practical exercise, I will see how long it takes for the Esbit Solid Fuel Stove and Cookset to boil 2 cups of water. The reason I decided to use 2 cups as a reference point is because that is the amount of water required to prepare your average Mountain House freeze dried backpacking meal. It was a warm summer day, and I performed the test on my concrete patio in my backyard. My backyard is fully fenced so the wind was minimal. In other words, ideal conditions.

Here, I lit the Esbit cube using a common Bic lighter. It's difficult to see if the cube is actually burning, but it ignites easily.

 

Unfortunately, just over 12 minutes passed without the water coming to a full boil. I had to terminate the test because the cube was flickering out, burning just the remaining traces of the cube left in the tray.

 

I don't consider the test a failure. Did the Esbit fuel bring the water to a full rolling boil? No, but the water was plenty hot enough to burn your tongue if you used it to make food or instant coffee. The water was obviously hot enough to prepare a Mountain House meal. I don't know about you, but I don't like eating scalding hot food. 

If your goal is to heat up your field rations, the Esbit cookset is a viable option for you. If you're looking to bring water to a rolling boil, such as for water purification purposes, you should probably look elsewhere.

Something else interesting to note, is the residue left by the Esbit/hexamine fuel cubes. It left minimal unburned residue on the tray, and a film on the bottom of the cup. It cleaned off for the most part using soap and water, but I still thought it should be documented for those of you that might want this cookset for the long term.

All in all, I think this is a sufficient minimalist cookset. It's self-contained, foolproof, and inexpensive at just $20. No need for liquid fuel or bulky fuel canisters here. Esbit fuel cubes can also be easily stockpiled due to their long shelf life and reasonable price. 

If something along these lines interests you, may want to consider the Esbit Spirit Cookset. For $40.01, it is essentially the same cookset, plus a slightly larger pot, and a brass alcohol burner. I know alcohol is a popular fuel for those hitting the trails, and has countless prepping applications as well. Food for thought.