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.
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