[pct-l] Re: Esbit

[HShires@aol.com]

I have to put my plug in for the Esbit-style system.  I carried one the 
whole way and thought it was fantastic.  My system consisted of a 1.3 
liter titanium pot w/lid, the windscreen from my MSR stove, and either 
Esbit or Coughlin solid fuel tablets.  The stove, spoon, matches/lighter, 
and at least 9 days of fuel fit easily inside the pot.  I always filled 
my dinner pot with 1 liter of water and used either 2 Esbit or 4 Coughlin 
tablets (or 5-6 coughlins for corn pasta meals).  I had no problem 
boiling 1 liter of water and cooking my meals under the whole range of 
conditions on the PCT. Versus an MSR whisperlite system, I saved a pound. 
 A gas stove is a little faster--though not much and Esbit 
set-up/takedown is definitely faster--but not having that extra weight 
(and bulk) was well-worth the trade-off.  Not worrying about leaking 
fuel, clogged jets, and lost gaskets was priceless.

A year ago I found the Coughlin fuel in a number of outdoor supply places 
but could only get Esbit through the Campmor catalog.  The Coughlin fuel 
comes 24 tablets to a box, the Esbit fuel comes 12 tablets to a box.  
Coughlin tablets are smaller and disc-shaped, the Esbit tablets are 
larger and more cube-like.  Two Esbit tablets weigh exactly 1 ounce and 
are equivalent to about 5 Coughlin tablets in weight and functionality.  
The Coughlin fuel is much cheaper (almost 50% cheaper from what I recall) 
but seemed to have a bit more of an odor.  Both fuel types burned down to 
a little bit of ash and both tablets could easily be blown out and reused 
for another meal.  Both fuel types leave a bit of black soot on the 
bottom of the pot.  It comes off easily with a little water or by 
scraping the pot on a snowbank or wet grass.

My only complaint with the Esbit-style system is the Esbit stove/pot 
holder.  It's made of a heavy steel (I think) and it rusted horribly 
during the hike.  It weighs about 4 ounces--at least 2 ounces more than 
an equivalent aluminum/titanium model would.  A replacement could 
probably be made from an aluminum can but I haven't tried.

Esbit-style stoves are only limited only by the available fuel.  Two 
Esbit tablets (or Coughlin equivalent) were sufficient for nearly every 
meal I carried.  I always carried a few extra tablets and occasionally I 
needed them. You can always blow them out and re-use the residual.  I did 
that quite often.  The other thing to consider is what is it that you 
need to cook.  Lots of foods will rehydrate quite nicely in warm or even 
cool water.  Dump your dried vegetables, meats etc. into the water as 
you're heating it.  That way you you wont need to do more than bring it 
to a boil and your meal will be ready just as the cubes burn out. Thin 
pastas (Angel hair or cous-cous) cook very quickly, thicker pastas like 
corn pasta elbows cook more slowly.  Pre-cooked rice is MUCH faster than 
uncooked rice. Plan accordingly.

I met other Esbit users out there though others used either a) no 
windscreen, b) aluminum foil or other lighter weight material, or c) 
skipped the stove altogether and used rocks to make a stove ring.  No one 
seemed to have quite the same success that I did.  I strongly believe 
that the whole key is having an efficient heat transfer set up.  The MSR 
windscreen does a great job wrapping around the set up and transfering a 
lot of heat to the pot.  I don't know anything about the relative merits 
of titanium vs. aluminum for heat transfer but the titanium pot is 
certainly thinner and I would not be surprised if it tranfers heat better.

Henry
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