[pct-l] COLD FOOD/Esbit

[CHUCK CHELIN]

Good afternoon, Shawn,

When I want hot food I often use solid fuel, but only vary rarely is it
Esbit.  I prefer the similar Army trioxane solid fuel tablets because
trioxane does not blacken the bottom of my pot/cup as does Esbit, and at the
surplus store trioxane is much less expensive.  Both – or all chemical fuels
that I’ve used – have their own peculiar smell and I won’t breathe any of
those fumes, nor do I use the stove in a tent.



On an ounce-for-ounce basis I can’t measure any difference in their times to
boil water.  There’s nothing to spill like alcohol, and the tablets can be
broken into whatever size is necessary.



Often I go prepared for dual-fuel:  When using any of my little ultra-lite
alcohol stove set-ups it’s easy to turn the stove over and place a solid
fuel tab on the center of the bottom.  That way if I run out of tabs I can
use alcohol, and vice-versa.



Thanks,



Steel-Eye

Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965

http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye

http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09


On Tue, Nov 9, 2010 at 2:36 PM, Shawn Hudson <shizaquawn at gmail.com> wrote:

> Esbit is, I believe, the lightest fuel out there. I don't use it, but not
> because of its functionality. I think finding it was a concern for me, and
> I've heard it lets off a ... interesting ... smell. If you can stock up on
> some tablets before going out there and get them sent to you in mail drops,
> I say go for it. For heating something so small as a cup of coffee, I'd
> think you could split the tab into smaller bits to conserve on the fuel,
> too.
>
>  *I'm intrigued with the idea of cold food.  But I do like a cup of coffee
> or
> ** hot chocolate or instant soup.  I'm thinking that the simplest, lightest
> and
> ** reliable heating option might the Esbit heat tabs.  Any thoughts about
> this?*
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