You Should Avoid this Stove - Large Esbit Stove - Agenda Free Real World Review
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ส.ค. 2024
- The One You Should Avoid!
As you may know, Esbit offers a number of their small foldable stoves with each one varying in size. This is the Largest one and it is worse in just about every single way.
This is Luke's Agenda Free Review.
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Esbit Large Size Solid Pocket Stove
What it is : Over the last couple of months, I have been testing out and reviewing Esbit’s line of Solid Fuel stoves; there are 3, a small, regular and large size and what has surprised me the most is the differences between them all.
In this episode I will be focusing on my thoughts of the large size stove.
Agenda Free Link : www.amazon.com/Esbit-Pocket-S...
Price : $31 - this includes the stove and 12 14g Hexamine tablets
Weight : 6.1oz for the stove; the stove and 12 fuel fuel cubes is 12.4oz
Materials :
Stove is made from Galvanized steel
Fuel Tablets are Hexamine which is toxic to breathe in.
With the larger size Esbit stove, one can use this as a wood stove but because the size of the stove is so small, you will be limited to burning very small pieces of wood. It can get it to work in a pinch but a dedicate wood burning stove is going to give you a much better overall experience than this will for that purpose.
Size : about 3” x 5 x 1.5” thick
Three cooking positions
Review Pros :
Plain and simple to use
Easy to setup, easy to break down.
The fuel is easy to ignite in calm conditions; it requires a few seconds of steady flame to burn.
14g fuel tablets offer excellent burn times; the company claims 12 minutes but over 15 is common. With the larger 25g tablets, they will burn for over 20 minutes easy.
Also, Hexamine works great at high elevations and in sub-zero conditions.
Good quality
Lightweight
Can be used with other fuels not just those from Esbit - also multiple sizes.
Can hold multiple fuel tablets - easy a few days worth of fuel
Because the walls are retractable, you can use this with a variety of pots, cups and pans…..but not all.
Review Cons :
The large size stove in my opinion is a bit of a step backward when compared to the other models; yes it is larger but that doesn’t mean that it is going to perform better or even as good as the two small size stoves.
Expensive - the smaller version of this stove in my opinion offer a great value for the money - with this stove, I feel that this metric is beginning to go in the opposite direction - this is flat out expensive for a galvanized steel stove considering what it does and its overall performance.
There is no wind screen and this does have a negative impact on overall performance. Because of this, you have to either bring a windscreen or make one.
Talking about the fuel, it can be hard to ignite in windy conditions
Because the stove is larger, it won’t work with some cups and pots whereas the smaller stoves will work with just about any size cup, pot or pan.
My 750ml pot doesn’t work well with this stove - at the smallest level it doesn’t sit well; you can make it work but it’s not very stable. The second stage positioning doesn’t work at all. At the 3rd stage which has the pot supports completely vertical, it doesn’t work at all.
Fuel - it’s toxic to breathe in when it is burning and it absolutely stinks. Smells like shrimp even though the package. When I’m out with this type of stove and fuel, I will double bag it….for my protection! Lol
Because of the larger stove, you can use more than one fuel tablet at a time and that does assist with better boil times than the smaller stoves.
Summary :
When it comes to the general design of this stove, it is one that is tried and true; used by outdoorsman, military forces and even rescue organizations around the world.
That is true with the smaller sizes; that isn’t the case with the larger size stove and that’s because it tends to be more of a specific situation stove instead of a use any time for any purpose solution.
If you have a specific need to use solid fuel in conjunction with larger pots/pans/cups, this is an option but doesn’t feel like a product that is the best that it can be. The simple fact is that with this you will find limitations whereas with the smaller version those limitations aren’t present.
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My uncle was one of the first UK soldiers to use hexamine stoves and fuel and now in his late eighties still uses them on his walking and camping adventures. He has no chest problems because of over use of hexamine or none of his mates he served with . The idea of hexamine has been debunked as a myth which came about because of noxious smell. I have only one lung due to cancer and I have asthma and have never had any problems when using it . Great videos and keep up the good work Mate.
The smell is very nostalgic of camping holidays....
Probably you’ll never read this but I found your channel many years ago I think I was still on HS. I want to thank you bc you sparked my interest in the outdoors. Recently I opened my own channel and I’m trying to document my transition from the city to the country. In the middle of nowhere, right now I’m fixing up an 1800’s old cabin that’s on my land. Cheers brother. Always look forward to your next video.
Awesome. Will check your channel.
Let’s show support to this young man folks. This community will support you kid.
Hey Luke,
I just want to say thank you for everything. I’m a huge fan. When I got out of the military hiking and backpacking saved my life and so have you. If not for your videos to help inspire me I wouldn’t be here today. Thank you. I hope you all are doing well. Strength and Honor.
What a nice comment, thank you for your service. If there's woods to explore then there's a reason to live!
I've had extensive use of hexamine stoves, due to my time in the military (Australian). They were standard issue in the 60's & 70's. You would be surprised what you could cook up using 1 man ration packs, and a 2 pan mess kit. If on a multi-day "walk", I would always supplement the ration packs with some raisins and chilli flakes. You're right about the smell, zip lock bags were rare in those days, however we would wrap the stove and tablets in plastic and store it in an outside pack pocket. One of the upsides to the smell was that insects hated it, particularly mosquitoes. Now days my Trangia and canister stoves are the first things I reach for, however the hexamine stove will always be an emergency back-up, because when the fuel runs out on the others, the tablet stove is worth it's weight in gold.
My first experience with the Esbit was on a backpack trip a few years ago. My friend had one and you’re right, it smelled noxious. It was also slow to boil water and blackened my friend’s cup. A great emergency stove….. I won’t use one on a regular basis. Thanks for the excellent review.
What do you use. Was thinking of investing in a Jetboil
@@paulriccio5333 jet boils are awesome, as are the mar pocket ticket deluxe and the Soto wind master. But you can’t beat the medium or small esbit for simplicity, pocket ability, performance in cold, and it is so quiet when you’re alone in the mountains or woods making a coffee or soup. That’s how Luke sold me on these - quiet and great it winter. You can cook bigger meals on these but juggling multiple tablets will make you yearn for the butane stove on fancier meals.
@@paulriccio5333 I bought one 2 years ago $11 bucks and have used it a ton and it worked just as good as couple jet boils my buddies have.
@@paulriccio5333 Trangia with a puzzle type stick stove
In my day, I'm 70 now, I used foldable Sterno stoves in fact I still have one in the garage with a three pack of Sterno cans. Cook your food or heat your coffee and put the lid back on the can flame goes out until you reopen the can, and light it off again. The top of the stove is metal, and you can use any size of cooking device. It was a tad heavy but that made it all but indestructible. Thats why I still have one after all these years and the Sterno is still good after all these years as well. I also used the heat tabs we had in the Army but mostly for easy fire starters. I also made two metal coffee can stoves that I used charcoal briquets with. Bulky but doable. I loved the ease f using the old Coleman stove using Coleman fuel or propane gas. If nothing else a camp fire and a grate will do for some cooking. Hot food makes a positive big difference when camping outdoors. Like you I got to have my coffee and a thermos full only goes so far. For portability I'll lug the sterno stove and fuel. You are young and still invincible and still going to live forever so you can handle the extra weight and such.
Compared to the canister alternatives, they’re just not worth the hassle. You can always build a better fire than an Esbit from standing deadwood, in a pinch, on the trail as a plan B. P.S. It’s nice to see your channel growing. I have watched numerous videos by you through the years. You’re a good, honest, straightforward man. Keep up the great work. The hiking community needs you.
Absolutely agree!!! Kentucky
I normally used trail biscuits and stuff like dried sweet potato and oatmeal in the woods.
A Esbit is good for boiling water and takes up very little room.. now if I was reconstituting a bunch of stuff I might consider using a canister.. but the little folding stove would heat up enough water for morning oatmeal and coffee. For my amount of cooking it has always been perfect…
Canister stoves like butane are great but sometimes I want something quieter. The Esbit works great for heating water for coffee or oatmeal without sounding like a jet engine.
Yeah - lots to be said for quieter, simpler, and more pocketable. Unless you’re doing fancier cooking, or are shivering for a hot cup of joe in the winter.
Hi Luke, I have the small version of this stove. i love that it fits in my cargo pocket and i can heat up some water in any weather with it. i also have a jetboil but its bulky and runs out of fuel. i can burn sticks in the esbit with no problem.
ive had my small esbit for 35 years now, its still going strong.
I’ve used mine with sticks, though it can be high maintenance to keep fed it will definitely work for a cup of hot chocolate
Been watching over several of your videos, older and newer, and just wanna say your vids are great for anxiety. I imagine myself there in the rain and calm of nature and the anxiety and other issues just sort of go away temporarily. Thank you. 🖤
I was given my first Esbit stove way back in 1985, when the boys and I would go camping in the foothills of the Southern Alps, (South Island, New Zealand). I am proud to say that after 37 years, I still have it, and I still have almost 2 full packets of Esbit Hexamine tablets. This stove is only used for emergencies, now. I have added to my collection gas stoves, Flame Burner stoves, and the old stand-by, campfires. One thing that our brother forgot to mention, is that under NO circumstances do you ever light up a hexamine stove indoors! Yes, sadly, there are some people that stupid, and some have paid the cost for their stupidity.
I use it as a comfortable toilet seat out in the woods - dual use.
Great review and take on the large esbit stove. I love and use my small and medium versions all the time since discovering them thanks to you, Luke. Particularly in winter for coffee and soup, and summer for pocketability and coffee time. And in all cases for the quiet simplicity. I love dragon fuel too but prefer the esbit medium over the dragon stove because the dragon sits flat against the ground snd facilitates heat loss that way in the cold, unlike the esbit design that is raised off the ground but still so stable. Would make sense for esbit to pair a wins screen with the small version like it’s medium brother, and to sell a little tin to handle gel cubes.
I've used the smaller one on my adventures & it works pretty well. Great info Luke. Strength and honor.
I have several esbit stoves. The smaller one like you reviewed, a large cook set and a three piece set. I love them. The one you reviewed would work in power outages, cooking on it with larger pots. I take the burner holding piece out of the three-piece set and use it in the folding stoves, and use Heet gas line antifreeze to fuel it instead of the cubes. It’s inexpensive and lights easily.
A suggestion for future reviews may be a few words on how to fix what is wrong. Drill some holes for tent pegs for pot supports and smaller pots can be easily used. Use foil or cut some panels from cheap disposable baking pans to cover the sides for wind protection. But you gave us the most important info which is greatly appreciated!
That is basically what my nephew did with his... cheap wind screen, drilled some holes and cut some slits for pegs and/or cross pieces. Works fine with the alterations but still, the medium is the way to go in the long run.
Thanks for the straight-up appraisal. If you're traveling with a group where a larger pot might be useful (if someone is willing to carry it) - then maybe. Windscreens are relatively easy to improvise in most conditions. But, from the vid, I would have to agree with Luke. Looking forward to a comparison vid.
I always enjoy your open and honest reviews on products
I think one of the first TOGR videos I saw was you testing various solid fuels and you used an Esbit! Good to revisit the classics and see if they are still as reliable etc. My dad was in the Airforce, so we used to get stuff that was old given to us from the stores. They worked just fine still though. We got old ration tins of food that were expired, and they were also still good after many years, this was great, as we didn't have much money, but we could go camping.
I always learn something helpful from your videos, including this one.
I have 'none of the above.' I have the Esbit '3-Piece Lightweight Camping Cook Set.' Love it for certain applications... nice piece of kit.
Hi Luke, I have the medium size stove ( with the 14 gr tablets I think) bought it New in germany for like 15 bucks (€ ) but you can get it form Used Army suppliers for like 2 bucks (€) here in germany, it works perfect for normal sized cups as you mentioned, never seen the big size stove here, maybe because of the pot size issued you mentioned, thanks for the great videos keep it up ;) greetings from germany
After watching your video on the medium size one I purchased it and works great, I contemplated getting the large but now I'm definitely glad I didn't..👌👍✌️
Luke, I really enjoy your channel and your honest reviews on products. I think that I enjoy your overnighters the most. But as far as these small stoves I'll stick with my Sterno stove. It takes a little while to boil something but that being said I am usually using it in winter and the temperatures are usually pretty cold here. It has never let me down in the several years that I've used it. It will accept pretty much any size pot or cup that you would need to use or have. No smell, wind break all around it, and the Sterno canisters can be used more than once. Also, if need be you can use wood as fuel. And it was only $10 on Amazon when I bought it. I hope that someday you will do a review of it. Keep making these great videos. God bless you and your family and God bless America! ❤❤❤🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Nice vid.the issued the smaller ones when I was a soldier in the Dutch army...a simple and good piece of kit
Looking forward to the review with all three stove sizes together. When you do that can you also compare them with the BCB stove(s) as it would great to see comparisons between a number of manufacturers.
Luke have you tried turning the big stove upside down and then cook a small pot because I remember using these in the Army Cadet Force and it works better upside down in windy conditions👍
Was thinking the same thing, also used them in Army Cadets. Using upside down also works well being that the "spikes" will dig into the ground for stability!
Thank you, Luke, you always learn a lot of you from tents that you show large foldable stoves the large one work so good small size will work better
GREAT REVIEW! Thank you for sharing!🥰
This stove works great if you think outside the box. The addition of a little grate and some charcoal briquettes and you can bbq on it. That grate also allows you to put any size pot on it without issue. Sure it’s another $10 Amazon purchase but it certainly adds to the versatility. It can nest inside a Canadian or British style mess kit. A wind screen would be nice agreed- nothing that can’t be accomplished though with a little aluminum foil. It can also be used as a twig stove. All off label uses granted but nobody said you must always use esbit with it!
Thanks Luke; I'm looking forward to your comparison between all three stoves.
Great review as always
You can get a grill grate from the company expedition research to put on it so you can accommodate all types of cups, the grate is a 5 inch by 5 inch square
Great video as usual Luke!! I'm with you sir! The best thing to do with these stoves, is to throw them into the trash, and use the fuel tabs to start you a little camp fire to cook over!! LOL.
Thanks Luke. Good job!
Great info Luke
Good review. I think the Philistine giant Goliath would have loved this stove, but he had an appointment with a kid named David.
I pretty much keep track of my week by OGR videos. “Oh, wow, it’s Tuesday” “how is it Thursday already?!”
Hold a match or lighter UNDERNEATH the stove to light the fuel tablet. That's why the stove has such large holes.
Nice vid Luke👍 I'll pass on solid fuel stoves, too many cons for the small number of pros. So many other options out there that are better. Thanks for the honest review. Enjoy!
I have the small and medium size stoves I like them both. I have never used the large size but based on this video I probably never will. Thanks Luke
Great video, I liked it. Grretings from Belarus tourist.
Keep up the good work.
Been using my larger esbit for a year.I use a larger pot,and made windscreens out of carbon felt.Right now,am using the " cedar burger" version of fuel,and the larger has room for them
As a time traveler I always use my Startrektanium mini nuclear fusion stove.
I love my esbit used it all through my military time ?now the price sucks .but that big one you can burn sticks in it too . The littel one I love its done everything
Thank You !!!
The way how we were taught in the military was the you dig a small hole for the stove. The ground will act as windscreen and the “enemy” won’t see the flame. Since at that time we didn’t have flameless heaters yet.
I have a few of the stoves. i love them I use a Mess Kit with out any problems if I need a lot of water. If I just need coffee I use my canteen cup stove. I also carry a small lid off a cookie tin I use as a base of the stove, keep the flame from catching anything else on fire.
From what I know the med seems to be the best. But using it this weekend I couldn’t get 20oz of 61 deg f. Water to boil before the 14g tablet was gone 165 deg f was max temp of water. After almost 10min. My medium came with 2 27g fuel tables and will hold 2-27g and 2-14g fuel tablets when closed. Prefer isobutane stove more for my use.
Thank you Sir
Hello Luke The burner in tonight video the British military use it in hole in ground. From Martin in Norfolk uk
great money saving info..
thanks for this
$34 for an Esbit Stove, that’s not as useful? Sheesh!!! Thanks, Luke. Your comments and demonstration are appreciated. Kentucky
I used my new esbit lightweight camping cook set for the first time on car camping trip yesterday and today. It has a great windscreen and comes with its own cup. I loved it. Made all my coffee with it while using the Coleman to cook. That large one does look terrible in comparison.
Good video and editing. Without being an ad, I prefer a certain German company for my hobo stoves. Burn wood not chemicals :)
Luke, I always double bag it !
😁👍
Joined over a year ago, and finally see my name in the list... YES I prefer the small Esbit stove, it dose what I need it to do.
lol saw your name.
Thank you for the info! I have a quick question. If the tablets are that hazardous that you have to wash your hands and not ingest the fumes will it affect the water you're boiling or any of the food you're cooking?? Thanks
I suppose if you did get stuck with it, use a small grill or metal tent stakes as a cross bar
Luke: please convince me that I don’t need 4x4m tarp and that 3x3m is good enough :)
I’ll use it with my with and a child to protect from the elements for a day camping, and for my self for winter camping.
From what I’ve seen in your videos, 4x4m is the choice for me :)
Would be great if you get your hands on the Thermo-tarp from Bushman (Polish company).
Great content.
I am a fan of versitilty, and as such would also be disappointed with the fuel and the lack of adaptability of the stove. 39 bucks is not bad, so I wonder about the smaller guys as to their cost. Will await your review on all three models, because I like the fold out mechanism. Looks like something you could make out of a hard drive bay.
I have the small Esbit and The Dragon Fuel... I was wondering how the large would compare to the 1100ml Esbit Cookset which is a large format designed for the larger fuel cubes.
Flashbacks to my time with the old hexi stove in Defence
Thanks for your clip🥺
Hi Luke! See that you must like your Helikon-Tex anorak. I do enjoy mine of the same model as yours. Have you tried out anything from Arrak Outdoor? I have their Summit jacket and like it a lot. Give them a peek and see if they have something that might interest you. Have a good one!
Hey luke, ifvyou have extra bacon laying around maybe you could test it with a big cast iron skillet like a 10"+. . . but great info just shows everything is Not scalable
i'm surprised nobody mentioned yet, that you can increase the heat output by standing the fuel tablets on the smaller sides, to expose more surface area.
it's makes quite a difference, when you're craving your tea/coffee in the morning. also better to use a thin, flat pan, instead of a narrow cup to boil the water, and for sake, use a lid! :
Have you tried using one or two pieces of charcoal with the smaller stoves?
What if you cut up a wire hanger and made slats that fit inside the stove as an X but when straightened make a rack that can be used with other size vessels? I did that with a smaller one to cook a steak on it like a grill
Legend Theo
You get the feeling that the large stove was created for a specific purpose, though I can't think what it might be.
I think there are plenty of better alternatives to the fuel tablets too.
I have an unrelated question, in your opinion what is the best water filter for hiking/camping. I what your channel all the time and respect your opinions. Thanks
Mitch K…
I have 2 of the smaller ones can you use a charcoal brisket like the match light
Not a fan of the size or the cost, plus I now use gas or alcohol burners depending on conditions and what I'm cooking. When I was in the army these stoves were known as hexi stoves and the tablets, hexi tabs. I walked into a camping store (in a town with a huge military presence) a year ago and asked did they stock hexi tabs. The two assistants had no idea what I was talking about. I said you know hexamine tablets. They still had no idea. So I said solid fuel tablets that go in a small metal stove and the penny dropped. They had a bizarre name for them yet written on the box in large letters was Hexamine Tablets. Civvies!
Not the intended use but the larger one especially may be a decent stand for an alcohol stove depending on which one you are using.
i do use something like the smaller version of this for maybe 20years as backup or primary stove... mine was Czechoslovak people army copy of the original german stove that does not have those legs on top and i find it better then this incarnation even with the absence of a windscreen
I'm not too surprised that the bigger stove isn't better. I've used both Esbit and the cheap Coghlans emergency stove and tablets. I don't bring them without a good windscreen. They simply do not work in a light breeze without one. My favorite is the Esbit titanium ultralight stove. It weighs less than the 14g tablets at 11g. Since they need a windscreen anyways I'll take the lighter stove.
I wonder if a mesh screen can be made to fit on top to give a stable top
I recently purchased the small stove, partly because of your video review. I haven’t been able to use it, yet. I am worried about having it collapse under the weight of a full pot of water or dinner. I might have to test it out in the sink first...
Hi - I use the medium all the time. No worry when I use a 750 ml or 900 ml titanium pot to make Raman in two cups of water. Holds up easy in either partly-open or fully-open positions.
Does the odor from the fuel go to any food/water?
I used Hexamine a few years go and it's great as a back up. however, i recommend only using it outside. When using it in a tent, i found it ..."slightly hard to breath!" (Which i think is concerning)
This large size esbit is also harder to store. where as the smaller ones you can pocket, toss in a glove compartment or such, these large ones are more limited in where you can keep them. They might not even fit well in fanny or butt backs.
Yay for the French mess tin- I've sworn by mine for 20 years. The large stove is a mistake on Esbit's part, though. If the small is the old German army issue one, that's the best size IMHO. 4 tablets, or two plus a match case, a Bic and a Victorinox. Since my match cases have dyneema fishline, hooks, needles, tinder and a button compass along with matche, for a long time the pocket esbit was the core of my PSK.
Finding some cinder blocks or bricks seems like a better choice to control heat. I make my own flames through what is called hobo stoves which are large tuna cans with cardboard wrapped inside covered with melted wax. I cut up used face mask straps as wisks in center to light. Burn forever and place couple bricks or stones around it for cooking.
Master Luke, of the other two, which do you like most and why.
Get it done
Can you do a rewiew of the rock mount 4 tent???
I could see using this if I was cooking for 3+ people since that would require a larger pot, but for just myself I would go with one of the smaller ones.
At that size and the amount of tabs that would be used... I would keep my small Esbit to make my coffee and get a proper canister stove for larger pots of water
For the price, I'd much rather get a Firebox, nano or a full-size. More effective, packs smaller or similar. Full size is heavier, but far more versatile, especially with the accessories. Costs more total, but much greater value.
I used the classic sized, I guess it's the middle one now, when in the scouts. Hated the stink and wind sensitivity. We usually used white gas or went old school with a fire (Pacific Northwest).
Mine isn't Esbit, but I love my little stove.
Had one in the marines. Never failed.
What about using couple tent pegs as a grate across?
I still have the regular size one I got back in the 1970's.
Iv had one of these size stove for 12 years never had any trouble cooking on in a standard britsh army mess tin and I did only pay 5.99 out of army surplus
I avoid esbit stoves and fuel all my life, but I have to admit to trying new ones and different fuel when I see them. The smell, the leaking, and the residue left over is the worst. Now you pointed out that they are toxic which I already knew but forgot just reassures my position. I hate to say it, but I may forget that again in another 10 years. Just dont use esbit. Use wood, gas, or alcohol as fuel. Coal is another thing that I am trying to avoid. But I would rather use coal as fuel than esbit.
Is this stove big enough to be used with alternative fuels, like charcoal or twigs?
For the twigs there is no issue. Charcoal you get the heat escaping out through the sides
Keep the hexamine away from your food in your backpack. Not because of the toxicity, but for the fact that I still remember the taste of esbit-flavoured peanuts...
Apologies...my comment was cut off as the phone died on me. Anyway, the large Esbit was bulky and my 750 ml cup did not fit well even after adjustments were made. My favorite is the medium Esbit stove and packs well in survival kit. It also serves well as a means of providing temporary heat source.