ไม่สามารถเล่นวิดีโอนี้
ขออภัยในความไม่สะดวก
British Post WWII Folding Hexamine Cooker
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 มี.ค. 2023
- A look at some variations of the British post WWII folding hexamine cooker.
Patreon - / riflemanmoore
Paypal - www.paypal.me/riflemanmoore
Facebook - / riflemanmoore
Instagram - / riflemanmoore
Twitter - / rifleman_moore
Email - riflemanmoore@yahoo.com
I still have mine that I obtained in 1986! I was a Platoon Comd for an infantry recruit course at our Regimental Depot. As we geared up for 'patrolling week' I didn't want any clunky stoves getting in the way - it was to be hexi tabs all the way. Problem: although we (Canadian army) were still very generous in giving out hexi tabs, we didn't provide a handy cooker like the UK. Solution: I went to see the Brit LCol on base in order to beg for some. I told him I was looking for a favour and he led me to their QM stores and told the QMS, "give this Canadian anything he wants: jumper, smock... etc". Wow. Temptation. I held back my urge to get completely kitted out in Brit attire and asked for 30 hexi cookers to give to my recruits. Done. He tossed me a cardboard box containing what I requested with a few extras... Great guys.
Sadly, as you allude to, the hexi tabs fell out of favour in our army. The airforce always hated them because they were considered a 'dangerous good' and they forever lecturing us about removing them from our rucks prior to boarding. The death knell came with the introduction of 'MRE heaters'. These are a plastic sleeve with a water-activated heating chemical inside. One adds an ounce or 2 of water, slips his meal pouch in and the chemical reaction does its thing.
Problem is... you can't get a brew on with them. This is a deal breaker for me (even worse for you Brits to whom brewing up is a religion and art form). So, for my last 10 yrs in the army, I had to source my own hexi tabs. I found similar versions in hardware and caping stores where they are sold as fire starters. Mess with my brew, will ya? I don't think so.
One of the best pieces of kit a soldier could have. I did some time with the Yanks, and they use that plate in a bag that you add water to, and it reacts, and you have a warm meal. But we could not get a brew, because they did not issue Hexi tabs. I went through the most severe caffeine withdrawals. We were told to dump our Hexi tabs in a bin before we boarded the C130, because the airforce have these bloody rules. I don't care how good the rat packs are. A hot brew on a crappy wet day in the scrub can improve a digger's morale. And I will wager a ration pack that the aircrew had plenty of hot water for their expresso machine. Cheers
Hi, I remember that in the 60’s the Paras went through “Trials of alternative heat sources” and we were issued small gas cookers for an exercise. These were round gas canisters that were to be attached to a contraption to make a gas stove. Looked a bit like a metal spider! Good idea, but the slightest bit of wind caused the flame to go out and it took for ever to brew a mug of tea. The lovely thing about the Hexy Cooker was that it folded up into a small oblong shape that you could just fit between your water bottle and its carrier. As we carried two water bottles with their mugs there was no need to pack mess tins as we could heat up liquids in one mug and food in the other. Always mindful of weight and bulk, this left a little bit of space in our Kidney Pouches for the odd extra bit of tins of meat like bully beef or sardines. I have used the Hexy Cookers when out hunting or fishing in the back country and they are excellent in the wet as dry twigs are hard to find after a few days of rain in the bush! Cheers mate. Harera
I learnt to cook on one of those. Menu A - chicken curry, was the very first one. This was delicious, but I still have nightmares with the bacon grill.
The joys of sitting in your basha, watching the Hexi TV and inhaling the toxic tang.
I love the smell of hexi in the morning, smells like . . . . . brew time.
The fuel tablets also had an unfortunate resemblance to Kendall Mint Cake to the unwary.
Burning hexamine, an unforgettable smell.
Survival Aids did a metal, non-stick mug back in the 80s. Complete with removable plastic rim to protect your lips. Same size and shape as the 58 pattern mug.
Very Gucci.
I had one of those.... I got it in Glasgow 1990..... that and a nonstick lid/ frying pan for an issue mess tin pair.
Used them for over 20 years in the RM. Simple and effective in temperate climates. A metal mug was a top item to purloin which was quite easy to find as we had metal water bottles and mugs for Norway (altho never used for the obvious reasons.) One must place some masking tape on the mouth area of the mug or you could end up looking like Mick Jagger. Bacon grill was easy to cook in a mess tin in slices but if you cooked in the tin you could end up eating metal. The new rats are boil in the bag so even easier.
Issued those in the 80s, the hexi blocks was in the white cardboard wrapper, as i recall i think it was wax coated.
Mate, If you'd like to let me know a postal address I'll send you a couple of unissued Hexiburners with the Crusader Cup fitting.
now replaced with dragon gel folding cookers ... smaller but only hold 3 blocks of gel as compared to 8 hexi blocks. Both are effected by adverse conditions, the hexi is a bit hotter but hexi does age and when damp it spits. I have/had a box of about 50 hexi cookers and when ever i'm feeling sentimental i take one camping, The smell of hexi fumes drifting across a wood in the morning is like having a time machine.
The fumes contain arsenic ... nasty stuff, on one occasion there was 8 blokes in a cement block house, all of us burning stoves ... next thing we knew there were dozens of insects dropping from the rafters as we literally fumigated the building.
Sadly. Use, possession and or supply of hexamine tablets carry a maximum prison sentence of two years.
Upside down
Stove placed like a table (shown to me by a cadet one weekend) Australian Army Reserve
More stable.
You can always learn something :)
I later changed to the US cups canteen stove (more compact)
Now that everyone is going to flameless ration heaters how does anyone brew up?
Still remember first time I used these, without being told that you only get one burner for a week. Luckily a mate said to get 3 lengths of fence wire and push it into the ground,mess tins on top,hexi block in middle,brew time.
Still my favourite stove when I go hillwalking far superior to the new version.
Good bit of kit - did the job
The hexi itself is very corrosive once the wax is removed which I suspect is the reason that cooker is rusting because it really shouldn’t be rusting like that I would suggest you remove the Hexi tabs to reduce any further corrosion just a suggestion
I liked using them. Safer than gas
After I used them a couple times, I invested in small gas cooker, no black smoke, or soot and the flame was easier to mask, and could used under cover with the risk of poisoning . Kept one as emergency back up, but on the whole avoiding using it.
Still using when I join in 1989…”if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”
As someone has mentioned elsewhere in the comments about the wooden box of stoves, did these crates contain stoves and packs of hexi tablets or just the packets of blocks? My memory is of a sturdy wooden box that just contained the packs of blocks. Would this mean the stoves were used until un serviceable, with a pack of tablets issued when needed? I always imagined the stove to be a disposable item to be used a few times and discarded. The wooden box would be a great piece of memorabilia but I wonder what the chance's of one of those surviving would be! I recall them from the mid seventies, did they have a hinged lid? Possibly roped handles at each end? They could have been stenciled with the name of the contents as well, many years have past and the memory does play tricks!
Not British but a German Esbit stove,,,, i always carry one when i'm in the woods and yes the British adapted it also
Hey I cant find the 37 pattern anymore on panther where can I find one
Here is a "story" from the Canadian Army ca. 1982. The fuel cubes were labeled "poison" but some French speaking kids got a hold of them and confused them with fish (the fuel cubes we had smelled like fish) and tried to eat them and were poisoned.
When was the metal crusader cup introduced? late 80s or in the 90s? They were private purchase and not issued right?
I privately bought one on the 90s not sure when they became issued late 90s or even later?
Now issued in a non stick cup and a metal mug
Used them in the 80s in the RAAF
Chicken curry was the best as others suggest
Used hexi stoves for years , fool proof and light weight . The only issue was the strong smell which gave your position away from quite some distance and toxic in confined spaces.
These ( VERY ) simple cookers can be used with modern ( legal compliant ? ) blocks ..... DAVE™🛑
Ah the smell of and infantry company brewing up in a forest block on a wet day.
Nice
Just watching this started to make my nagging knee hurt.
Baby’s heads on a cold Laffans plain
The lads used to dent the Ration pack tins on our knees two big dents and then straight on the hexi stove when the dents pop out it’s cooked but that didn’t always go to plan one time on an open country Ex in Waiouru a mate of mine had one blow up in his face in the dug in gun position while he was on sentry 😂😂😂 3rd degree burns 🥵 on his mask luckily it was winter so I dragged him outta the pit by his webbing harness and shoved his face straight in the snow as it was winter 🥶 lucky for him he got trucked out and got out of the rest of the Ex which I suppose was his goal all along the sod 😂😂😂
The waxed cardboard could be used as wipe clean reusable toilet paper in an emergency
Or, if it was a life and death emergency use the sheets of scratch'n'slide from your ration pack.
AS OF OCT 2023 THESE ARE ILLEGAL, used to use them as a teen in army cadets and later in the marines
Much used by UK bushcrafters, they were very cheap surplus about ten years ago but they aren't as available now. They are hard to light and very smelly.
The new fire dragon gel blocks are far better to use but don't store well, I have had several that have dried out and shrivelled up in the blister packet.
Esbit. German troop field cooker.
Flashbacks to dog meat chicken curry
They still issued these in the 90’s 😂😂😂