Esbit Solid Fuel Stove Review

"Having grown up using an old Optimus 8R and then Whisperlites for the past 11 years, I was looking for a way to lighten up a little on summer trips and came across a lot of trail talk in Ultralight forums about the 3.25 Oz. Esbit stove. (Seems to be the all the rage with Thru-Hikers now). I was pretty hesitant to take something so small and light with me, but after using it 6 times during summer/fall 2001, I am very pleased with it and can attest to it's prowess.
This stove uses solid tab fuel Esbit tabs weigh 1/2 oz each and will burn 12-15 minutes. Using an alum foil windscreen, it will bring a pint to boil in 8 minutes. (You can use hexamine or trioxane tabs, which are cheaper, but they don't burn as well and it takes more of them, so they actually end up not cheaper) Esbit works great for FD or Lipton meals where you need only to bring to a boil, and then simmer (you can snuff the table with a leaf and save the unburned portion for another time).
The stove folds up to a size of a deck of cards and you can pack 8 tablets inside. I find I use 1 tablet for breakfast and one for dinner -Sometimes a 3rd tab on colder evenings for soup or cocoa.

Stove and fuel for a 5-day trip weighs about 8 ozs, saving about 1.5 lbs. from my Whisperlite setup. I find this stove great for 3-season camping, unless unseasonably cold out.
The stoves are available at Campmor and also at various sites on the net. They run about $10 and fuel tabs are $6 for a box of 12.
Good luck"

"I used esbit solid fuel tabs for the first time on my last trip and they worked great. Temps were in the mid 20's and it only took 1.5 tablets to cook a pot of velveta shells and cheese. All you have to do is blow the remaining tablet out and use it to make hot chocolate later on. I am sold on these tablets. They are light weight, take no space, and easy to use. The only draw back is it takes a little extra time to cook."

"This stove rocks!!! I can't believe something so small and light can be so stable and useful! As said by others, the stove is about the size of a pack of cards when it's closed. I haven't stored any fuel tabs inside it in transit, because it saves so much space and weight I haven't needed to get that space back. This is a very good lightweight stove when you just need to boil water and then add your food. This is not intended to be a full-featured simmer stove. If you think you're getting that for $10, you're crazy anyway. It does take a little bit longer to boil than a high-powered fuel stove, but the weight and size saving are worth it. You need to keep the lid on your pot to get the water to boil, and 1 liter took me about 9 to 12 minutes to boil. In the summer, when you really want to strip your pack weight down, this stove does the trick!!!"