I use the real thing - campfires <grin> - however, it does NOT stick well to stainless steel IME. Aluminum seems to "take" blackening from a fire really well; there will be a loose layer that one should wipe off and eventually a lovely patina of hard carbon builds up. The first time on a stove is, er, um, "aromatic" in a hopefully pleasant way, and there after it's just on there.<br><br>Takes a lot of use to get that patina, though.<br><br>Tom

The few times I've used my Esbit stove, blackening wasn't the problem - wiping off the tarry crud was. I used a Sierra cup in the past but always got the residue all over the place when I went to store it. Did I get a bad batch of fuel tablets (they're Esbit tablets) or is this normal? I'm going to try a piece of aluminum foil under the pot to prevent making such a mess.<br><br>I like carrying the stove when I'm snow shoeing at Mt. Rainier in the winter. It's nice to have a hot cup of tea or cocoa and the park discourages (prohibits) gathering wood for a campfire. The Esbit is in one of my PSK's anyway so I have it with me.

Nah - I was talking about using a pot on a gas stove that had previously been used on many campfires. The Esbit-type tabs can leave that crud, especially in cold weather, but I carry my kettle in a cotton sack anyway - soot from campfires was the original reason for sewing up the bag.<br><br>Esbit stoves are in all of our day packs and they work fine for us, but they are back-up (emergency gear).

I used the Hexi tabs on my aluminium mug and they blackened it quite badly but after reading this I leave it on.

I've recently been advised that the hexi stuff is toxic, not just the smoke but the residue so it's probably not the kind of thing you want to get onto your eating utensils.<br><br>Justin

I expect it wont do any damage on the outside of my mug.
Talking about my mug it si right by side on the desk. needs reblackning but it is my second best friend as it is the only mug I got here in england!
In one place where i moved in for a small time everything was sooo dirty I even used it for shaving!