I agree with you about the utility of the TTW "stove" and I have one in my minimal kit, but I don't think it would work in an area whee open fires are prohibited, even though it is way better than a campfire. A lot might depend on the judgment of the individual official you encounter.

Now, the Nepalese variant of the stove would sail right through....

Useful for backpacking day hikes, although I tend now to take a 50 gram Titanium Gas Burner and the smallest 100 gram Coleman butane/propane gas cartridge. This allows me to boil around 6-7 litres of Water (3 days capability) compared to 3 litres for the extra 100 grams difference in weight carried over the above setup. i,e. 400grams for the gas burner with pot compared to Esbit Stove with Pot (the pot is a 450 ml Lifeventure Ti Mug). The other advantages of using a gas burner also outweigh the poor performance and mess of the Esbit tabs)

The little Esbit Titanium wing stove is a useful addition to PSKs, it will fit into a BCB PSK tin along with 3 Esbit Tabs quite readily, i.e. enough to get you 2 or 3 cups of hot beverage. The Esbit tabs are also useful firelighters as well.

And there, sir, is the operative word. Hexamine stoves are good ones for caches or any kit that you have where you won't be checking it often.

HJ

Unfortunately, you're correct. Alcohol stoves (with some exceptions) and Esbit type stoves are generally illegal in Southern California except in established camp grounds (and where's the fun in that?) Basically, any stove used outside an established campground has to have an on/off valve of some type. Gas stoves, white gasoline (Coleman type fuel), and kero stoves typically meet these criteria.

HOWEVER, the real "biggie" is an open wood fire. People get very excited about illegal open fires in Southern California. Wildfires cause billions of dollars in damages annually and there are frequently fire related deaths. In practice, most rangers will look the other way or give you a verbal warning if you're using an "illegal" alcohol stove or solid fuel stove, but if you have an illegal open fire, you will get a very different response and not a pleasant one.

I will be posting about alcohol and solid fuel pack stoves. I will not be posting about wood pack stoves.

HJ

Terrific Stove Review HIKIN_JIM and it is great that your daughter is involved in your adventures, premium quality time to remember!

I included Coghlin's Knock-off version of an Esbit stove in the 10 Snowmobile Wilderness Kits I built last year. It filled the need for a small stove that was simple, non-liquid, non-explosive and worked in cold tempertures.

The thing I do not like about Hexamine is the fishy smell, even in a Zip-loc bag the smell seems to escape into my pack.

I tried Greenheat Ethanol Fire Fuel Sachets, they were clean-burning and non-smelly but I found them to be expensive and underpowered.

I recently saw on You-tube about people soaking cotton balls in parrifin wax (one guy even added a container/wick) and using them as fuel instead of Hexamine. They are odourless, non-toxic and cheap to make but produce less heat and still blacken your pots with carbon.

It is tough to find the perfect small field stove. Mike

Aye, to be sure. Stoves, like life, are a series of trade offs.

I've got one stove, the Primus Omnifuel, that some consider to be the ultimate of modern pack stoves. It can operate on standard threaded gas canisters in either vapor feed or liquid feed mode. It can burn Coleman type fuel. It can burn kerosene. It can burn cruder fuels like diesel. In fact, it can burn just about anything although the rougher the fuel, the shorter the periods between maintenance.

However, I don't know of anyone who would characterize it as lightweight, it's not particularly compact, and it's darned expensive. I don't think I'd park it in my trunk with a bottle of Coleman fuel for a year either.

HJ

Hikin_Jim, Great idea with the "Stove of the Week'. I'm really interested in the alcohol stoves reviews because that's mainly all I ever use. BTW, you daughter is absolutely adorable, keep her involved with everything you do and she'll be Daddy's girl for life

Nice review Jim.

I have the Wetfire stove which looks almost identical to your stove. After doing some reading on the residue--soot issue, I tested mine a couple months back also using the Esbit tab with good results. To avoid the residue I wrapped the portion of the stove where the tab goes and the bottom of the cup in foil. From everything I’ve read the wetfire tabs leave even more sooty residue than the Esbit tabs.

I too think the 'Stove of the week' review would be a great idea.

Glad you like the "reviews". They're kind of fun although a bit of work. Let's see if I can really do every week.

I do by the way, have some thing planned around alcohol stoves as well as a Gas Stoves 101 post.

HJ

I think from what I've read that the general consensus re Wetfire is: good tinder, bad stove fuel. Your experience bears that out.

The tinfoil is a pretty good idea although that could be a bit awkward on a multi-day trip, yes? The goo comes off pretty easily, so maybe just a scrub pad in a ziploc is in order.

HJ