>I've broken about a zillion Weber cubes. They burn even >better that way, albeit a lot faster.
>
>What is your carry protocol, Yee?

You are absolutely right. They burn MUCH better broken. They, however, deteriorate much faster broken. More exposure to air.

As far as my carry protocol, I noticed that it is possible to carry TWO weber cubes in the small pocket behind the USGI canteen carrier.

The cubes themselves deteriorate when exposed to air. The aluminum foil covering is rather flimsy. I cut the Weber tray into individual cubes. I attempted to ameliorate aluminum foil failure by covering the weber cube tray with candlewax.

The two cubes were placed into a single ziploc bag rotated 180 degrees with each other and placed into the canteen carrier pocket. The canteen carrier was worn on weekends for about a year without any attempt to protect the weber cubes.

The result was somewhat pulverized weber cubes, not satisfactory for emergency use due to likelihood of deterioration from air. For routine use, they lit up fine. Subjectively, the cubes did not last as long.

As a matter of interest, since I was thinking about it AND it was pouring outside this evening, I took petroleum jelly/cotton balls (about 3 years old!), Weber cubes (1 year old), Sure2Burn (new) outside in the pouring rain and attempted to start a fire with just a ferro rod and striker.

Difficulty was encountered with the Weber cube. Sure2Burn failed (but I didn't try too hard). Petroleum Jelly/cotton ball lit up on one strike. When tired, hungry and scared, which one of the above is likely to work?

Admittedly, I have the MOST experience and MOST comfortable with PJ/CB. I would RELY on PJ/CB if my life depended upon it (there is NO data out there that suggests that PJ/CB deteriorates under ANY known circumstances, it is just messier). I like the convenience of the Weber Cube for its ability to boil a single cup of water. I suspect that Sure2Burn would fair better in the pocket outside of my canteen carrier but it is too small to boil a full canteen cup of water.

All three have their advantages and disadvantages.

Conway Yee