Equipped To Survive Equipped To Survive® Presents
The Survival Forum
Where do you want to go on ETS?

Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 >
Topic Options
#236194 - 11/23/11 09:35 PM Emergency Stove Comparison
bacpacjac Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 05/05/07
Posts: 3601
Loc: Ontario, Canada
I needed a new esbit stove so headed to Canadian Tire with a gift certificate and picked up this:
Coghlan's Emergency Stove

Then, while at Walmart looking for a dry bag (FYI I decide to try this - Coleman Dry Bag) I saw a Coleman emergency stove that looked just like the Coghlan's one but at $6.99 it was only half the price. (Can't find an on-line link, sorry.)

I'm curious why the big price difference. A few bucks I understand, but half price? The Coleman one didn't seem as heavy but I wondered if anyone has any experience with it. The Coghlan's ones work great and I wonder if the quality is the same.
_________________________
Mom & Adventurer

You can find me on YouTube here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT9fpZEy5XSWkYy7sgz-mSA

Top
#236195 - 11/23/11 09:51 PM Re: Emergency Stove Comparison [Re: bacpacjac]
Hikin_Jim Offline
Sheriff
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 10/12/07
Posts: 1804
Loc: Southern California
I've got the standard ESBIT brand one. Looks like the same as the Coghlans. The Coleman looks basically the same too.



HJ
_________________________
Adventures In Stoving

Top
#236197 - 11/23/11 10:48 PM Re: Emergency Stove Comparison [Re: bacpacjac]
bacpacjac Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 05/05/07
Posts: 3601
Loc: Ontario, Canada
Thanks Jim. I think I'm going to pick up one of the Coleman ones. That price is hard to resist!
_________________________
Mom & Adventurer

You can find me on YouTube here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT9fpZEy5XSWkYy7sgz-mSA

Top
#236199 - 11/23/11 11:52 PM Re: Emergency Stove Comparison [Re: bacpacjac]
Byrd_Huntr Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 01/28/10
Posts: 1174
Loc: MN, Land O' Lakes & Rivers ...
here's an Esbit for $6.90 with cheap shipping

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001C1U...NZK7ANW9FA6GYJQ
_________________________
The man got the powr but the byrd got the wyng

Top
#236202 - 11/24/11 12:35 AM Re: Emergency Stove Comparison [Re: bacpacjac]
Hikin_Jim Offline
Sheriff
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 10/12/07
Posts: 1804
Loc: Southern California
Hexamine stoves are very interesting.

Ultralight hikers prize them for their light weight, but they can be a nice addition to any kit as an emergency stove. They've got about the most stable fuel around. The fuel doesn't evaporate or go bad. You can generally burn 40 year old fuel that hasn't been sealed without problems. I keep mine sealed and protected (they can be crushed or chipped pretty easily), but I've seen some old hexamine fuel that burned just fine. They're great for long term storage in a kit that you don't plan to touch often.

The down side is that they don't put out a lot of heat, can be hard to light (particularly in wind), and the low velocity flame really needs a windscreen. They also leave a residue on the bottom of your pot, but in a survival situation, that's probably the least of your worries. I usually keep my pot in a plastic bag if I'm going to be burning hexamine.

One trick for lighting them is to set the tablet on the edge of the stove at first. Get your flame under the tablet. Once it's lit, then move it to the center of the stove with a stick or something. This trick is a little easier with the larger ESBIT brand rectangular tablets than the smaller "pill shaped" tablets that some companies produce.

Hexamine's not bad stuff, but it's not particularly powerful either. It's worth playing with it a few times in order to get used to its quirks. Don't set it down in the bottom of your pack untried and then expect to pull it out and be comfortable with it in an emergency. It's no big deal, but it's worth getting used to how to light, how to cook with, how to extinguish, etc. before you need to.

Despite the fact that hexamine is not volatile, hexamine is not permitted on airline flights. Hexamine is a precursor to explosives such as RDX/Cyclonite. You wouldn't want to go into an airport with the scent of hexamine about you.

HJ

_________________________
Adventures In Stoving

Top
#236205 - 11/24/11 01:39 AM Re: Emergency Stove Comparison [Re: Hikin_Jim]
Arney Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 09/15/05
Posts: 2485
Loc: California
Thanks. That's a great post, HJ.

Top
#236206 - 11/24/11 01:58 AM Re: Emergency Stove Comparison [Re: bacpacjac]
bacpacjac Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 05/05/07
Posts: 3601
Loc: Ontario, Canada
Thanks Jim!
_________________________
Mom & Adventurer

You can find me on YouTube here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT9fpZEy5XSWkYy7sgz-mSA

Top
#236209 - 11/24/11 02:32 AM Re: Emergency Stove Comparison [Re: bacpacjac]
Hikin_Jim Offline
Sheriff
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 10/12/07
Posts: 1804
Loc: Southern California
Thanks guys.

First, a hexamine trivia question: What does the acronym ESBIT stand for? (see answer below)

A couple of addenda to the above:
- A little squirt of alcohol will speed the lighting process up. Haven't tried it, but hand sanitizer should work too.
- You really don't need much in order to have a hexamine "stove." A couple of bricks and a (non-flammable) spot on the ground will do. The lid from a shoe polish can, a ladies compact (if it's metal), pretty much anything will work so long as you can figure out how to rig a pot over it.
- A really light, compact example of a commercially produced hexamine stove is the Ti Wing stove.

HJ

ESBIT = Erich Schumms Brennstoff in Tablettenform (which basically means Erich Schumm's Fuel Tablets). Now you know. smile
_________________________
Adventures In Stoving

Top
#236213 - 11/24/11 02:54 AM Re: Emergency Stove Comparison [Re: bacpacjac]
bacpacjac Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 05/05/07
Posts: 3601
Loc: Ontario, Canada
Cool!

I really like them in my emerg kits. They're small and light. It takes a little while but I can heat water in my army mess cup without going to much trouble rigging a set-up. I also like not worrying about fuel. As long as I've got some tabs and a way to block the wind, I'm good to go.

Thanks for the purelle tip Jim!
_________________________
Mom & Adventurer

You can find me on YouTube here:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT9fpZEy5XSWkYy7sgz-mSA

Top
#236217 - 11/24/11 04:28 AM Re: Emergency Stove Comparison [Re: Hikin_Jim]
hikermor Offline
Geezer in Chief
Geezer

Registered: 08/26/06
Posts: 7705
Loc: southern Cal
Originally Posted By: Hikin_Jim

- A little squirt of alcohol will speed the lighting process up. Haven't tried it, but hand sanitizer should work too.


Purell definitely works for this purpose.
_________________________
Geezer in Chief

Top
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 >



Moderator:  Alan_Romania, Blast, chaosmagnet, cliff 
March
Su M Tu W Th F Sa
1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31
Who's Online
0 registered (), 295 Guests and 21 Spiders online.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newest Members
GallenR, Jeebo, NicholasMarshall, Yadav, BenFoakes
5367 Registered Users
Newest Posts
What did you do today to prepare?
by dougwalkabout
Yesterday at 11:21 PM
Zippo Butane Inserts
by dougwalkabout
Yesterday at 11:11 PM
Question about a "Backyard Mutitool"
by Ren
03/17/24 01:00 AM
Problem in my WhatsApp configuration
by Chisel
03/09/24 01:55 PM
New Madrid Seismic Zone
by Jeanette_Isabelle
03/04/24 02:44 PM
EDC Reduction
by EchoingLaugh
03/02/24 04:12 PM
Using a Compass Without a Map
by KenK
02/28/24 12:22 AM
Newest Images
Tiny knife / wrench
Handmade knives
2"x2" Glass Signal Mirror, Retroreflective Mesh
Trade School Tool Kit
My Pocket Kit
Glossary
Test

WARNING & DISCLAIMER: SELECT AND USE OUTDOORS AND SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT, SUPPLIES AND TECHNIQUES AT YOUR OWN RISK. Information posted on this forum is not reviewed for accuracy and may not be reliable, use at your own risk. Please review the full WARNING & DISCLAIMER about information on this site.