User Review: Esbit Stove and Cookset

Summary

Esbit stoves are awesome...however, this version is not great.

I have been a fan of Esbit stoves for years. I still have an Esbit folding stove from the '80s that I use all the time. I bought this stove several years ago and have used it many times. 

This stove set up is awesome. The pot is fantastic. It is the perfect size for solo camping. Folding handles are functional. The pot is easy to clean and has a little pour spout. I love this pot (but I don't want to marry it) and it I could find a silicon lip protector I would use it as a mug.

The burner is great and stores easily inside the pot. You can also store 4 or 5 fuel tabs inside for transport.  This is an Esbit stove so don't expect flame control, fast boil time, or anything else associated with more expensive stoves. It is for boiling water. I mean look at it...it is a no-brainer, easy to use product. 

The problem: the stove cannot boil a full pot of water. The pot capacity is a pint/16 oz/about 400 ml. It will get the water hot enough to make coffee or ramen. However, if you needed to boil water as treatment it is not effective. I am not sure why it has this problem.

The Esbit folding stove will boil 16 oz of water on half of a fuel tab in an IMUSA pot with no lid. It could be the distance between the pot bottom and flame is too far. I am not an engineer and have not played one on television so I cannot give you the adjustments needed to make this more functional.

I will use this stove for making hot drinks with enthusiasm. Recently I used it in the parking lot at my local high school football game to make a fresh thermos of coffee for the game. 

When this stove is all packed up and in its mesh bag it is so cute that you want to pinch it cheek. It will fit easily in your pack.

Comparing this to a similarly functional stove, Trangia Solo Set, go with the second.