Has anyone tried this Esbit cookset? It is competitively priced with Trangia sets and includes two heat exchanger pots, which seems would be great for an alcohol burner. I searched and didn't see much feedback on this. I am thinking of getting one. I think my wife is getting sick of priming and fiddling when she wants to make her tea in the morning when we're car camping. Either that or I will go back to the Coleman's which seem more user-friendly than MSR, Svea, etc. http://www.esbit.de/en/products/9/c...urner-cs2350wn-pots-without-non-stick-coating
I got one of this small Esbit-Folding stoves as a kid. They are used in the Bundeswehr (German Army)and part of your mess-kit: http://www.bundeswehr.de/resource/r...3OTc1NmY2ZTM3NmIyMDIwMjAyMDIw/image_popup.jpg Esbit is poor in heating, but it does the job. I used the fuel-tabletts in a "Swiss Army Vulcano Stove" aka "Borde Bottle" and its ok. The newer Esbit-Cooking-Sets are ok, working with Esbit and Alcoholstoves (DIY or Trangia-Like). In my opinion: the overall-system is worth the money if you use a alco-stove and the esbit-tabletts as a "emergency"-fuel. The Cook-Set is a Trangia-Clone and should work very good.
For car camping, it's hard to beat a Coleman for ease and general all-around use. If you wife wants something easy and quick (for coffee), why not a cheap gas canister stove with a push button ignition? Pretty much instant heat and she can use any small pot. I suspect you have your eye on a alcohol stove and the wife excuse is more about you getting a new toy. And that is ok.
Itchy, you suspected correctly. I already have a Jetboil that we use backpacking, so the canister stove is covered. Canister stoves are so boring though. Super efficient and quick when we are backpacking with gear for two kids though. I was in the market for a Trangia when I stumbled across the Esbit copy on Amazon.
The Jet boil is OKAY if you only heat 2-3 cups (16-24 oz) of water. I prefer the MSR Reactor in that class of stoves. The MSR 1.7 L pot works much better than the Jet Boil. But, if you go into an outdoor store and look at the stove shelf, almost all shelves are covered with Jet Boil, it must be profit margin. At least that is my observation. I use the MSR Reactor on the road trips to make coffee. I believe it is the fastest boiling stove. GSI Java Drip coffee maker with a hand grinder. So, I am back on the road in 10 minutes -- grind while boiling water, brew, pour -- GO. Ken in NC
I considered the Reactor... but the Jetboil won out for me in efficiency, price, and weight. My wife and I had to carry gear and food for the four of us on a 5-day backpacking trip. And our packs are only 60L. For boiling water for four for breakfast and dinner, the Jetboil Sol lasted four days on a 100gm canister. It boils so quick that the small capacity pot didn't bother us much. I like the Reactor though.
Well, I just ordered the cookset. Thanks for enabling me Itchy. Always wanted a proper alcohol stove/cookset. Not sure if this being a Trangia copy is sacrilege, but at least it has some innovations beyond the orginal design. I plan to test boil times and fuel consumption vs. a similar pot without heat exhangers... will post here.
While the esbit has the heat-fins on the pot bottoms, its windscreen/support only protects the flames, not the whole pot as in the T25/27. This 'whole pot' protection also lets trangia pots absorb heat up their sides - not so the esbit set. I am curious which setup is really the most efficient=> good and bad weather.
True. I guess the Trangia would lose much less heat in windy conditions. Unfortunately I don't have a Trangia to do a head-to-head test with a fan blowing on them. One factor for me was that the heat exchanger pots will also come in handy for use with my white gas stoves, where it should definitely make a difference.
