Esbit 1300-Degree Smokeless Solid 14g Fuel Tablets for Backpacking, Camping, and Emergency Prep

The good...This fuel tablet made a small smokeless fire. I used two 'strike anywhere' matches to ignite it.The bad...Unfortunately, one cube that burnt about 12 minutes, did not warm 16oz of water enough to cook dehydrated soup.1300-Degrees? I used the  Esbit CS585HA 3-Piece Lightweight Camping Cook Set for Use with Solid Fuel Tablets .Also, I had a mystery smell going on and after blaming my dog for 2 days I discovered it was the cubes.They stink is so bad it went through the packaging and tainted everything else in that duffle bag.

This review is for the Esbit fuel tablets in the 14 gram size. Developed in 1936 in Germany, these fuel tabs are made of hexamine and are in solid form. They have been used in purpose-specific pocket stoves for decades, in WWII, as part of humanitarian packets worldwide, and for years as part of NATO troops' standard kit. I use these primarily for the Esbit pocket stove but they also make for excellent fire starters, especially in adverse conditions. Amazon has proven a reliable source for these as well as a decent price, though I've found they can be had for comparable prices at local outdoor/adventure stores. I have been using these for years and have found them so reliable that they live in my home and auto-based emergency kits, my dayhike pack, and my backpacking gear. The following is a breakdown of my experience with the Esbit fuel tabs:Pros:* Utterly Dependable - It has been found that these fuel tabs burn just as long and just as hot after decades in storage. I don't know that I can say that about any of my other camping stove fuels: White gas, diesel, isobutane canisters, or alcohol. Any of the others would be prone to spills, evaporation, varnishing, leaky valves after an extended period of time. After years of use, I've never had one fail to light or burn, ever. This kind of dependability makes them ideal for long term storage in emergency kits, that you may not be opening regularly.* Flexible - My typical use of these fuel tabs is in the Esbit pocket stove Esbit Pocket Stove , but they also happen to make excellent fire starters, especially in less than ideal conditions. If your tinder happens to be slightly damp, starting a fire can be a challenge. These fuel tabs will burn over ten minutes (14 gram size), giving time and heat enough to dry and ignite surrounding tinder. This allows you to save matches on those cold damp days when you really to get a fire going.* Performance - As a stove fuel, the Esbit tabs are perfectly reliable and can bring a pint of water to a boil with a single tablet, under good conditions. To increase the heat, or to extend the duration of the burn (a single tablet burns approximately 12 - 14 minutes), you can simply burn more than one at a time, or in succession. For large scale cooking, or when you really need to modulate the heat, a backpacking stove or camping stove is the way to go, however.* Clean - As a solid fuel, spills are never an issue. When burning, the flame is smokeless, usually less than a burning candle. The fuel tab can be reused also, by blowing out the flame - the remaining tab can be re-lit for the next meal. When completely burned, there minimal residue remaining. To keep your Esbit stove especially clean, just put a small piece of aluminum foil on the burn surface - after the fuel tab burns, just toss the foil with the residue on it.* Simple - This may well be a drawback to some, but this reviewer appreciates the simplicity of this fuel, along with the Esbit pocket stove. I've got several fancy backpacking stoves that have valves, o-rings, pressurized fuel bottles, multi-fuel capacity, and that can boil water in minutes flat. And sometimes that's good: When the wife is hungry and tired, it's not healthy for me to make her wait. But when I have that rare moment when I can be somewhere remote when it's just me and the silence, I really enjoy the quiet, dancing flame of my Esbit stove. No pumping, priming, adjusting, or extensive set up of a fancy stove, nor the jet engine howl of the gas burner. No. Just unfold the stove, light the match, and listen to the soft hiss as your water comes to a boil. With all the electronic connectivity of modern life, sometimes simple is good. Better than good.Cons:* Wind Sensitive - As these can be easily blown out, care needs to be taken to shield them from the wind if the best performance is to be had from them when cooking or heating water. I make my own windscreens for my Esbit pocket stoves by folding a long sheet of aluminum foil length-wise a few times until it is about 3 to 4 inches wide and about 18" long; I then make slits at the bottom to allow air to the flame and place the windscreen around the outside of the stove, allowing enough space for air to flow. Thus protected, I've never had issues with my Esbit-fuelled stove. Most backpacking stoves are likewise sensitive to the wind and need to be similarly protected by a windscreen.* Limited Cooking Options - When used in a pocket stove, Esbit fuel is ideally suited to boil a pint of water to reconstitute a dehydrated meal, cook ramen noodles, or to make tea, coffee, or hot cocao. This makes it ideal for minimalist backpacking, day hikes, as an emergency or backup stove, or for keeping in your truck (like I do) for those times when you are out in the boonies on a frigid day and could really use a hot cup of tea or coffee, or a steaming bowl of noodles. It's not that you can't cook a full meal on it, and I have - but it will never be as fast, easy, or convenient as using a more capable and adjustable backpacking stove.* Smell - When burning, the fuel doesn't give off too much odor unless you're in an enclosed space. (which, of course, you shouldn't be anyway) The residue, however, smells of old fish. I recommend storing your stove (which will have the residue on it after use) in the excellent Opsak bags by Loksak  OPSAK Odor Proof Barrier Bags (3 Size Options)  These bags will stop odor dead in its tracks. If you're backpacking or hiking in a regulated area, your stove bag also makes an excellent way to pack out human waste for those areas that are regulated, or if you just want to be a good citizen. (Side recommendation here:  12-pack WAG(tm) Bag Kit  )Possible Uses:I carry spare fuel tabs, along with the Esbit pocket stove, stormproof matches, four tea bags, plastic baggies, a nano pack towel, an ounce of campsuds, and a titanium spork in a Snow Peak Trek 700 cup/pot. This little piece of kit is a surprisingly versatile cook kit that lives in my truck and goes on every day hike and backpacking trip. It's always at the ready to serve up a cup of tea, rehydrate a Mountain House meal, or cook ramen noodles. Of course, it's also there if I needed to boil water in an emergency in order to purify it, start a campfire, etc.Bottom Line:While there are many options for camp stoves, I always carry these Esbit fuel tabs in a pocket stove wherever I go and also use them for my home-based emergency kit. I've found them to be reliable, durable, and handy. I can unequivocally recommend them for outdoor recreation, simple camp cooking, emergency use, or for back up to other camp stoves. Great product, five stars.

Esbit has become the industry standard for solid fuel in the backpacking world. Unlike the other fuel tablets on the market, these are all individually wrapped ans sealed. That is important when you consider the odor you have deal with. The individual foil packets reduce that smell to almost zero. As expected, these burn reliable well under all weather conditions. You can't spill them. They never expire or lose their effectiveness over time. They really are the industry standard.All that being said, they don't get that fifth star for one reason - cost. You can find other fuel tables out there that have every feature and are just as reliable as these - with one exception - they are not individually wrapped. While that individual wrapping is really nice, I am not sure it is worth increasing the price by a factor of 2 to 3.

Used these on a 7day/73 mile hike this summer with 6 adults.Be aware there are 2 sizes of these tabs. I used the 14g size.So, I got to compare these directly against these cooking alternatives : Biolite camping stove, kelley kettle, a gel fuel stove & regular old fashioned campfire.My 5 companions used those other types of stoves but these esbit tabs & stove were the easiest to use, lightest to carry,took up very little space and worked okay when windy and rainy.Overall, i am convinced these are the way to go, since the stove is so compact, the fuel and stove are light and it works in windy/ rainy conditions.Each tab of this size (14g) will definitely boil 16 ounces of water and will still have 3-5 minutes of flame left (but will not be as hot for those last 3-5 minutes).I was able to boil 2 cups of water (takes about 8 minutes), use 1 cup of the boiling water for food, add another cup of cold water and then still make 2 cups of hot coffee (last 5 minutes) from burning one tab, after some practice.These don't leave any sticky residue on the bottom of the pots nor in the stove, either! (some of the other solid fuel tabs have issues with this)My pots & pans only needed a quick wipe on the bottom to clean them.I put small pieces of aluminum foil in the bottom of my stove (as a liner) and i could burn 4-6 tabs before having to replace the foil.Of the 5 different options we tested:- These Esbit tabs were the best option, imo.- The Kelley kettle was my 2nd choice, but they got too dirty on the bottom. The kelley kettle definitely boils water a couple of minutes faster, and is not as prone to spills, but weighs alot more and takes up alot more space. I didn't like those trade-offs, even though the kelley kettle has several great qualities.-The biolite stove is a total joke! it took almost 10 minutes to boil water, did NOT charge our USB devices (even after 30 minutes of burning) and was high maintenance to keep the fire going. Add it's weight and size and this one really isn't a good choice for serious hiking at all.- The gel fuel stove performed as you would expect. I just don't like the weight, space required, nor garbage that it generates (you are hiking out with all your empty gel fuel cans, right??).- the old fashioned campfire worked as expected, too. But since it rained every day of our hike, it was a chore to get that fire started. Of course, the heat & happiness from the campfire can't be compared to these other options... amazing how good a warm fire feels, even when you are soaking wet. Still, for cooking purposes on a hike, the esbits win.

Würfel sind gut verpackt und lassen sich dank der vorgezeichneten Rillen auch noch vierteln. Sehr sparsam! Verbrennung ist geruchlos mit leicht bläulicher Flamme. Im Vergleich zum Kauf in einem Geschäft sind sie etwas teuer!

Excellent at what they are. They do emit a faintly fishy odour if used in confined improperly ventilated spaces (eg tents or caravans) - but hey! better than trying to use a pebble!!

Good stuff as expected

Brenndauer nachgemessen 14 Minuten plus minus 30 Sekunden je nach Windlage.Anzünden geht so.Ein Würfel reicht um ne Tasse Kaffee/Tee warmzubekommen. Kochen ist was anderes.Naja hab vor 15 Jahren das letzte Mal mit Esbit gekocht beim BW Biwak im Winter. Hatte es stärker in Erinnerung. Der größte Minuspunkt ist der Fisch-Gestank den die Würfel haben. Selbst die versiegelten Packungen stinken nach vergammelten Fisch. Somit kann man die Packungen nur draussen lagern. Der Gestank dringt durch Schranktüren und die Lagerbehältnisse stinken noch Tage danach.Ein Altbestand von der Bundeswehr stinkt nicht so.Fazit: Als Notfallbrennstoff um Essen zu erwärmen okay. Kochen geht damit nicht.Und man riecht dich bevor man dich sieht.

Artikel: "ein! zig-/ artig" Esbit Trockenbrennstofftabletten - 12er Pack, 14gDie Verpackung entspricht nicht der abgebildeten hiesigen Einzelhandelsversion, sondern der weißen beim kleinen aufklappbaren Esbit Notfallkocher - aber der Inhalt ist gleich: 4x Tablettenblister je drei 14g Esbitwürfel. Leider riechen einige Päckchen sehr nach Keller (höflich gesagt), und einige Tabletten sind vergilbt. Direkt im Kochset möchte ich sie also nicht aufbewahren, dafür sind sie eben günstiger.