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| Editor's note: Matt's improvement of the original Esbit burner.
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| Build your own Lightweight stove for solid fuel tabs! This is the stove I've been using for quite awhile. For those unfamiliar with them, Esbits are pretty cool! There are other (cheaper) brands available (although their performance may vary). The Esbit's performance is similar to denatured alcohol (be that good and bad). A solid fuel tablet is simply the lightest fuel you can carry. A week's supply of fuel can weigh as little as 7 oz.! The two major setbacks are their limited availability (on the trail) and their cost (much more expensive than alcohol and whitegas per-BTU). There are many more advantages and disadvantages that can and should be acknowledged about Esbits before their extensive usage. This John-o guy has a pretty good review. Back to the stove. There is such a thing as an Esbit pocket stove for the Esbit tablets. It retails for around $6 US dollars and weighs 3.5 oz.. I own one and have used it on an 8-day hike through the Shenandoahs. It is pretty reliable, but I sometimes had trouble keeping a pot balanced on it. Also, the hinges started to wear after a couple days. There had to be a better design. The idea for my esbit stove came from Shane Graber's pot-holder design for his homemade Alcohol burner. This is the site where you can view his innovations. It is very simple... I like that. Afterall, I feel it is very important to adhere to the KISS law while in the backcountry. The cost of making the stove is less than 4 US dollars. Also, the weight of the stove is around 1-1.5 oz. and from my experience, it performs better than the Esbit brand pocket stove. Instructions: (see drawing) Step 1. Materials: * (1) 16 oz aluminum soft-drink can * (1) ALUMINUM dryer duct (available at Lowe's or Home Depot or any large Hardware store in two foot lengthes and 4 inch diameter for around 3 US dollars.) * a pair of good strong scissors * a swiss army knife, drill, or tool a with a thin sharp blade to cut holes in aluminum. Step 2. Cut off the bottom end of the soft-drink can Step 3. Use tool to make several small holes in the outside AND inside of the lip on can bottom Step 4. Detach aluminum duct tube and carefully cut 2 inches away from edge parallel to the edge Step 5. Take 2 inch aluminum band and cut 8 or more gaps of equal size and intervals on both edges. (see drawing) Step 6. Stove assembly: simply place can bottom bottom- end-up on ground, place esbit or other fuel tab in the center. Then place 2 inch aluminum band around can bottom. Light fuel. Place pot on band. (see drawing) That's it! There are many other ways of doing step 5. I've learned that the aluminum band will weaken more quickly if there is not enough upper vents for heat to escape. The key word is ventillation. I've tried several methods, and this one seems to do alright in most every ground situation granted that the weight of the pot and its contents is not too heavy. Have fun experimenting, and be safe! Email me with questions or comments. LNT! -Matt
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