[pct-l] Esbit vs. Alcohol

[Scott Heeschen]

I'll just chime in here - I used alcohol through CA, but had trouble finding alcohol after South Lake Tahoe.  Fortunately I had about a full 16 oz bottle full when I headed out of Echo Lake.  I think a lot of hikers had just gone through Belden before I got there, because all I could find was about an oz. of it at the Braatens.  I also grabbed a pack of about 6 tabs of something, probably the trioxane, and they came in handy the last few days before getting to Ashland (no Heet at Castella or Burney Falls, forgot to give Georgi some cash to pick some up when she did her shopping run from Old Station, skipped Etna, and by Seiad Valley I knew I had just enough to make it to Ashland).

I scrapped my alcohol stove in Ashland and just bough a bunch of Esbits at the outfitter there.  Worked great - tossed half in my bounce bucket to Cascade Locks and sprinkled the rest in my resupplies throughout OR + Snoqualmie.  Then I used the rest when shipping out resupplies from Cascade Locks.  Sounds like I may have been skirting postal regs, but seemed a lot safer than shipping alcohol.  The only night I had trouble lighting the Esbits was near Packwood Glacier.  I got it lit, but later someone suggested using Purell if I had issues again (someone also mentioned that somewhere in this thread).

The Esbits left no residue, the presumed Trioxane tabs did - a little crumbly chunk covered with ash, and more grunge on the pot.  $25 bucks for fuel security through OR and WA seemed like a small price to pay.  I liked the ease of lighting alcohol, and the ease of shipping Esbits, but can't really pick a favorite.  Food tasted the same :-)

     Buck Larceny '05

>Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2007 20:25:48 -0800
>From: "Bill Batchelor" <billbatch at cox.net>
>Subject: Re: [pct-l] Esbit vs. Alcohol
>To: "'montypct'" <montypct at gmail.com>, "'Paul Magnanti'"
>	<pmags at yahoo.com>,	"'PCT MailingList'" <pct-l at backcountry.net>
>Message-ID: <000401c74038$e4e55710$6401a8c0 at OFFICE>
>Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"
>
>Yup, those are the ones.  I did not notice more ash, but I am not
>experienced enough with them to have notice.  At half the price though, do
>you think the ash problem is worth it?  I also like the smaller doses for
>1.5 esbit variables. 
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: montypct [mailto:montypct at gmail.com] 
>Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2007 8:02 PM
>To: Bill Batchelor; 'Paul Magnanti'; 'PCT MailingList'
>Subject: Re: [pct-l] Esbit vs. Alcohol
>
>BillB Ezhno
>
>When you tested them did they have more ash produced than the Esbits?  I
>tried some round ones, 24 in a green box, brand name something like
>Coleman's but not that.  They developed thick ash and lost heating ability
>in comparison to Esbits.  When Esbits get really low they develop the same
>ash I'm talking about.  They worked OK but not as clean or hot.  I'm not
>saying these are the same ones you are talking about, just that too much ash
>may be a concern.  It would be nice to find a less expensive alternative to
>Esbits that performed as well.
>
>Warner Springs Monty
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Bill Batchelor" <billbatch at cox.net>
>To: "'Paul Magnanti'" <pmags at yahoo.com>; "'PCT MailingList'" 
><pct-l at backcountry.net>
>Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2007 6:43 PM
>Subject: Re: [pct-l] Esbit vs. Alcohol
>
>
>>
>> FYI, an option to "Esbit" brand is another producer of the same stuff but 
>> it
>> is about half the price.  I bought a sample box for a test hike and they 
>> are
>> basically the same thing - only in round pellets about half the size each.
>> This is nice when you only need 1.5 esbits.  You use three of these for 
>> the
>> same thing.  I got them from Lynne Whelden here:
>> http://www.lwgear.com/lwg-misc.html
>>