Hello all,
I did some research but I couldn't finde any direct comparison between the generic (cheap) break-to-size BBQ fire starting tablets and ESBIT tablets (looking at the 14gr ones).
My activities take me 95% of the time above the treeline, so firemaking is not a concern as I always carry stoves for cooking purposes. BUT last weekend I went with my daughter to a free mountain cabin in a relatively low mountain (1500m). I had a MSR Windburner with a full cannister of gas for cooking.
I left my daugther at the cabin with two other hikers (young Erasmus students, french and german, btw) and went back to gather wood. It was snowing ligthly and it had been raining. As per BF standards, I tried to stick to dead standing timber.
Once back at the cabin, I cut it into manageable sizes for the fire place, split some of the logs (5" or so at most), etc. There was some kindling already there, but likely gathered by the Erasums students, so it was also wet AND green.
To put it mildly... we had a hard time starting the fire. I left half a lung there, that's for sure. I must say I used all the ticks I had read here such as feather sticks, getting the inner core of the logs, etc.
Which lead me to think that I could have done much better with some fire starting tablets.
So, after all this introduction, here are my concerns. BBQ Tablets usually come in big blocks that you need to cut to size and I don't want to carry a whole block during my outings. Also, I recall from past experiences, that even if you wrap them well .. they tend to evaporate over time. Besides, tThe don't last too long once lit.
On the other hand, ESBIT tables have a different composition (HEXAMINE, I think), are individually wrapped and are supposed to last for 12 minutes (14gr tablets).
I don't want DIY solutions, nor am I worried about the tablets not catching sparks from a ferro rod, etc... I always carry several ligthters and we are talking about convenience here.
What are your thoughts? Are the ESBIT tablets worth it as fire starting?
Mikel
I did some research but I couldn't finde any direct comparison between the generic (cheap) break-to-size BBQ fire starting tablets and ESBIT tablets (looking at the 14gr ones).
My activities take me 95% of the time above the treeline, so firemaking is not a concern as I always carry stoves for cooking purposes. BUT last weekend I went with my daughter to a free mountain cabin in a relatively low mountain (1500m). I had a MSR Windburner with a full cannister of gas for cooking.
I left my daugther at the cabin with two other hikers (young Erasmus students, french and german, btw) and went back to gather wood. It was snowing ligthly and it had been raining. As per BF standards, I tried to stick to dead standing timber.
Once back at the cabin, I cut it into manageable sizes for the fire place, split some of the logs (5" or so at most), etc. There was some kindling already there, but likely gathered by the Erasums students, so it was also wet AND green.
To put it mildly... we had a hard time starting the fire. I left half a lung there, that's for sure. I must say I used all the ticks I had read here such as feather sticks, getting the inner core of the logs, etc.
Which lead me to think that I could have done much better with some fire starting tablets.
So, after all this introduction, here are my concerns. BBQ Tablets usually come in big blocks that you need to cut to size and I don't want to carry a whole block during my outings. Also, I recall from past experiences, that even if you wrap them well .. they tend to evaporate over time. Besides, tThe don't last too long once lit.
On the other hand, ESBIT tables have a different composition (HEXAMINE, I think), are individually wrapped and are supposed to last for 12 minutes (14gr tablets).
I don't want DIY solutions, nor am I worried about the tablets not catching sparks from a ferro rod, etc... I always carry several ligthters and we are talking about convenience here.
What are your thoughts? Are the ESBIT tablets worth it as fire starting?
Mikel
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