Obviously, you can cook with them (best for solo, boil only meals).

I'd been carrying around fire starters of one sort or another for years.
After trying Esbit and adopting it as my favorite go-light fuel, I reasoned "Why not take it as back-up fuel or as a fire starter when using another stove? - I can't cook on the firestarters, but I sure can on the Esbits"! Carrying the Esbits insured that I got my hot cup of coffee when I was on a section hike of the A.T. with my son, and the Pocket Rocket ran out of fuel the last night out.

Thank you!
I also use TRIOXANE instead of ESBIT.

Pot is not Stained Dirt

This When a fault opens, it is easy to evaporate. Since it is an aluminum pack, it does not need worries, in being common.
When you leave a remainder by the half, be careful.

Thanks for the ideas. As I have been told they do have some advantages. On the other hand I read a listing of BTU output of various fuels and it is quite allot lower than Esbit fuel. If this matters it may be a consideration to go with Esbit fuel.

Trioxane has a lower heat output and gives off nasty fumes. It is polymerized formaldehyde. After you open the packets, it deteriorates - and outgasses formaldehyde everywhere.

There is a good reason all that trioxane is surplus. Soldiers wouldn't use it.

I keep a couple Esbit tabs in my essentials kit for fire starting or cooking. Cheap and easy.

The ultimate fire starter is a road flare, but they are too heavy for packin'. I figure they would scare off a bear or cougar if you had the chance to get hold of it and light it.

I always thought the scariest part of the flare was lighting it. If you took just the brown igniter blob and the cap with the striker, you would probably get two or three good strong sparks with a lot of noise. Granted, some could get on your hand, but a second degree burn is easier to treat than a bear or cougar bite.
Come to think of it, you wouldn't make as much noise, but a knife and sparker/fire starter may be unsettling enough to make the animal think twice. As long as you stamped out any sparks on the ground afterwards!

Sorry, I got off subject

Edited by ASMjackson on 10/26/2007 15:46:26 MDT.

well fire is what stopped those darn sabre toothed tiger stealing our meat many moons ago so I spose that would make perfect sense, and if you had two you could throw one.

Esbit tabs and a slingshot? Lightweight multi function cougar flaming machine! Eat cooked couger to leave no trace!

Now that's funny!

In my admittedly limited experience with them they appear to go out quite easily in the slightest breeze... I have a fairly sizeable stash, but hate the odor... If someone in the Tucson area wants them I'll let them have them for the low price of FREE...!

I too use ESBIT as tinder for my Caldera Cone Sidewinder ti Inferno woodburning stove.

But... I also take the Sidewinder's ESBIT tab holder, the "Gram Cradcker", just in case I can't get a wood fire burning during an all-day rain.

That Sidewinder setup is so efficient that I use at least 1/3 less ESBIT fuel than befor with my Vargo Triad stove base & MSR foil wind screen.