Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Two quick qualifiers: I have no affiliation or financial interest with or in any company whose products I mention. Second my opinons were not formed sitting in an armchair reading adventure books. They were formed from 40+ years of being on the trail. Enough said. I bought my first fuel tablet stove in 1972 or 73 from the Survival Equipment Company of Oley, PA, and I've never looked back. I've owned and used many different types of stoves and at least for me tablet stoves are the way to go. I currently own 14 tablet stoves of 11 different types and I'm always willing to try another one. I've used them at sea level and at altitude. I've used them in the Mojave and I've used them in northern Canada and I've used them to melt snow in below freezing temps in Idaho and Wyoming...the latter is really pushing the envelope and isn't recommended, but it works. Unless I plan to "cook" (more on that later), I now use this Esbit folding stove exclusively. I've recently read quite a few comments, blogs, blurbs, and inane banter written by someone who couldn't boil a cup of water with one fuel tab and quite honestly, I cannot understand this. First, you MUST use a windscreen with ANY stove. I've seen the wind blow the flames of a blow torch MSR XGK almost sideways.There are many lightweight stainless, aluminum, and titanium windscreens available at reasonable prices. Or order some titanium foil from Titanium Goat and make one. My windscreen for this stove is made of carbon felt. A metal one would probably work better (reflective qualities) and I have some Ti foil on the way. I also put a circle of carbon felt beneath the stove to protect the ground...Minibulldesign Cult sells one for $5. I plan to acquire a titanium circle to put between the stove and felt to act as an "upwards reflector." Any manufacturer's out there? If I try to cut one myself it will look like crap. Second, the use of a pot/mug cover or lid on your cooking vessel is almost essential. Your best option is to buy a quality pot with a good lid to start with. In my opinion, the very best (by a long, long way!) pot for ultralighters is the Evernew 500 and I have one on order now. It has a lid that actually fits and stays on when you tilt the pot! I Another good choice is the MSR Titan 0.85 liter pot which also has a lid that actually works. I have a very old model (1998?...before MSR even called it the "Titan"). It's really too big/heavy for a soloist but it's great for duos or larger groups and I use mine at home daily to make coffee and tea. An added bonus to both of these pots is that they have pour spouts. If you've ever tried to pour boiling water into a food pouch when the wind is howling you'll see what I'm talking about. Because such things are designed by engineers who don't actually use them, most pots/mugs suitable for ultralight travel don't come with covers. Many people fabricate their own lids...see YouTube for a gazillion examples. Most use aluminum foil which works, but not not very well and durability is zero. A better alternative is a heavier stainless foil available from McMaster Carr or other industrial suppliers. Another option is to buy an aftermarket lid. There are enterprising people who've stepped up to meet the need and finding a cover for popular cookware on the Internet/YouTube should be effortless. Example: the very popular Snow Peak 600 single wall Ti mug. I have two and they work well. The Four Dog Stove Company makes a Ti cover for the 600 that has received rave reviews. I have two of them and find them to be ill fitting and poorly made, but better than nothing. Perhaps they've improved since I bought mine long ago, but I'm not going to risk another $14 to find out. Flat Cat Gear sells an aluminum lid. For those who snivel about the poor performance of tablet stoves, Jon of Flat Cat will show you how to bake biscuits and muffins with one and sell you the gear to do so. He also sells a lot of other really neat stuff that no gearhead could resist so you have to exercise caution if you go to the website. You'll end up spending money you hadn't planned on spending. There are some limitations to this stove. The dteractors say low heat output, but compared to what? The fuel stinks. Put them in a sealed bag and quit crying. Fuel tablets may be hard to find in some areas so on-trail resupply might be difficult. On the other hand, this stove will work with (obviously) Esbit fuel, Bleuet fuel, Wetfire tinder, Stansport fuel, Coughlin's tablets (very common as fuel tabs go but they weigh half as much as Esbits so use two), Weber FireStarter Lighter cubes for your home grill, Grabber Outdoors tabs, military-style trioxane bars (lower heat output so use more), jellied alcohol from Sterno and others, fire ribbon, etc. I've been told that Rutland Fire Starter Squares work but I haven't tried them yet. Esbit and Bleuet make small 4 gram fuel tablets to power model steam engines and these work too...just use more. I carry these in my survival kit for firestarters knowing that they'll double as stove fuel in a pinch. Some complain that the emissions from fuel tabs contain a lot of nasties, but show me a fuel that doesn't. Another environmental complaint is that fuel tabs come from non-renewable resources. Before you run out and buy a renewable resource alcohol stove read about how a whole lot of ethanol is made from petroleum (acid-catalyzed hydration of ethylene). Probably the biggest disadvantage is that the fuel tablet concept originated in the 1930's to heat military rations and that's what this stove is best used for: boiling water and heating pre-cooked food. I've fried catfish with mine as well as hamburgers. I've made gravy for biscuits. I've cooked my so-called "Solo Soup" and "Survival Soup." I've made my Aunt Tut's corn soup. But that takes a bit of experience and even more patience. Boiling water for my normal freeze dried fare and coffee/tea is a mindless, superlight super convenient endeavor. The advantages? Obviously its compact form and amazingly light weight is the biggest attraction of this stove. The little stuff sack (actually highly functional) or the 14 gram fuel tablet weighs more than the stove. It uses non-explosive non-spillable fuel. Fuel price is comparable to most anything else and stove prices are ridiculously low. Any reasonable altitude won't affect this stove's performance very much. It is capable of extremely good low temperature performance...it will work when alcohol or gas canister stoves just sit there. No moving parts except the foldable legs. No repair kit necessary for extended trips. Ignition is as simple as lighting a match and roughing up the surface of the tablet with a knife makes it even easier. The flame can be extinguished and the remainder of the fuel tablet can be saved for next time. In summary, unless you're going to Everest or have to melt a lot of snow, this stove is all you every will need. Bring a windscreen, a pot with a tight fitting lid, a long spoon, and you're in business.