Whats the best tyoe of hexamine blocks ?

[David.s]

Hi guys, i got my hexamine blocks with my army cooker, and since, i havent bought any more. The ones i got where pretty quick in burning, sometimes just heated soup up and no more. i was watching SAS : are you tough enought the other night and noticed the ones they used where giving off some flame and looked pretty decent compared to mines.

Iv looked on ebay and all look the same apart from oval ones.

Are these any better, or is there a place that just does better blocks ??

cheers.

[Wayland]

I use the Esbit blocks, they seem to burn hotter to me.

[Yonderer]

I use trioxane fuel. It works pretty decent, although not as well as Esbit fuel, which is sometimes difficult to find around here.

[Radix lecti]

Hello
I mix Esbit with Greenheat Gel ( The bottled Gel and not from the satchets) in a crusader mug combo, it works for me. I can boil a brew with one esbit tablet and a splash of gel ( 0.5L) and still have enough fuel left to boil again ( 0.25L).Each to their own.
Regards
Darren

[Fin]

You mean there are different types?!!!!! (God! - kit selection gets exhausting sometimes!)

I've only used those provided by HM Government and I've always hated the smell - that and the heat output v pot sooting which is far less IMO than my portable wood burning camp stove (or any Hobo type stove for that matter).

I'm sure you'll get good advice from hexamine afficionados here - but may I suggest you buy small quantites of every type you can find, do a back garden test and then buy the winner in bulk!

Good luck.

[Goose]

Esbit seems to work a lot better than the issue type, but I think the issue type seem to vary from batch to batch. The esbit are smaller but seem to boil the same if not more than issue hexy blocks. I use my swedish trangia through choice and keep a couple of hexy blocks for times when I am not carrying a rucksack.

Fins idea seems good, do a backyard trial.

[spamel]

The ones from french ration packs are the best as far as I'm concerned. They are oval and burn for ages kicking out loads of heat. If you want more heat from hexy, break it into smaller bits and use lots of the little pieces. I tend to use issue blocks quartered, they burn good and hot. If you are only boiling water or reheating a boil in the bag, it will do the job fine. hexy is not really suitable for gourmet cooking!

[gorilla]

here's a link - seems like good value

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...3122&rd=1&rd=1

[David.s]

Thanks all for your input, iv searched a few other sites and also suggesting esbit as very good, so im gonna order them and see how i get on, will let you know how good/bad they are.

and gorilla thanks very much for the link.

[oops56]

I am not sure if this will help. But corn chips and its cheaper

[addyb]

I'd have to say that actual Esbit fuel tops them all. It's expensive, but you sure get your moneys worth. I've tried army issue hexy tabs (esbit fuel is still hexamine, but of a slightly higher quality) and found them to burn rather quickly and leave a big mess.

Trioxane is another story. There was a time when all I could find was trioxane for my esbit and natick stoves and frankly, it doesn't even come close to matching esbit. Granted, it's much easier to light and I'm guessing that it also burns hotter, but the tablets simply don't have a burn time that's comparable to hexamine so you can't very well cook a meal on them.

Anyway, that's my two cents worth of an opinion....so obviously it's not worth very much!

Adam

[scanker]

I am not sure if this will help. But corn chips and its cheaper

I've seen you post that advice before. At the risk of exposing myself as really stupid - what do you mean by corn chips? Are they the tortilla chips they sound like?

[addyb]

Well here in Canada they're called just that "Corn Chips" and are curly little rectangles of fattening goodness. Les Stroud aka "Survivorman" came up with the idea in one episode but at the moment which one escapes me. I figure its the sheer amount of grease in 'em that makes them burn. They're not hexy tablets but definately a sight cheaper!

Adam

[scanker]

Something else on my list of things to try.

[David.s]

I got my Esbit's today from ebay, for anyone who doesnt know, they are about 1/3 smaller than a hexamine block, 20 in a box, i had to use 4 of them to boil half of a army mess tin of water, which i thought was quite alot, but i suppose in a billy it would take less time, up side is though they were cheaper than hexi's and dont have that awful smell.

[addyb]

That's probably because you're using the wrong type of blocks. The ones that come twenty to a box are used for heating Willesco model steam trains. The ones you should be using come twelve to a box and are individually blister packed. They're darn near indestructible.

Adam

[David.s]

Ahh Oh well, when they run out ill order the other kind, thanks.

[addyb]

No worries, man. I was dead tired when I last posted in this thread so I forgot to add that the tables I was referring to weigh 14 grams each and burn for a good 12 minutes. That's enough to make a canteen cup of water come to a rolling boil...something that I've never been able to achieve with trixoane.

[gorilla]

following Waylands preference, i've just bought 60 (5 packs) of esbit blocks off fleabay for £8.40 - 14p each. used one in my crusader stove today - full crusader mug, rolling boil, 7 minutes. IMO better than hexi blocks, but not by that much. for me , the obvious benefit of the esbit blocks is the individual blisterpacks - means you can stick 'em anywhere in your pack without them breaking and yukking up everything else

[addyb]

This is true, and its also probably why esbit fuel is a tad more expensive than the generic issued stuff.

Adam

PS: Esbit blocks are still hexamine. But as to why they don't stink like the issued blocks...well...I really have no answer to that. But it IS nice when your ruck doesn't stink like a dead fish.

[11binf]

the German esbit cooker and fuel are smaller,the British item is not..the German cooker is made of steel with less bulk than the British item which is made of tin alloy?....the German item is just a better item of kit...i can fit about 5ea. of the large German heat tabs inside the cooker itself....by the way i also use the German mess tin along with the cooker...yes it's a little bulky but i can stow the cooker,K.F.S. and food items inside the tin for a more complete unit....vince g. 11b inf....