The GearGuys have long felt that there are advantages to alcohol as cooking fuel. More than white gas, propane or canisters, it’s cheaper, easily available, odorless when you spill it and in a pinch you can load it up with your Everclear. The downside is alcohol has less energy per once, extending cooking times.
Now Esbit has introduced a heat exchanger pot that increases efficiency by 30% and makes alcohol more viable as a cooking fuel. With this extra boost we were able to boil a pot of water in around 8 minutes at 4k feet. The pot is constructed from extremely light, hard anodized aluminum that has a wavy finned outer ring on the bottom that both provides more surface area and a efficient conduit for the flame.
The cookset includes a pot stand, lid, and a solid brass alcohol burner. The alcohol burner is constructed from brass and allows variable temperature control with a cover we could rotate in and out of the flame, plus it holds the denatured alcohol in it during transport with a screw top lid. Everything stashes easily in the large pot, which comes with a mesh bag, and fits compactly in the old backpack.
Dimensions-packed: 4.9″ x 4.9″ (12.5 cm x 12.5 cm) Weight: 10.9 oz. (310 g)
$70
