Just a little tip for lighting esbit with a firesteel - if you scrape up a powder on top of the cube with a knife, stone or whatever, you can light the powder with a firesteel. Not the best option as the powder is delicate and can blow away or be knocked off easily but if you don't have anything else then it is well worth knowing. Give it a try
Be interested to know what you think, if you dont like it, you can sell it on to me as I'm after a second set to keep in the landy.
The size doesnt matter to me. So long as it can cook a tin full of whatever, make super noodles, brew coffee etc then I'm happy. The crusader cup is a bit bigger, but it's still a cup and has the same limitations really. The one thing I havent mentioned, but that I really like about the US kit is the shape. It just seems to sit really well on your hip - it's much nicer to handle and carry than the fat nato kit. I didnt mention it, because on the face of it there seems not much difference, but being that little bit smaller, that little bit more ergonomic, that little bit lighter and that little bit more versatile, all adds up and to me, fixes all the irritations I have with the nato kit. It's little things, like being able to just take the top off the bottle and take a swig of water without having to remove anything or even undo a clasp. The nato kit by comparison, seems so much more clumsy. Anyway, let me know what you think.
I'll give greenheat a go. The esbit thing is really just there to complete it as a self contained kit. It works well enough and the aluminium stand is a much better windshield than the crusader cooker (though in fairness is a less stable cooking platform). But I still prefer a meths cooker. It's hotter, faster and less affected by wind. The titanium stove adds so little weight, it's really just about carrying the fuel and unless you are burning wood, you have to carry the fuel for whatever cooker you use. I'll get some greenheat though, as I've discovered I need 2 esbit tabs to make super noodles, it might be more efficient to use the green gel.
It's much better, no doubt about it (did you get one of the aluminium ones, or did you opt for the canteenshop steel version?). The negative, is that it's a less stable cooking platform. You wont be able to slop it all about in the same way, but that's the only trade off that I can see.
