Crusader cooking unit: hype or not?

[Wayland]

Are you sure you've got that the right way round.

I find Esbit is cleaner and hotter burning that the hexy we were issued with.

I don't think I would go back to hexy but I use Esbit all the time if I can't light a fire.

 

[addyb]

Thanks, Hilltop!

I'm pretty sure that Esbit tablets are hexamine, but I could be reading the page wrong!

If it IS hexy, then it might be a much higher quality version?

Ada,

 

[falling rain]

As far as I know Esbit is the brand name of the tabs and is similar to Hexamine blocks but without the toxicity.

 

[Shambling Shaman]

Well for what it worth -

Jetboil

Fast light compact

 

[gregorach]

Provided you ignore the size of the fuel cannisters...

 

[Shambling Shaman]

Well that a mute point as it go in the pot and now with the base suport and pot stand that all fits in the pot its a much better bit of kit - I now carry my mini trangia frying pan for abit of fry up.

Cant fault it for speed

 

[Martyn]

I'm trying to get hold of one of these from the states at the moment...

It's a Vargo Triad XE, titanium dual fuel burner. That little pot on the left is the alcohol stove. It's tiny and just drops into the stand, which becomes a priming pot.

Like others, I think the crusader unit is an excellent design, suffering only from a total lack of adequate stove that fits. I'm hoping this vargo unit will fit inside and the pan inside the crusader cooker, will then become the vargo's priming pan.

The triad is a pressurised stove. The prime causes the fuel to heat up and evaporate at a fast rate, pressurising the stove and making the jets burn fiercly - the heat output should be greater than a regular trangia. The downside is it's not easy to refill while hot, so simmering is out of the question. A full triad should burn for about 15 minutes, no simmer option. It's designed to consume all the fuel you put into it in one go, so it's a bit all or nothing. That said, if it's just about making brews or boiling rice/soup I would think I you would get to judge the amount of fuel needed pretty quickly. Another downside is it's quite expensive.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

I'm hoping it will turn the crusader into a genuinly useful bit of kit.

http://vargooutdoors.safeshopper.com/181/1549.htm?506

 

[Nemisis]

Does anyone use or tried the crusader mug on a hexi stove with the adapter? http://www.strikeforcesupplies.co.uk/stock.php?page=bigpic&item=2004
Dave.

 

[falling rain]

That looks pretty useful Martyn.
Yes please let us know if the stove fits the crusader stand recess. I'd be interested in one of those.

I'm trying to get hold of one of these from the states at the moment...

It's a Vargo Triad XE, titanium dual fuel burner. That little pot on the left is the alcohol stove. It's tiny and just drops into the stand, which becomes a priming pot.

Like others, I think the crusader unit is an excellent design, suffering only from a total lack of adequate stove that fits. I'm hoping this vargo unit will fit inside and the pan inside the crusader cooker, will then become the vargo's priming pan.

The triad is a pressurised stove. The prime causes the fuel to heat up and evaporate at a fast rate, pressurising the stove and making the jets burn fiercly - the heat output should be greater than a regular trangia. The downside is it's not easy to refill while hot, so simmering is out of the question. A full triad should burn for about 15 minutes, no simmer option. It's designed to consume all the fuel you put into it in one go, so it's a bit all or nothing. That said, if it's just about making brews or boiling rice/soup I would think I you would get to judge the amount of fuel needed pretty quickly. Another downside is it's quite expensive.

I'll let you know how it turns out.

I'm hoping it will turn the crusader into a genuinly useful bit of kit.

http://vargooutdoors.safeshopper.com/181/1549.htm?506

 

[Ahjno]

Great!!
I'm away for 2 days to make 2 tough exams (they went OK) and Adam nicked me thread

Thanks for all the answers guys, especially Rappleby2000 - thanks for your view and making things a bit more clear!! :You_Rock_

Excellent stuff Martyn, can't wait for a review: nice piccies, good comparison with other stoves (trangia), clear conclusion, NASA research

 

[Great Pebble]

Does anyone use or tried the crusader mug on a hexi stove with the adapter?

Yes. It's fine, subject to all the usual problems with hexi, but it works well enough.

Greenheat is bugger all use in the cold

I'd truncate that by three words.
Okay for getting a fire going in a hurry though.

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

Nemisis!

£2......whaaaat!!!!

it's a piece of cheap throw away metal!

these came free with the last hexi unit i bought! you shoulden'nt have to pay extra! certainly not £2!

if you want to make one yourself it's made of the same metal as a hexi cooker, though tin or thick aluminium would do it.
the rectangle is exactly the same dimentions as the top of your cooker(fit's tight around the folded cooker)
half an inch overlapping flaps over each side, and cut out a crusader cup shape in the middle(the only difficult bit) draw around your cup on the metal, give it an extra cm or so and it should come out almost identical!

don't buy it!
try some other shops!

 

[addyb]

I've had an esbit folding pocket stove for years, I think I got it before I even finished high-school. It's seen better days but to be honest, I actually prefer the US Kidney stove that's compatible with the metal canteen cup. Seeing as it fits directly around the cup in it's pouch, it takes up less pack space than the esbit stove. I've also found it better in the wind than the esbit.

But then again, that's just my two cents!

Adam

 

[hilltop]

I've had an esbit folding pocket stove for years, I think I got it before I even finished high-school. It's seen better days but to be honest, I actually prefer the US Kidney stove that's compatible with the metal canteen cup. Seeing as it fits directly around the cup in it's pouch, it takes up less pack space than the esbit stove. I've also found it better in the wind than the esbit.

But then again, that's just my two cents!

Adam

ditto,

 

[Womble]

Yes. It's fine, subject to all the usual problems with hexi, but it works well enough.



I'd truncate that by three words.
Okay for getting a fire going in a hurry though.

...or when the wood is damp. A couple of months ago I used my last packet of the stuff to start a rather damp fire on a scout camp. When one of the scouts asked how I'd managed to get something going in minutes when they'd been struggling for about 1/2 an hour I replied innocently "I used special fire snot..."

 

[addyb]

I just remembered something about Esbit stoves....

Before I owned an US Army kidney stove, I was experimenting with windscreens for my Esbit pocket cooker. Anyway, since I only used it with a canteen cup and not a pot, I would lock the cooker in the forty-five degree angle position. So, I measured and cut side panels from an aluminum pop can, and inserted the panels into the open sides of the Esbit. And there you have it....a perfectly good Esbit windscreen. The only trouble that I had was when I started using CF issue hexy tablets which are at least twice the size of regular tablets. Seeing as these tablets are much bigger, they started to warp the pop can side panels from the heat. I just figured I'd put this out as a warning to those of you with Esbit cookers. Small tablets work great with the windscreen, but not large ones.

Cheers,

Adam