MOD Heximane Stove: Any good?
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My no 1 carry for everthing
Pro's Flame for warming cold feet.
Fuel burns away less to carry
Easy to carry
Cons for some (but not me)
Smell is poisonous - Simple use in the open and thats it
can be slow in the wind, only compared to modern stoves - Not in a hurry so again not bothered.
I use this for hillwalking and general quick brews with a Metal mug.
Pro's Flame for warming cold feet.
Fuel burns away less to carry
Easy to carry
Cons for some (but not me)
Smell is poisonous - Simple use in the open and thats it
can be slow in the wind, only compared to modern stoves - Not in a hurry so again not bothered.
I use this for hillwalking and general quick brews with a Metal mug.
Too much! My thoughts:
Pro's - compact; effective; slow; last pretty much forever in storage; reasonably easy to find fuel tablets; free for most users (!)
Cons - sooty; smelly (I've been told hexamine fumes are toxic!?); cannot control the heat output; heavy for size; the folding stove is cheap pressed metal with sharp edges that can cut, tear kit etc.
It's no mystery that most soldiers buy their own gas stoves instead, or that the vast majority of campers and mountaineers use gas or spirit stoves of one kind or another. Hexy stoves are banned by our DofE, too. That said, because they last and are dead simple, it's not a bad backup stove to keep for emergencies in a vehicle kit etc.
Pro's - compact; effective; slow; last pretty much forever in storage; reasonably easy to find fuel tablets; free for most users (!)
Cons - sooty; smelly (I've been told hexamine fumes are toxic!?); cannot control the heat output; heavy for size; the folding stove is cheap pressed metal with sharp edges that can cut, tear kit etc.
It's no mystery that most soldiers buy their own gas stoves instead, or that the vast majority of campers and mountaineers use gas or spirit stoves of one kind or another. Hexy stoves are banned by our DofE, too. That said, because they last and are dead simple, it's not a bad backup stove to keep for emergencies in a vehicle kit etc.
Been using them on and off for ages, I keep giving up on them and going to other forms of stove but I always have a folding hexi stove around.
If all you want is to boil water or heat up things then they're great.
Not good for simmering anything, really bad in an enclosed space and a windshield is a very good idea.
They are fairly easy and cheap to buy, as is the fuel.
My current favourite stove does use hexi but it is Esbit's 585ml cookset. Love it
If all you want is to boil water or heat up things then they're great.
Not good for simmering anything, really bad in an enclosed space and a windshield is a very good idea.
They are fairly easy and cheap to buy, as is the fuel.
My current favourite stove does use hexi but it is Esbit's 585ml cookset. Love it
Not a massive fan myself THEY STINK - put one in your pack for a few days and then wonder why all your kit has a lovely fishy smell. Soldiers do use them but the main reason for this is that THEY'RE FREE. I do not think you will find a squaddie anywahere who would pay for one.
They do burn quite hot though and can boil a mug of water pretty rapidly (followed by ten minutes of trying to get the black tar off the base of the mug).
One you go gas you'll never go back - or something like that
HTH
Remember.....
If you clean it quick it easily comes off especially with a used tea bag as a scrub.
Tried gas and hate carying empty bottles just like the ease of a hexi.
Tried gas and hate carying empty bottles just like the ease of a hexi.
Scots_Charles_River
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
I have switched to using a firelighter from a poundshop or even better, methanol gel from @fuel4
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Not a fan myself. Takes ages and burns out quickly. Efficiency isn't its best point. Love the smell though.
Hot, cold, wet or dry - they work.
There is nothing to go wrong - although there can be sharp edges which can be sanded a bit. You can buy (a pencil case ?) or make a small pouch to store the unit to protect things in your bag.
Everything has pros and cons, but these can be stored for years and used even in very cold weather where other fuels (like gas and alcohol) may struggle.
There is nothing to go wrong - although there can be sharp edges which can be sanded a bit. You can buy (a pencil case ?) or make a small pouch to store the unit to protect things in your bag.
Everything has pros and cons, but these can be stored for years and used even in very cold weather where other fuels (like gas and alcohol) may struggle.
Personally I like Hexamine stoves. I have two at the moment a Esbit Cookset and the large Esbit Folding Stove
The folder lives in my car bag (most of the time) and is great for a quick brew. With regards to the smell of the tablets you can stop that but wrapping them in a zip-lok baggie. The soot or stains on your pot can be easily washed off. I'm not a fan of gas cartridges so the Esbit is perfect.
The folder lives in my car bag (most of the time) and is great for a quick brew. With regards to the smell of the tablets you can stop that but wrapping them in a zip-lok baggie. The soot or stains on your pot can be easily washed off. I'm not a fan of gas cartridges so the Esbit is perfect.
widu13
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Quite simply they are good. Smelly, smoky and simple to use, they ALWAYS work no matter what the weather and fuel is easily obtainable. An ideal starter stove for an introduction to the outdoors.
When we got together Mrs DHD & I used to use 'em and my old mess tins on our early camping holidays. Amazingly 20-odd years later we are still together. Aaaah!
I've still got a few stoves & boxes of fuel in the loft; must dig 'em out.
So very fond memories of hexy burners from me!
I've still got a few stoves & boxes of fuel in the loft; must dig 'em out.
So very fond memories of hexy burners from me!
I've got the small Esbit folding stove. A lot more compact but you can't store the fuel inside it. Think I've got an MOD one around somewhere too
Alcohol stoves work perfectly fine in cold temps - I've had mine operating well at -20C. Just need a bit of thought preheating the burner - stand it on a bit of carbon felt with a little meths on it, or use a wick into the body of the alcohol burner. Similarly, gas stoves using a propane/butane mix will work fine at sub-zero temps - turn the gas bottle upside down in the snow with your Omnifuel or similar if its really chilly!.
Used teabags you say - never heard of that, may give it a go next time (how did you discover that?)
widu13
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
I have used hexamine/esbit quite a lot, the esbit stove is smaller than the hexy one, I also have the Czech army version which is very slightly smaller than the esbit, of the three I prefer the esbit stove and fuel (it seems to burn a little hotter and cleaner than hexy but that may just be my biased feeling). I am happy to use these stoves throughout the year for brews on day hikes or overnighters, I will use them for trips of up to three days during spring/summer when cooking simple quick foods and brews, for longer trips and when cooking more substantial food I use a gas cartridge or sometimes an msr stove. Hexy blackens the bottom of your pot but that doesnt bother me in the slightest (so does a woodfire which I often use, just stick it in its own little bag to stop it soiling other items in rucksack), some say it smells but that doesnt bother me either as I cant say Ive smelt anything unpleasant (and I have a very large hooter 
). A windshield round the stove is essential to get the best efficiency (make one from a £1 aluminium foil tray from poundshop). You can light hexy fuel blocks with a ferro rod, just scrape the block to get some powder then throw a spark on the powder and it will ignite (so carrying a hexy block, ferro rod & knife you are always able to make fire). Esbit fuel blocks are smaller than hexy blocks, one esbit block (from the six block pack) will just boil a 300ml cup of water, equally one half of a full hexy block will just about do the same. When using a full block of hexy if you break it up into halfs or quarters it will provide more heat output than just lighting a full unbroken block. One full pack of 8 hexy blocks weighs approx 250g, one full pack of 6 esbit blocks weighs approx 105g, one full 230g gas cartridge weighs approx 400g, so depending on your own use you can estimate which would be lightest in use over a set period (weights are fuel only, stoves not included) In the 6 block pack of esbit each block is individually wrapped, the hexy blocks are not individually wrapped. Compared to other fuels I would not consider it a cheap fuel, I would consider it a lightweight option for short periods only of 3 days or less, longer periods the gas wins on that (a gas cartridge can last me 1 week). They are very good for having brews on day hikes and I often take one in preference to a flask. Hexy can be stored forever which is useful. A pack of esbit fuel will fit inside the esbit stove exactly the same as a pack of hexy fits into a hexy stove (in reference to spandits comment post number 13). The firelighters found in poundshops are completely different to hexamine, they do not burn as hot as hexy, the flame is less intense and inefficient, and they leave a great deal more soot and gunge on your pot, compared to hexy they are rubbish (in reference to scot charles river comment post number 7) Try one in the field and let us know your opinion.
). A windshield round the stove is essential to get the best efficiency (make one from a £1 aluminium foil tray from poundshop). You can light hexy fuel blocks with a ferro rod, just scrape the block to get some powder then throw a spark on the powder and it will ignite (so carrying a hexy block, ferro rod & knife you are always able to make fire). Esbit fuel blocks are smaller than hexy blocks, one esbit block (from the six block pack) will just boil a 300ml cup of water, equally one half of a full hexy block will just about do the same. When using a full block of hexy if you break it up into halfs or quarters it will provide more heat output than just lighting a full unbroken block. One full pack of 8 hexy blocks weighs approx 250g, one full pack of 6 esbit blocks weighs approx 105g, one full 230g gas cartridge weighs approx 400g, so depending on your own use you can estimate which would be lightest in use over a set period (weights are fuel only, stoves not included) In the 6 block pack of esbit each block is individually wrapped, the hexy blocks are not individually wrapped. Compared to other fuels I would not consider it a cheap fuel, I would consider it a lightweight option for short periods only of 3 days or less, longer periods the gas wins on that (a gas cartridge can last me 1 week). They are very good for having brews on day hikes and I often take one in preference to a flask. Hexy can be stored forever which is useful. A pack of esbit fuel will fit inside the esbit stove exactly the same as a pack of hexy fits into a hexy stove (in reference to spandits comment post number 13). The firelighters found in poundshops are completely different to hexamine, they do not burn as hot as hexy, the flame is less intense and inefficient, and they leave a great deal more soot and gunge on your pot, compared to hexy they are rubbish (in reference to scot charles river comment post number 7) Try one in the field and let us know your opinion.
But then you're as strange as my sister, who goes all gaga at the smell of my wellingtons. :yikes:
I keep a hexy stove in the Jeep as a backup. As has been said they're more or less bullet proof, nothing to spill or evaporate, and the complete stove plus fuel takes up about the volume and weight of a paperback novel.
Having said that I also keep a 111B in the Jeep which is my main user for heavyweight trips. You can actually cook on it.
If you don't mind dirty pots consider using wood and something like the Emberlit or the Honey. Wood in the UK at least is plentiful, can be foraged for free, and you usually don't have to carry it very far.
