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Esbit Alcohol Stove and Cookset with Heat Exchanger (CS985H-EX)

Esbit Alcohol Cookset - Tea Time in Texas

At 13.1 ounces, the Esbit Alcohol Cookset (CS985H-EX) is a complete out-of-the-box cooking system and has a 1 quart / 1 liter anodized aluminum pot with a heat exchanger included.  Pots with heat exchangers require 30-40% less fuel to cook with. That’s a huge benefit if you prefer using denatured alcohol as a fuel source and can really offset the amount of fuel you need to carry on a multi-day trip.

Esbit has replaced the anodized aluminum version of this cookpot with one made with stainless steel (available on Amazon). It’s still a great system but weighs in a few ounces heavier.
Packs up real small - Top lid not shown
Packs up real small – Top lid not shown

The Esbit Alcohol Cookset includes the following components:

  • Anodized aluminum cookpot with built in heat exchanger (6.7 ounces / 192 grams)
  • Pot lid (1.3 ounces / 38.9 grams)
  • Brass alcohol stove and screw-on cover (2.6 ounces / 74 grams)
  • Flame tamer for simmering (0.7 ounces / 20 grams)
  • Pot stand  (2.3 ounces / 64 grams)
  • Mesh bag (0.5 ounces / 15 grams)
Pot with Heat Exchanger Fins, Stove and Windscreen
Pot with Heat Exchanger Fins, Stove, and Windscreen

The Cook Pot

At 33 ounces of capacity, the pot that comes with this cookset is large enough for cooking more complex meals or for 1-2 people. Made out of hard-anodized aluminum, it is stronger than steel and easy to clean even though it lacks a Teflon or non-stick coating. Anodized aluminum pots also distribute heat very evenly helping to eliminate scorching hot spots and burnt-on food.

If there’s a downside to pots anodized aluminum pots, it’s that the pot takes a little longer to cool off if you want to drink out of it. But you can get around this easily enough by adding cold water to your coffee or tea if you’re in a rush in the morning.

Heat exchanger fins on the bottom of the pot help reduce the amount of fuel needed for cooking by retaining more of the heat produced by the stove. It’s a wonder that more backpacking pot manufacturers don’t incorporate heat exchanger fins into their products because they are so much more efficient with all fuel types.

Graduated Volume Marks
Graduated Volume Marks

The inside of the 33 ounce Esbit cook pot has graduated volume marks, both in ounces and milliliters, making it possible to measure out quantities of liquid for cooking without the need for a separate measuring cup. With insulated folding butterfly handles, it’s also easy to pick up the pot and to transfer hot liquid into other containers using the pouring spout.

Simple Pot Lid
Simple Pot Lid

The Pot Lid

The pot lid is just that, a very simple pot lid with a recessed handle. I’m a little disappointed by this because it would have been so easy to stamp tiny colander holes or a steam escape hole in the lid. That would make an already fine product, that much better.

Esbit alcohol stove and cap
Esbit alcohol stove and cap

The Stove

The brass stove included in the Esbit alcohol cookset is nearly identical to a Trangia alcohol stove, with a screw-on cap that makes it possible to snuff out the flame and save any unused fuel for a future cooking session. The stove cap has a rubber gasket inside it that prevents the remaining fuel from leaking when closed, a really handy feature if you’ve ever had extra fuel left over. Brass stoves are also more efficient in terms of heat transfer than say titanium or other materials, and are easier to light in colder temperatures.

The stove can hold up to 2.5 ounces of denatured alcohol which means you can fill it up at home if you only need to boil one or two pots of water on a short overnight trip. Burn time for 2.5 ounces of alcohol is about 30 minutes and it takes about 9-12  minutes to boil 2 cups of water (this varies depending on external temperature, water temperature, and wind).

Flame Tamer for Simmering
Flame Tamer for Simmering

The Flame Tamer

The Esbit Alcohol Cookset includes a flame tamer that lets you regulate how much oxygen is getting to the stove and how hot the flame is. The flame tamer is a metal disk that covers the stove opening with a small metal handle that is cool enough to touch while the stove is burning. To turn up the heat, slide the disc to open the hole and let more oxygen in. To turn down the heat, shrink the size of the hole and reduce the amount of air it has available.

If your cooking style just requires the need to boil water, you probably don’t need the flame tamer. But if you like to cook more complex meals, bake hasty bread, or cook rice and pasta having the ability to simmer is essential.

Esbit Pot Stand
Esbit Pot Stand

The Pot Stand

The alcohol stove rests in the middle of a pot stand and provides a stable flat surface for the stove to rest on. Also made out of anodized aluminum with big side holes, the pot stand doesn’t provide a very effective windscreen but you can augment it easily enough by blocking the wind using a backpack, sleeping pad, or simply piling rocks around the side openings.

Highly compact
Highly compact

Packing

One of the great things about this stove set is its packability. All of the components fit together like a Russian doll set and are completely self-contained in the cookpot. A small mesh bag is conveniently provided to carry the cookset which simply disappears, even into a small backpack.

Conclusion

Aesthetically, this is a really nice cookset that’s high on function and fairly complete.  Before you buy this cookset be sure to study the entire Esbit cookset product line. They manufacture quite a few alcohol and solid fuel cookset variants that may be a better fit for your needs. Amazon has a great selection of these, steeply discounted, including the Esbit Alcohol and Cookset reviewed here.

Manufacturer Specs

  • 950 ml pot with heat exchanger provides higher cooking efficiency by improving boil times by 30% thereby reducing fuel usage. Includes volume indicator in ml / oz.
  • Pot includes 2 hinged, stainless steel grips.
  • Includes pot stand, 950 ml pot with heat exchanger, lid, and alcohol burner.
  • Pot stand and alcohol burner nest inside big pot.
  • Constructed from extremely light, hard-anodized aluminum.
  • Alcohol burner constructed from brass with a screw top and rubber gasket.
  • Alcohol burner has variable temperature control with a fold-away handle that helps to regulate or extinguish flame.
  • Stores in included mesh bag.
  • Dimensions-packed: 4.9″ x 4.9″ (12.5 cm x 12.5 cm)
  • Weight: 10.9 oz. (310 g)

Disclosure: Industrial Revolution (Esbit) provided Philip Werner with a sample cookset for review. 

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4 comments

  1. CaptainCoOrdinates

    Apologies for resurrecting such an old post but I think this Esbit Alcohol Stove and Cookset with Heat Exchanger (CS985H-EX) was, and still is a fantastic product.

    The Heat Exchanger version is no longer available unfortunately so when I noticed that @Willis mentioned that the Esbit EX pot and the Terra Weekend by Optimus were the same I was excited to check as I’ve been trying to track down the Esbit EX pot for quite a while. The Esbit and Terra Weekend pots are quite possibly the same since they’re both would be manufactured in Germany, but using the pot in the set position on the stand frustrates the release of the exhaust gases and extends boil time. Raising the pot by 5mm from the stand improves boil time by over a minute and a half! Variations around this setup provides consistent boil times of around 4 minutes with an improvement if the top vent holes are taped with aluminium tape.

    Best results are obtained using this setup with an Evernew type burner or clone. Both the Trangia burner and Esbit burner take longer to boil and are heavier.

    In my opinion this is a very useable and high performing product and I’m extremely surprised that it is no longer available. Possibly the obsession of reduced weight outweighs function – but what a shame!

    With a few tweaks and its ability to stack neatly this is/was a quality product. Combining systems can get the components together for a great cookset combination.

  2. CaptainCoOrdinates

    Very interesting observations Marco. Particularly about rounding the pot bases.

  3. Apologies for resurrecting such an old post but I think this Esbit Alcohol Stove and Cookset with Heat Exchanger (CS985H-EX) was, and still is a fantastic product.

    The Heat Exchanger version is no longer available unfortunately so when I noticed that @Willis mentioned that the Esbit EX pot and the Terra Weekend by Optimus were the same I was excited to check as I’ve been trying to track down the Esbit EX pot for quite a while. The Esbit and Terra Weekend pots are quite possibly the same since they’re both would be manufactured in Germany, but using the pot in the set position on the stand frustrates the release of the exhaust gases and extends boil time. Raising the pot by 5mm from the stand improves boil time by over a minute and a half! Variations around this setup provides consistent boil times of around 4 minutes with an improvement if the top vent holes are taped with aluminium tape.

    Best results are obtained using this setup with an Evernew type burner or clone. Both the Trangia burner and Esbit burner take longer to boil and are heavier.

    In my opinion this is a very useable and high performing product and I’m extremely surprised that it is no longer available. Possibly the obsession of reduced weight outweighs function – but what a shame!

    With a few tweaks and its ability to stack neatly this is/was a quality product. Combining systems can get the components together for a great cookset combination.

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