Esbit Outdoor Cooking Equipment

Established in 1936 Germany's Esbit are newcomers to British outdoor market. Enjoying huge popularity in the late 1930s and early 40s, Esbit solid fuel products went on to become a household mainstay in Germany with the word Esbit becoming synonymous with the word 'Feueranzander', the German for 'firelighter'. But as history teaches us, the success of an idea in one country doesn't necessarily guarantee its success in another. With Oasis and democracy having both fallen foul of the export process in recent years, will Esbit's bid to cross the Channel to the UK outdoors market sink or swim? Loving Outdoors investigates...

Initial signs are good. As well as a royal family, Brits and Germans share a love of practicality which is epitomized with Esbit's flagship product, the historic solid-fuel burning pocket stove. A staple of the German army's field kit during WW2, the Esbit pocket stove has weathered the passing of decades to become a design classic and the blueprint for Esbit products to this day.

Unlike so many things purported to be pocket-size, the Esbit pocket stove will actually fit in your pocket, being no bigger than the average adult hand. Made from galvanized steel, it feels sturdy without being heavy and when folded out for use is capable of supporting a substantial pan of water. After use, the stove can be folded into a handy cuboid with the inner chamber cunningly designed to provide a perfect fit for a packet of Esbit solid fuel.

'Great, where do I sign?'

Not so fast... Although it oozes stripped down practicality, the pocket stove comes with caveats worth bearing in mind- no matter how much retro charm they may add.

For many, the biggest drawback will be the solid fuel. It's not cheap and with a maximum single-pellet burn time of 12-14 minutes, you'll use plenty of it. It also leaves a nasty residue on your pans, which can be a pain to clean off. That said, it is intended as an emergency stove and if it dirties a few pans whilst saving your life who's complaining?

Moving up the luxury scale, the Esbit Stainless Steel Foldable barbeque takes the basic Esbit stove design, feeds it steroids and adapts it for the flame-grilling of meat. Looking like a pocket stove for giants, the Esbit Stainless Steel Foldable Barbeque, as the name might suggest, folds out into a serviceable barbeque with a solid height-adjustable grill.

Using the barbeque I found I was able to produce burnt-yet-raw meaty morsels with my usual proficiency but it would take a much more dedicated barbequer than I not to opt for a much cheaper (not to mention lighter) disposable barbeque. However, if you're a car camper or caravanner with a particular fondness for charred food then you could do much worse than Esbit's foldable effort.

Much less specialist is the Esbit 585ml cookset. In-keeping with Esbit's design ethos, it packs away small with the stove fitting perfectly inside the pan for maximum space efficiency. Made from hard anodized aluminium it's also light and the sturdy carry sack means it can be tied to the outside of a rucksack, freeing up space inside. With few breakable parts there's little that can go wrong....but then again, there's little to make you draw drop- it'll make you a perfectly decent cup of tea but, in truth, the Esbit 585ml cookset amounts to little more than a slightly more upmarket version of the pocket stove.

Things get a bit more interesting with Esbit's 9 piece Hard Anodised Aluminium Non-Stick Cookset. Aimed at those who demand more from their campsite repast, the 9 piece cookset delivers much more than the raw survival other solid fuel stoves and includes a frying pan and two large pots. The rest of the 9 pieces advertised are made up by a pan gripper, 2 cutting boards (doubling as plates), pot cloth and soft carry case. Despite its ample size, the whole set packs away inside the largest pan, is surprisingly light and portable enough to carry on your back. At almost sixty pounds it's not cheap, but Esbit have made every effort to ensure a healthy bang-to-buck ratio. They feel well made, the non-stick finish is able to withstand misuse with a metal fish slice and most importantly, my chickpea curry was as uninspiring as it is at home- the true seal of quality.

Which leads us to the question: do Esbit have what it takes to succeed in the fiercely competitive arena of outdoor cooking equipment?

With their roots in survival equipment, even if Esbit don't take the outdoor world by storm, they'll have the self-preservation to keep on keepin' on to eventually become major players. With stiff competition from Campingaz and Trangia, Esbit have a hard road ahead but the quality of their gear and their reasonable pricing should ensure that their bid to crack the UK outdoor cooking market is more than just a flash in the pan.