jsb,

I have been using Esbit for all solo trips for about eight years, though in the last four I have done few long trips (illness).

I used it all the way on my last thru hike of the AT.

It's a bit expensive and in some places hard to get (it's light, I just carry extras). Most people (evidently including you) are at least somewhat annoyed with the odor. I appear to have an olfactory challenge since I very rarely even notice it.

It seems to work very effectively for me solo. I put a little bit of heavy duty aluminum foil on the ground (protects the ground and reflects a little bit of heat) then put my tiny titanium wing stove and the pellet on that. I use an aluminum foil windscreen that is a bit shorter than ideal, cut that way so it fits snugly in my cook pot, and get a boil on about two to two and a half cups of water, usually in about six or seven minutes depending on the temperature of the water, wind strength, etc.

That usually leaves me with a nub of leftover fuel the size of a large Virginia peanut. I collect the nubs in a simple snack-size Ziplock in my cooking pot. Once in a while, if it's cold and wet and I've walked long in the morning, I will break out the cookpot and have hot Cup-a-Soup (or the broth from a Ramens pouch) or tea with my lunch. About three of the nubs will give me hot water if not a full boil (it's plenty hot for tea or soup). After a trip I throw away the nubs (but obviously be careful).

I am able to detect the odor from the Ziplock if I actually try, but don't find it a problem, and inside my pot, the odor does not seem to carry to anything else. You will need to wipe the gunk off the bottom of the pot once in a while.

Hope that helps, best, jcp