What you on about?
I prefer leather boots for hillwalking as they are easier to maintain and look after.
What’s wrong with green t shirts?
And Norwegian shirts are actually damn good. A good bit of warm kit for working in.
I have a feeling you may have meant for DoE. My point still stands. And pfft DoE. Wear what you want.
The good thing about it is that it comes free with Ration packs, so no need for the cadets to invest in a cooking system for fieldcraft events!
Plus, it means everyone teaches the same lesson the same way, instead of having to work around the gazillion different types of stove on the market.
But it would be nice to boil water for a brew without turning your messtins black or having flies jump in for a swim!
Well the new fuel solves the first problem, and having some sort of lid (ie the other mess tin) solves the second.
I only ever used hexi during basic training at the end of the 70’s\early 80’s. Well, that and the Cadet Forces…
I’ve had no instruction (CCF) yet about not using Hexamine, although I won’t be sorry to see it go. There are times when everything seems to smell of it. I’ve not personally used the new stuff yet although my Army section has; I expect I’ll come across it on Field Weekend in October.
I hope the order comes soon. The bonfire I intend to have with all our current stock will be mighty!
It will be less mighty than you imagine and will struggle to warm a kettle 
Ours has been claimed by a farmer (ex staff) who needs firelighters for his multiple wood burning stoves.
Any left over tin stoves will go in the recycling.
OC said it is banned (ref wing fieldcraft officer / staff) , so it will certainly not be going back to the squadron.
Nasty stuff, but i presume that was all there was back in the day, and it was probably cheap!!
I have ordered a Dragonfuel stove plus fuel to try out for myself. Hopefully it will be better than Hexi!!!
Hexi is quite heavy too. 4 boxes would weigh quite a bit, far more than the jetboil. It isn’t have to be a jetboil though, we have a few £15 gas stoves in our stores and they fit in a very very very small box.
What do we think of Kelly Kettles? I’ve been impressed by what I’ve seen of them, but this seems to be a further development…
https://www.kellykettle.com
They are fabulously civilised for fishing trips, stalking and shoots, and 4x4 safaris, but I really wouldn’t give actual fire to a load of 14yo’s!
My sqn uses Alpine gas stoves, they are pleasantly stable, and when it’s cold you can hold the canister to get more pressure out if it without the risk of the stove and boiling water tipping over.
The weight argument is utter tosh - a 750ml pan, an alpine stove and four days worth of gas weighs a lot less than a mess tin, a cooker and four days worth of hexi. I can also walk into any garage or village shop and buy gas, my chances of being able to buy hexi are about zero…
My cadets can have a brew ready in 5 minutes, or a cup of fruity porridge or couscous, or a wet pouch meal in 6. No contest.
I’m very firmly in the Gas Trangia Camp, although I also issue any groups on Wild Country a jetboil to facilitate hot drinks mid-day.
Aye, civvie application.
But you don’t exactly take a stroll down from your super secret hidden harbour to the local bazaar for some gas canisters so you can have a brew.
And Kelly kettles are awful.
Biolite stoves? Handy, can charge up your phone to check your Boom Beach while your on sentry.
Given the length of a cadet FTX, it isn’t difficult to ensure that you start with sufficient gas to see you through.
not only is that exercise not really applicable to cadets, but on a technical point, if you’re doing the super secret patrol harbour OP, you’re probably going to be on hard routine anyway, so neither gas nor hexi resupply are valid points.
cadets in my area have done parts - or all - of the Cambrian Way, Offas Dyke path, Owain Glyndwrs way, Beacons way, the Clywdian way as well as bespoke routes. on-route resupply on those tasks has been something to factor in in the planning stages, its not however something that has come up when we do our fieldcraft camps because we have a base from which we work.
I was hoping no one would spot that technicality for my wee story. Never let the truth get in the way of a good dit though.
Kelly kettles are great!! Run on any old s**t. I’ve had one for years and excellent for hot water / brew in remote places (as long as fuel supply around)…
Hexi good for informing ‘enemy’ ref location at night, due to the flaring being spotted…also the smell of combustion!!
Can’t beat a good petrol stove , but if in hands of cadets run away!!! Need treating with respect.
You’d be surprised…
In other news, we’ve not received any instructions as yet and latest advice re: use and the RA was “Hexamine is no longer the only authorised fuel for cooking” and I’ve been on a few weekends this year where use both fuels was taught.
ACTFI 007 was updated in February and specifically covers that we can use either the Hexamine Stove or Operational Ration Heater. Until that policy document changes both are in play for fieldcraft training.
Forgive the thread resurrection but it’s seems the best place rather than starting a new thread.
Hexamine has not only been banned in use by the MoD, it has now been made illegal to possess it in the UK.
This is due it being a precursor to an explosive & can be used in making RDX explosives at home.
I wonder how many sqns still have some kicking about in their stores or a cadet has it in an old set of webbing with a stove.
