"Then you don't have to carry the sand, and it is used inside a "stove". "

Heck, I've squirted alcohol right into the bottom of an Esbit stove and it worked fine. The flame wasn't as "focused" but it worked. Kinda where I got the Altoids tin idea in the first place. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Seems like I tried 'nekid' alcohol with the altoids tin too but decided wicking through perlite or the like would give me more heat. Really shouldn't be any different than a can of sterno.
I've tended to go full circle on this stove thing. I went through a phase of homemade stoves and came back to Esbit....or my favorite, cook fires, which require no fuel to carry and only the bare definition of a "stove". Problem is, that definition changes depending on where you hike. Cook fires leave no trace if done right.* If it's really cold/wet out, gimme a NOVA or Svea (or whatever makes big heat fast) and none of this mamby pamby alcohol/esbit stuff!
<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />



*So those unfamiliar with 'cook fires' don't freak out, they are made using tiny twigs no bigger than a popsicle stick and fueled as you cook, burning out when done cooking, and all that's left is a bit of white ash. Basically the same idea in a tin can wood stove.