Reddit reviews Esbit CS985HA 5-Piece Lightweight Trekking Cook Set with Brass Alcohol Burner Stove and 2 Anodized Aluminum Pots

I'm not sure about this particular one, but I guess you can't really get much more heat out of the same amount of fuel anyways, so the difference is probably just the speed you burn fuel and heat water.

I got about 10-15 uses out of 500ml bottles of ethanol(-mixes) bought at pharmacies/drugstores. I would cook 250g spaghetti, by breaking them, submerging them in my ~900ml pot and getting the water to boil shortly and after that I just set the pot aside and waited about 10-15 minutes without burning any more fuel.

I’m pretty sure indoor use would easily start a fire, but here’s a good one (https://www.amazon.com/Esbit-Lightweight-Trekking-Anodized-Aluminum/dp/B001UEL76Q/ref=as_li_ss_tl?)

Edit: also ventilate the room well, any alcohol will make poisonous gases when burnt

I just bought the Esbit CS985HA 5-Piece Lightweight Trekking Cook Set with Brass Alcohol Burner Stove and 2 Anodized Aluminum Pots. It's on a UPS truck somewhere on its way to me now.

I bought it to meet two requirements. I wanted to be able to store my alcohol in my stove and be able to turn the stove off without burning all the alcohol. I also wanted everything to fit inside a cooking pot. This set had all that in one self contained unit at a reasonable price (it was $40 when I bought it, now it's listed at $47) and pretty good reviews. Amazon is telling me I'll have it by Wednesday.

If you want to stay relatively cheap, go with Esbit cook stove. I just bought one and it worked out amazingly. I made my own windscreen by buying a disposable aluminum cookie sheet from Target for about $1.50 and rolled it flat with a rolling pin. Then i just rolled it into a tube and stuffed it in my pack. It worked well this weekend in the crazy 50mph winds up in the mountain.

I'm still using commercial dehydrated meals (Mountain House, Backpackers pantry, etc). But I'm going to start dehydrating my own and using these http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D7OD22E/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2MJ9S17NXHLXY&coliid=I2UVR9UOU1TYOD&psc=1
I really don't like washing stuff so I prefer the boil-in-bag method. Speaking of, I also use a Toaks long handle spoon because it works well with eating from a bag.

Water filtration I use a Platypus Gravityworks 2L system when I'm solo, and the 4L when I'm with others.

My current cookware is the Esbit alcohol stove and pot - http://www.amazon.com/Esbit-Lightweight-Trekking-Anodized-Aluminum/dp/B001UEL76Q/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1458441950&sr=8-5&keywords=esbit+stove

Snacks can vary - trailmix, jerkey, etc. but I always have at least 1 Snickers with me because they're awesome. And filling.

What type stove are you looking for? Is it primarily solo trips?

I use a couple esbit stoves (one is tab only, one is tab/alcohol), a couple small fire stoves, and the etekcity stove if I'm taking my canister.

Here is my primary kit -
https://www.amazon.com/Esbit-Lightweight-Trekking-Anodized-Aluminum/dp/B001UEL76Q/ pot and tab/alcohol stove plus i add this...

https://www.amazon.com/Etekcity-Ultralight-Portable-Backpacking-Ignition/dp/B00B4FY8YO/ canister stove

It works for me for up to 3 people, a large canister fits in the pot (if you remove the tab and alcohol stoves) along with my cooking extras (salt/pepper, couple tea bags, via packets, true lemon packs, lighter, tinder, couple mayo packs, candle) and the canister stove.

If I'm going solo I take the alcohol (tabs and heet) stove and a fire stove as backup. Sometimes I solo with this smaller pot and tab stove and fire as backup.

https://www.amazon.com/Esbit-CS585HA-3-Piece-Lightweight-Camping/dp/B001UERXOQ/

All these could be had for less than $50 and give many options to tailor the trip.

Good luck!

Re #5, I'd settled on making my own alcohol stove, but then realized I needed a lightweight pot -- found this Esbit and I've loved using it.