I pack an Esbit and a Trianga titanium alcohol stove because it's easy to find fuel for them
You carry both? If you don't mind my asking, why don't you carry just the Trianga? Is the Esbit better when you can get the fuel?
...it's not so easy to find Esbit fuel just anywhere.
Definitely, you'll not find Esbit fuel in corner store in a small town. You probably know more about this than I do, but I would think that MEC in Calgary would have the Esbit fuel tabs, although Edmonton to Calgary isn't exactly "just around the corner." They're sold online at
http://www.armynavydeals.ca/catalog/esbit-solid-fuel-tabs-p-5511.html and probably other places.
Neither are especially potent but they'll boil enough water to reconstitute a freeze dried meal or a cup of tea fairly quickly.
That'll do in a pinch! Just what I'm looking for.