The difficulty is that you are comparing a bicycle to a moped. Neither is optimal, but they don't fill quite the same role either.

To get the Hexi lit, scrap some of it into powder on the top of the block. I've never seen that in any directions or manuals, but it makes it so much easier to light them- just throwing sparks at a fuel tab is like trying to light a full size log on fire by holding a match under it. Keep in mind that triox and hexi/esbit are NOT designed to boil water, just heat it to the point where you can make tea/coffee with it, or heat a C-ration so it isn't cold, just nastily lukewarm.

The problem with alcohol stoves is very simple: they don't like cold. I was was testing some add-ons that I've been toying with to try to get them winter ready, and my trangias just sat there and pouted. It was right around freezing. Ethanol just doesn't have a low enough vaporization temperature for it to be any good in winter.

To have either of them be anything more than a bad joke, you need windscreens.

Best bet- carry the Vargo, with fuel, AND carry fuel tabs.