I want to really nail home the point that a wind screen is crucial for an alcohol stove to work. The feeble heat output (800 watt I think?) is is so small that you really, really need the wind screen to make sure as much heat as possible goes where you need it.

The trangia design - where the pot rests snugly inside the circular wind screen - is the best one. Take a good look on that one and see how the air flow works.

The trangia is a really nice camping kit about the size, shape and weight of a football (that would be soccer ball for your Americans!). Although nice, that is perhaps a bit large for your needs. There are lots of different designs for smaller kits, though. I would scrutinize the "mini trangia" and the Swedish mess kit adapted for trangia burner. I haven't tested any of the mini kits, but you'll find lots of reviews online.


My advice is get a dedicated pot+wind screen combination where the wind screen encapsulates the pot almost all the way to the top, with about half an inch of opening, that is stable enough for you to leave it alone while you prepare the rest of the camp. That's the trangia design, and that works.


Myself I'm a big fan of either wood or more technical advanced burners (canned gas or paraffin). But alcohol burners have a lot going for them: Cheap and extremely reliable. Most of the time, the small heat output just means you can enjoy the scenery for a bit longer.