Tools

• Purchase an Altoids mint or candy tin, a small section of aluminum window/door screen, some rubbing alcohol and about 3 cups of perlite (a siliceous rock used in gardening and horticulture). Grab some scissors, matches and a permanent marker and you're ready to start building your stove.
  
  

Construction

• Remove the lid from an Altoids tin. Using the bottom side of the tin, trace an outline onto the window/door screen with a permanent marker. Cut out the shape outlined on the window/screen door. Generously fill the Altoids tin with larger pieces of perlite. Every Altoids tin has a rolled lip around the edge of the tin. Take the piece of screen you cut out and push it under the lip of the tin. You will need to use something to place your cooking pot on that will allow at least a few inches between the bottom of the pot and the stove. Stack rocks in stable columns around the stove if nothing else is available. The lid of the Altoids tin can double as a wind screen. Wet the perlite with about 4 capfuls of alcohol.
  
  

Cooking

• Light the alcohol-soaked perlite with match or lighter and let the stove heat for about 10 seconds before placing cooking pot above. The Altoids stove is not a pressurized cooking system and therefore it takes slightly longer to heat water to a boil for cooking. In most conditions, water will begin boiling in five to six minutes. Place the bottle of alcohol a safe distance away from stove before lighting and clear away all flammable materials and ground cover. After cooking, the Altoids stove can be blown out or allowed to burn out on its own. Allow ample time for the stove to cool before handling. Keep the stove in a plastic container or bag to keep residual soot and excess alcohol from spreading onto other camping and hiking gear. The Altoids stove is just one more way to reuse a product that otherwise may find its way to a landfill. Keep your cash in your pocket and build your own lightweight Altoids camp stove.