Alcohol stoves have big advantages over other types of camping stoves. http://edcforums.com/threads/portable-gas-stove-recommendation.81561/

But they need a windshield, since the energy output of an alcohol stove is less than the energy output of a butane or gasoline stove.

I am looking for a lightweight alternative for the large Trangia windshield/pot stand, and I am curious about the cooking performance in wind of that alternative.

The official large Trangia windshield consists of two separate aluminum shells that fit together, a base shell and a top shell. http://www.trangia.se/english/5615.27_series_ul_ha.html

Trangia also offers the Trangia mini set, which has a lightweight windshield, but that is not enclosing the pot, and it has very large airholes, so I doubt that will be sufficient in strong wind. http://www.trangia.se/english/2924.mini_trangia.html

I have experienced that sand is not a good choice as a potstand and windshield if it is wet. That is probably due to the pot cooling down from the wet sand, and the alcohol staying to cold to properly form gas jets. In this experiment I dug a narrow cone-shaped hole in the sand two feet deep, keeping some vent openings for the burner element if the pot was placed in the hole. This experiment was done in moderate wind force at a 60 degrees F. air temp.

I wonder if there is a risk that stones will explode, if I use them for a windshield. I would look for non porous stones for that purpose, but is that a guarantee? Stones used as a windshield for a Trangia burner element will not get as hot as stones that lie in a campfire.