Sure you have been planning to stock up on a few things, just in case.  It couldn’t hurt to have some canned goods and bottled water put away in case of some type of emergency.  Maybe you even thought far enough ahead to have a couple packs of Sterno put aside too, to cook with and boil water if the need should arise.

But emergencies don’t wait.  What if the emergency happens tonight?  What if you’re out for a hike and suddenly realize you’re lost?  What if you have to boil lake water to drink?  Or cook a fish?

The variety of things that one can improvise to make a small stove are surprising.  Here’s one way that you probably didn’t think of.

Do you have your Leatherman or multi-tool?  It’s something everyone should have and carry.

Image via Wikipedia

Now let’s say that you rummage around in some nearby trash and come up with empty soda bottle, maybe you already scavenged a can of beans and a metal cup, and you have a bottle of hand sanitizer and matches in your pocket.  You’re all set.

First empty the beans, or whatever, into the metal cup.  The with the multi-tool remove the other end of the can as well so you have a cylinder that you can see through now that both ends are gone. Also use the multi-tool to put a couple holes around the edges of each end for ventilation.  This is now your cooking stand and wind screen.

Take the soda bottle, it’s the cap you want.  Remove the cap and fill it with hand sanitizer and set it on a flat surface.

Image via Wikipedia

Hand sanitizers range from 60-70 percent alcohol.  Which means it will burn.  Light the gel you’ve put in the bottle cap and place the can over the top to protect the flame from any wind.

Now put your metal cup of beans on top and cook it.  If the flame dies before they’re fully cooked, just add more sanitizer, re-light, and keep cooking.

This is just one way of creating an impromptu stove, there are many others.  A little ingenuity might mean the difference between life and death.