Linguistics

[Speaking as a mod]
I won't remove this post, as different realisations for /æ/ is an on-topic subject.

However, I'd like to ask users here to present information in a way that is conductive to discussion, and a bit more in-depth than just a video showing transcriptions of a bunch of Hermitcraft players saying "sand", OK? Put a bit more effort on the post, please, this would be a damn great post if you highlighted how those different pronunciations are spread across English speakers.

A few things that caught my attention in this:

• GoodTimesWithScar's /æ/-tensing. The phenomenon is messy, as it depends on the dialect and the phonetic environment of the vowel, but before /n/ most speakers of North American dialects would realise /æ/ like he did, [ɛə̯]. Another example of the same phenomenon would be Etho, who's from Canada.
• GoodTimesWithScar's regressive nasalisation. The video transcribes it accurately as ranging from the start of the diphthong, not just near the end; that hints that, at least in his dialect, vowel nasalisation is already phonologised.
• MumboJumbo's [h]. I think that he's being cheeky and playing with how others pronounce the word; do note however that /æ/-tensing is not common in the UK, where he's from.