BZH
thanks for your comments. over the years I have had many stoves. on summer trips I successfully used an alcohol (CAT) stove, and also a DIY Esbit stove [and windshield/pot stand] that weighed 2 ounces at most. Recently I have got my base weight down very low. It isn't easy to explain why I went back to the MSR pocket rocket. I suppose for (imagined?) convenience partly. If you discount the weight of the fuel ...the stove weighs 3.5 ounces and the steel canister weighs about 5 oz. So the weight difference is only about [(5+3.5)-2] = 6.5 ounces. If my full pack with consumables weighs 20 pounds, 6.5 ounces is only 2%. I consider anything less than 5% insignificant. There are several items I really don't "need" that I enjoy having that fit into that category. For example a 1 ounce plastic cup for my tea, and a wee dram of scotch.