Jetboil Mini Mo vs. Pocket Rocket & MSR Titan Kettle

You could replace the Pocket Rocket with one of those $11 Gearbest stoves for even more weight savings.

Or you could replace the jetboil stove with one of the $11 gearbeast stoves and bring the weights closer together — this is how I run my Jeboil SolTi and works pretty well.

If you must melt snow/ice for water, fuel efficiency becomes a much more important factor and therefore favors a HX pot. Typically allocate about 3x normal amount of fuel when all water is derived from frozen water.

You can get the MiniMo down to 13.0 oz. by swapping out the heavy lid with a SP 900 aftermarket lid from Don at FourDogStoves, and leaving the bottom cup at home. And by the way, Campsaver is also selling the MiniMo for the same price (considering their free shipping). I think the beauty of the MiniMo is its superb burner. A bit heavy at 4.6 oz., but it is likely the best somewhat-light simmering stove out there.

And it will hold a large (227g/8oz) canister.

It will hold a large canister, but not with the burner. It makes a pretty neat package with the 4oz canister and burner inside. If using the large canister with the MiniMo pot, I'd rather keep the burner inside the pot anyway, in order to keep it from getting banged around and damaged or getting debris in the threads, etc. If using the Sumo 1.8l vessel, both burner and 227g canister will fit inside. The FourDog lid Gary mentioned, and the bungee with a couple of small plastic hooks I use to keep it in place.

I was searching for a discussion I thought I'd read on BPL about how Jetboil isn't actually more efficient than a typical canister stove. I didn't find it exactly…but found this instead: http://adventuresinstoving.blogspot.com/2014/12/fuel-efficiency-jetboils-vs-regular.html

…I thought I'd read on BPL about how Jetboil isn't actually more efficient than a typical canister stove If you look carefully at the charts and the conclusions, they tell a different story. The longer the trip, the more fuel efficiency matters because it might mean not having to take an extra canister. However, some folks consider the weight differences to be so minuscule as to be practically meaningless, which other folks consider heresy, lol!

I have done the math a few times and I can't find a scenario where it makes sense to take a jetboil type stove or even a canister stove over my caldera cone setup. Of course I don't boil a much water (about 12oz per day). I find that alcohol is lighter even for a two week trip.

True, Bob! But I think the article also mentions it depends on what type or model of JetBoil you take, too.

If considering fuel efficiency alone ('X' grams of fuel burned to heat 'Y' milliliters of water) there is no doubt that JB (and MSR Windburner, and other HX set-ups in general) use a lot less fuel per burn. Hikin' Jim has settled upon 5 grams of isobutane/propane per 2 cup boil as his standard for JB and 8 grams for non-HX stove/pot combos. I've done a fair amount of stove testing (not nearly as much as Hikin' Jim, of course!) and find this to be about right, and actually a bit conservative. So 5 grams vs 8 grams per boil is a lot more efficient — 3 grams each boil. However, that means you only "claw back" 30g (~1 oz) in weight savings after 10 boils. So yes, if actual fuel efficiency is not paramount, there are other, much lighter set-ups compared to the lightest, most stripped-down JB combo imaginable. An extremely cheap and light non-JB combo would be something like an Open Country 3-cup aluminum pot with a BRS-3000 burner, all for about $28, not including shipping cost.

Of course I don't boil a much water (about 12oz per day). I find that alcohol is lighter even for a two week trip. And Esbit is lighter yet, although a bit messier…

For 3 season and mild winter use I would not even consider using my jet boil minimo. I use my homemade esbit setup that has worked like a charm for me when I decide to eat cooked food. However, in dead winter when temps are well below freezing and I will depend on melting snow/ice for my drinking and/or eating, well, that's why I have invested in the minimo. As with everything else backpacking/camping related,it really depends on your needs and season of use. This past year I have gone stoveless and I LOVE it..just sayin…