"two days straight..." - there you go. I don't even consider a 2 day trip a hike. My last trip was 24 days. I don't even go to the Sierras unless it is for 2 weeks on the trail or more. Very different situation when you live 2000 miles from the trailheads.
This whole stove thing is like a philosophy to live by, not a clear decision you can make based on a few facts such as weight per day, fuel availability and size. It's all about that feeling you get when that first cup of warm coffee is in your hand after a week on the trail, or while it is freaking cold outside and 50mph wind gusts are pulling on your tent at Iceberg Lake in April. You are allowed to dig your teeth into that frozen peanut butter while I enjoy a warm beverage made from snow.
I had an esbit powered steam engine as a kid. It took forever to heat up the engine's tank that held maybe half a cup of water. Maybe I've been permanently turned off from that type of fuel because of a poorly designed toy
Esbit fuel is rather heavy per BTU, even if I don't have to carry a canister containing the fuel. Fine for a weekend hike, but my hikes are long, with usually 7 or 8 days between resupply, which makes me quite certain that the total weight in fuel I need to carry including the weight of the empty canister is less with isobutane with a Jetboil stove and cup, than any workable solution burning Esbit. And even if it isn't, I will just continue to rely on a solution that delivers what I want rather than trying to save a few ounces and find myself screaming at Esbit pellets while waiting for some heat to get into that water pot.
I have absolutely no issue carrying 10 pounds of camera gear, because I like the results. I also like the results of a proper stove. That is my stove philosophy in a nutshell, I guess. It is a piece of gear that has proven itself over decades of use and you eventually just stop asking yourself if there's a fundamentally different way to shave a few ounces off that piece of essential equipment.
With stoves, the only radical weight saving alternative I'd contemplate is to bring no stove at all and eat cold food, or on a longer summer solo hike support my one-cup-of-coffee-a-day addiction with a wood stove solution. There are some pretty darn good wood stoves out there that don't need more than a few twigs to make enough warm water (or a pellet of Esbit as emergency fuel when there's no wood or it is all wet).
However, I usually hike in a group, and we all like warm drinks and warm meals, so we boil up to a gallon of water each day. That is about 7 gallons between resupplies. We never needed more than one 220g canister for that amount. How much Esbit for and how much longer to heat that much water to a boil? And when it comes to melting snow for water in winter, I think most ultra light solutions are rather challenged.
I've thoroughly tested how efficient my stove is, and even though I could care less about an extra pound or two in my backpack, I do want that extra pound to address a purpose.
It is the full package that matters when assessing the value of the extra weight carried. Performance vs. weight is always a tradeoff and the decision what to pack depends on much more than just plain weight. On longer hikes at least, I've so far chosen the Jetboil Sol, while I have left the electrically inflated mattress behind. Esbit for a short hike is fine, but I don't remember having ever done an overnight hike shorter than 8 days unless it was in the middle of winter.
