Been doing some tests comparing the BRS and MSR PR Deluxe. Been getting basically the same performace out of both stoves. A caveat is that I've been using a JB pot (32 oz and same diameter as the sterno pot) and the BRS feet sit inside the cage on the fins while the MSR feet sit on the cage. So, the flames from the MSR are a little further from the bottom of the pot. That said, I wouldn't anticipate substantial gains getting the MSR closer to the bottom of the pot. I have the sterno pot and plan to bend the feet of my BRS like trout to get them seated right up against the bottom, which should get me some performance (as is, I was getting slightly lower performance than trout reported).
One thing I tried was comparing boiling 32oz in one go vs two 16oz boils. I found that boiling 32oz all at once is only 0.5-1.0g more efficient than two boils of 16oz. Considering that you can bring a smaller pot to boil 16oz at a time, it would take quite a few boils to make up for the extra weight of a larger pot when you need to boil more water, say for two people.
I conducted my tests by weighing before screwing the stove on and after unscrewing and found that you lose 0.5-1.0g of fuel in screwing on/off.
Last thing I might try is putting the fuel canister in the freezer. The PR Deluxe is supposedly a regulated stove and should perform better in colder conditions. That said, you can always put the fuel in your jacket or bag to warm it up, so the results may or may not matter in field situations.
I may take the dremel to the cage on the sterno pot to save some more weight. The fins seem burly enough to take a little abuse, but I plan on being a little more careful with it.
