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@gbj_tester
I was going to jump to a similar conclusion, but then I thought how nice it would be to not have to spend ten minutes getting the bar angle back to "just so", not to mention the need to carry a torque wrench if you have carbon bars. Also, the stem tends to stick out sideways when you've packed the bike for travel, unless you undo the steerer clamp and turn it through 90deg, so shortening it by a couple of inches might save another set of adjustments - if you loosen the steerer clamp, you then have to set the preload on your headset again when you arrive at your destination.
Overall, I can kind of see how an S&S coupled stem might actually be a valid solution to a particular set of problems to somebody who, for instance, wanted to take a race bike with them while taking multiple short flights on business. With some low cost airlines charging >$100 per segment on domestic flights to carry a standard bicycle, the stem's price soon becomes irrelevant.