I personally would not want to use anything else than a "standard" chain tool, but then I've only had to change the chain length a couple of times. Maybe with more practice one could use some kind of a substitute tool. With the experience you have I would definitely recommend a dedicated tool for this. Is a compact chain tool really too big/heavy? See this for example:
http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp?style=10803
--J