diff --git a/cmd/server/neighbor_persist.go b/cmd/server/neighbor_persist.go
index 7273ba38..9deea628 100644
--- a/cmd/server/neighbor_persist.go
+++ b/cmd/server/neighbor_persist.go
@@ -132,9 +132,14 @@ func resolvePathForObs(pathJSON, observerID string, tx *StoreTx, pm *prefixMap,
 		contextPKs = append(contextPKs, strings.ToLower(fromNode))
 	}
 	resolved := make([]*string, len(hops))
+	// Reuse a single ctx buffer across hops instead of allocating per hop.
+	// Capacity +2 for the previous-hop resolved PK that may be appended.
+	ctx := make([]string, len(contextPKs), len(contextPKs)+2)
+	copy(ctx, contextPKs)
+	ctxLen := len(ctx)
 	for i, hop := range hops {
-		ctx := make([]string, len(contextPKs), len(contextPKs)+2)
-		copy(ctx, contextPKs)
+		// Reset to base context (trim any previously appended resolved PK)
+		ctx = ctx[:ctxLen]
 		if i > 0 && resolved[i-1] != nil {
 			ctx = append(ctx, *resolved[i-1])
 		}
diff --git a/cmd/server/store.go b/cmd/server/store.go
index 273cf90d..ac039f6a 100644
--- a/cmd/server/store.go
+++ b/cmd/server/store.go
@@ -478,6 +478,13 @@ type PacketStore struct {
 	trackedBytes     int64          // running total of estimated packet store memory
 	memoryEstimator  func() float64 // injectable for tests; nil = use runtime.ReadMemStats (stats only)
 
+	// Per-store ReadMemStats cache (5s TTL). Fields (not package-level vars) so
+	// that test helpers constructing &PacketStore{...} directly get independent
+	// cache state, avoiding order-dependent test failures.
+	estMemMu  sync.Mutex
+	estMemVal float64
+	estMemAt  time.Time
+
 	// Short-lived cache for the observations aggregate in GetStoreStats (30s TTL).
 	// Avoids a per-/api/stats full-table scan; values accurate to ~30s which is
 	// sufficient for dashboard display.
@@ -4536,13 +4543,24 @@ func estimateStoreObsBytes(obs *StoreObs) int64 {
 // estimatedMemoryMB returns current Go heap allocation in MB.
 // Kept for stats/debug endpoints only — NOT used in eviction decisions.
 // In tests, memoryEstimator can be set to inject a deterministic value.
+// Caches the result for 5 seconds because runtime.ReadMemStats() stops the
+// world and this is called from stats/debug endpoints that may be polled.
+// The cache is per-store (not package-level) so that test helpers constructing
+// &PacketStore{...} directly get independent cache state, avoiding
+// order-dependent test failures from a shared global cache.
 func (s *PacketStore) estimatedMemoryMB() float64 {
 	if s.memoryEstimator != nil {
 		return s.memoryEstimator()
 	}
-	var ms runtime.MemStats
-	runtime.ReadMemStats(&ms)
-	return float64(ms.HeapAlloc) / 1048576.0
+	s.estMemMu.Lock()
+	defer s.estMemMu.Unlock()
+	if time.Since(s.estMemAt) > 5*time.Second {
+		var ms runtime.MemStats
+		runtime.ReadMemStats(&ms)
+		s.estMemVal = float64(ms.HeapAlloc) / 1048576.0
+		s.estMemAt = time.Now()
+	}
+	return s.estMemVal
 }
 
 // trackedMemoryMB returns the self-accounted packet store memory in MB.