Camp stove: Looking for opinions and reviews

I bought an Optimus 00 in the early 70s and it's still working after countless motorcycle trips. It has a rather large brass tank that holds enough fuel for a couple weeks. To preheat it I use a squirt of lighter fluid. This stove will still be working 100 years from now.

This is a very good point for anything longer than a 3-4 day trip. For local trips I use my JetBoil, but I wouldn't use it for trips more than 3 or 4 days because I'd have to carry a bunch of cartridges. For longer trips, MSR Whisperlite has worked well for me. Although that Svea looks pretty interesting.

Svea 123 Yes!!! I bought mine in grade 10, 1970. Used it lots over the years and used it last summer for 4 weeks in Alaska The eye dropper trick to preheat the stove is the best.

I guess we can tell the age of many Adv riders Judging by the number of 123 owners here. saw one in a cafe in the Yukon up on the shelf full of antiques!

For up to 3 day trip I use JetBoil (Easy to use, mainly backpacking meals). For longer than that I pack my MSR DragonFly (more invovled, but more options for storebought meals). Both are great stoves, for different uses.

I looked at the cool liquid fuel stoves mentioned above, but couldn't really spring $80+ and wanted something that would simmer since I cook eggs and pancakes on trips. I looked through a lot of forum posts and I'm always surprised that nobody mentions the Primus Trail Classic. I didn't really know about it until I saw one at REI. Not the most trick option, but it does pretty much everything you need from a stove for $20. Weighs next to nothing, boils water pretty fast and takes up barely any space. It uses the Isobutane cartriges.

http://www.amazon.com/Primus-P-224383-Classic-Trail-Stove/dp/B000RHCOP0

Great piece of kit, easy and very fast as long as you don't run out of those little gas-cartridges in the middle of your dinner in the middle of nowhere. Hard to get at the mom-and-pop convenience store.

I had that same stove and was excited about what a great deal it was. I got it for 20 bucks from Sierra Outfitters. I took it on a couple camping trips and on the 3rd trip i was camping out with my son and it decided not to work anyone. I googled a video on my phone on how to clean it and we went into the campground bathroom and did our best but no joy, I took it appart when i got home and ran it through the dishwasher but still nothing. Thats when i started looking for a dual fuel and settled on the Coleman stove for 50 bucks. Its 30 bucks more larger but more versatile and maybe more reliable. At least thats my experience so far.

Actually there is the fire starter toothpaste tube. It works very good and burns longer to ensure a good start. My wife laughs when i say i need to get some flammable toothpaste.

That's a bummer to hear. Mine's gone on a couple weekend trips so far with no problems. What brand of fuel did you use? I've been using a $5 GigaPower cartridge with no problems.

I used primus canisters.

So i've been wanting one of these portable grills for a while so i pulled the trigger for a kit over at advdesigns.com. Its 30 bucks and worth every penny. So awesome grilling at camp. It does take a couple minutes to assemble so wouldn't want to use it every night plus you have to have charcoal.





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My Son Dakota making diner at camp last night out in the Desert.



My sons using a little twig type folding stove. We use it as a back up when we're on the road. Its called a Pocket Cooker and makes for a nice little back up in your cooking kit. Only goes for about 15 bucks. If you have a pocket stove in your cooking kit you'll never worry about running out of fuel. I wouldn't use it as a main stove just a back up. Here's a video on its use.

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I mainly use an MSR Pocket Rocket. It's really small and light. I bought it for backpacking. I've had it since 05 and used it quite a bit. It has never had a single problem. We did a stint on the Appalachian Trail with it as well. I even used it this past weekend for my first time dirt bike camping unsupported. I've done a ton of camping and lots of riding, just never together without having my truck as my previous bikes didn't lend to this.

I also use a coleman 502 stove. These things are extremely reliable. Mine has been in my family since 1962. We've torn it apart to clean it once after it sat for several years before it was handed down to me. It's really a much better stove than the pocket rocket. It simmers very well for actually cooking on it. It runs great on unleaded as well as coleman fuel. I recently took it on a 3 day jeep adventure ride and it was flawless. It's not really that much bigger than the pocket rocket when you take into account the butane fuel container's size.

Wow what great timing in finding this thread as I am in the market for a good stove and cook ware, Anybody know where one can purchase a Svea123 in Canada or do I have to order online?

Ben

Ebay for starters-
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Optimus-Cam...361?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c698bcbb9
I don't know after that. I got mine on ebay. Given how tough these are and how long these things last, buying second hand (like I did) over the internet shouldn't be seen as a problem either.

I have become somewhat of a collector of various types of stoves. If I had to give them up and keep only one it would have to be the Svea. Every now and then when I pass the shelf it sits on I have to pick it up and tinker w/it. Hell I even shine it up w/Neverdull every now and then.

I bought a multi-fuel stove last year in prep for a particular trip. I used it several times to make coffee and tea out in the dooryard before the trip. It jammed and failed within a month. The heat control pushed a wire a few inches around a couple of bends. It was designed to fail. Campmor refunded my money.

I used my old Svea, which unlike Jeff's is mostly dark brown with patina. I used it with pump gas, regular, on a couple of trips and more testing at home to see when it would clog. No clogging with several pints of gas.

I was looking for a better stove and found that my '70s Svea is it.

Running fuel with gas treatment through multi fuel stoves every now and then is a good idea i hear.

Throwing in my two cents and probably reiterating what others have said.

tl;dr:

MSR Whisper-Lite
Good:
-Burns any fuel on the planet
-Finer heat control
-Uses any kind of pot
-Can do semi-complex cooking
Bad:
-Kinda heavy
-Bulky
-Fiddlier setup/breakdown (gets your hands sooty)

Jet-Boil
Good:
-Very light and compact
-Super-easy setup, snaps together
-Boils water very quickly
Bad:
-Uses special fuel cans
-Very limited ability to cook or vary temperature
-Have to use their special attaching pots/cups

For long-distance motorcycle trips through remote areas, I carry an MSR Whisper-lite. It's not the smallest thing when you add in a pot and fuel bottle, but it's very stable in wind and on uneven ground, and will burn any sort of fuel you put in. Good ability to vary the heat output, so you can do some semi-complicated cooking with it if you're up for it.

When I'm backpacking on multi-night back country trips, I carry a Jet-Boil. It's much lighter and simpler than the Whisper-lite, packs down smaller and sets up WAY easier. The downside is you have to use the little propane containers, which are plentiful in basically any store near a National Park or popular backcountry destination, but can be hard to find in more remote areas. In my experience you also can't do much in the way of cooking with it; it's built to boil water very quickly, and that's about the extent of it's abilities. There's some heat control available, but not much and I've ruined a couple of cooking containers trying to simmer a pasta sauce (and then baking it to the bottom of the cup).

I used a Svea 123 backpacking in the 70's and canoe camping in the 80's/90's - and I suspect it is still kicking around here someplace. Around 2000 I started using a canister top stove and for motorcycle camping and last year switched to a JetBoil. For compactness and boiling water rapidly the JetBoil is awesome. And one of our vendors had some great deals on JetBoil stuff just recently. (fullthrottlecamping.com - see vendor forum)

I dont like stoves that require a bottle for liquid gas.
1. adds weight/bulk
2. you have to pump them up and keep them pressurized.

They arent as versatile as liguid gas stoves, but I still prefer a canister fueled stove over a liquid gas one. Check out the Optimus Crux. Basically the same operation as an MSR Pocket Rocket, but higher quality, lighter weight, and, it fits into the concave base of a fuel canister for storage. Oh, and it boils a liter of water in around 2 minutes!

For backpacking, I like a combination as follows: Optimus Crux stove and a 4 oz fuel canister (generally a Snow Peak GIgaPower). Both fit into a Snow Peak Trek 700 Titanium pot. If its a longer trip, I might take along one extra 8 oz canister.

I feel that a canister stove is superior, and i especially like the Crux for its light weight and size. If you're trip will take you past civilization, ANY store that sells camping or outdoor supplies will have canisters, and therefore you won't have to take extras with you.