Hi all! I've been reading this forum ever since I was given two Sveas (123 and 123R) by two different family members a few years back. I figured it was time to give back, so I signed up yesterday. Any tips and corrections on forum etiquette are much welcomed. I wanted to share this Smilie Outfits cookset that I was given along with my Svea 123. It consists of two nesting pots with wire handles, two lids, and a green canvas draw string bag. The smaller pot fits a Svea perfectly. Both pots and the bag are branded Smilie Outfits of San Francisco. A quick Google search didn't pull up any other Smilie cooksets, but I did find a few ads for them in backpacking and sailing magazines from the mid-70s. Now to the photos:
Welcome and nice cook set. I'm always looking for alternative cooksets for all of my stoves since I like to put them in action and actually use them. I guess the Smilie Company went out years ago. Hope you stick around and post some more cool stuff or show off how well your stoves work. sam
Hello, That is quite possibly the best pot set I have seen for a 123. Two pots with lids and bails??!! And little excess space? The matching tote is a perfect finishing touch. I love the idea of canvas instead of nylon. Enjoy the heck out of them! Paul
There's nothing I'd presume to impart on 'tips and corrections on forum etiquette' other than to ask that you continue as you've started, which is great, and a very warm welcome. It's often been said on here that the 123 runs better than the 123R with the cleaning needle, the view being that the pricker rack messes up combustion. Indeed, some ('Trojandog' - Terry) remove the pricker rack and run their 123R without it. What's your view on that, Manzanita? I've just a 123 and not the 123R and find the 123 a sweet burning stove that with decent fuel (Aspen 4T here in the UK) doesn't require a jet clean/pricking at all. John
Oooh, I think I've got one like that down in the basement. Now I'll have to go dig it out and look. AR
Wow that really is a nice cook pot set. I am rather interested in finding out about this company myself as I live and grew up San Francisco just litteraly down the street from Western Mountaineering maker. In the 1970's there was a lot of interest in backpacking as I recall. Mostly in the later 1970's. I do not recall these pots at all and I would think I might of heard of them considering they where made in San Francisco. Never the less those are really keepers in my opinion. Congrats on getting them handed down to you. You will find those SVEA123's are a joy to own and use. They where my first stove in 1979 and I still own it and use it. Nothing like pulling canvas sack like yours and brewing up a cup out on the road or on a vista when you pull off the road.
A clue might (might) be the subtitle "camp trail". They might have evolved into Camp Trail, manufacturers of packs, pack frames, and many other types of outdoor equipment in the 70s and 80s. This is just a guess; Camp Trail may have been a completely different company. Paul
Hi all. Sorry for not responding sooner. I suppose I must not have my forum settings right; I thought I'd get a notification if anyone posted on this thread. I'm glad you all enjoyed seeing these. I've always thought this little mess kit was a gem. but I had no idea others would too. This past week I set about getting both Sveas up and running (the 123 was losing power and I've never had the 123R running). This meant doing a cotton mop wick rebuild, new Nitrile gaskets and clearing out a clogged spindle with a combination of a vinegar bath and the boiling-water-to-ice-bath technique. Just to really tighten it up, I even bought a replacement pot handle for the 123R from a man in Portland who makes new repros and sells them on ebay. At the end of it all I took the 123R and the Smilie cookset out to the Sierra foothills with a friend for a quick overnighter. The combo performed beautifully; however, the big pot took a fall on the rocks. The small dent resulting from it cleared away some of the decades-old char. This got me thinking, so tonight I took some fine-grain steel wool to it and got it good and shiny, being careful to not buff-out the original label. I imagine that some out there might accuse me of several forms of treason for this, but I liked the way it looks spiffed up. Compare the after photo to the original post; it's almost hard to tell it's the same pot.
Hi John, Sorry for the long delay. I've enjoyed my 123 for about 2 years now, but I didn't get the 123R in working condition until last week. Now that I've pretty much overhauled both of them, I'll have to develop an opinion. So far I haven't noticed any issues with the extra "complications" of the 123R except that I keep putting the stove out when I turn the key all the way to the left, thinking with my 123 brain that I'm just opening it up full-blast. I actually found the self-cleaning needle to be much more simple to take out and reinstall (with the magical 4-5 clicks) than I had originally feared.
Here a year ago, Manzanita "wanted to share this Smilie Outfits cookset" ... "always thought this little mess kit was a gem." A very late "WELCOME!!" and thank you, yours is a post, an item, that made an impression w/me. I DO hope one day to acquire a Smilie Outfit myself . It looks nice and not having seen another example in this meanwhile, it does seem they're fairly rare. Your title is 2 parter re the "Smilie Outfits of San Francisco": I have taken liberty to cross reference this with a recent post. The image is their campfire reflector oven (identical logo btw) posted here: https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/smilie-outfits-reflective-campfire-oven.31163/ thx omc tag @Jack K @Manzanita
In case anyone runs across this thread looking into the Smilie Outfits. The trademark appears to have run from 1965 to 1987: https://trademarks.justia.com/722/1...rancisco-cal-the-smilie-company-72215452.html
