Hi to all!!! I guess you have heard this all before, but to me it is all new. I have bought a few stoves and have enjoyed using them. Without showing my hand I would like to have a few ideas about what would be the 2 or 3 top stoves a new collector should get. At 65 I am late in life collecting stoves. Keep in mind that I am looking at "backpacking & small camping" type stoves. Using white gas and kerosene fuels. I am not looking for the "super rare" or hard to get type stoves. But rather the day in and day out stove that most collectors would most likely have in their collection. We have all played this game in other areas. I am looking for the best items to add to my collection. So I hope this post is in the correct forum, if not please move. PS: I have quickly found out the names Seva, Primus, and Optimus are products I am looking hard at. As it seams they are the top makers in this area. So I will say thank you now, for any comments. Thanks Mike G. Note: I will later in this thread post the stoves I have now. Hope I did well!!!
OK, given that you said: "backpacking and small camping", I'd look for: Svea 123 or 123R Optimus 8 or 8R Primus or Optimus 96. I'm sure others will check in with other suggestions. ....Arch
holy grails to add to that list are optimus 99 and 199,111, Enders 9061, Anything Coleman and anything MSR. Of course any collector simply must have a brass discus stove or 20 These are the oldest pressurised fuel stoves and are still made today. Too many brands but if you can get a 1/3 pint and half pint collapsible in a tin you are doing well. Then there are 1 pint colapsable and fixed leg and bigger versions with fixed legs and silent or loud burners. Then there are the smaller size versions with lipstic burners like the 96 in many brands That should keep you going for the next month or so then you can ask for more recomendations
Howdy, Mike, Welcome to CCS! You've been given some excellent advice, so far, and I concur: Svea 123, Optimus/Primus 8R, Optimus/Primus 96, and I'll add MSR X-GK, Optimus 00, or Primus 210, AND a Meths stove, like the Trangia 27, or 25, or the Optimus 81 Trapper (IF you can find one for sale). Plenty more excellent stove out there; hundreds, in fact, if not more!!! But, these stoves will give you a very good start, and even if you go no further, if you get all the mentioned stoves, you'll have a nice, tidy, and very capable collection!!! Good luck, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc (Who seldom met a stove that he did not like, and want to own!!!)
Or buy and bring home, causing great amounts of jealousy, envy and covetousness among the rest of the members here.
If you are trying to keep costs down and still get in the game the Svea 123, Optimus 8R and 99 are still reasonable. The Optimus 111 and even more rare stoves are getting quite expensive due to world wide popularity of collecting. For users, the Colemans offer the cheapest way to get into stoves and in my opinion many of them are excellent stoves. The 400, 400A, 400B, 550B, 502, M1950, 530 are all good stoves and can be had at reasonable prices. Others may chime in on other good Colemans. I have been at it for about five years and I missed the good deals on Optimus 111, etc. To get them at a reasonable price you would have to haunt estate and garage sales and swap meets. I am not into that, but for a couple years I stopped at many antique stores. I found a total of one stove that way, a partial Optimus 1S. I have not even seen any Colemans at those places, and they were made in the millions. My brother is an accomplished antique collector and he told me he does not see stoves in the Pennsylvania region where he lives. Others may have better luck, but I have bought nearly all my stoves on eBay. My only other find was long ago with an Optimus 8R at a garage sale that my wife found. I have seen the prices on eBay double in the few years I have been doing this. I just can't justify spending a couple hundred dollars for a stove while living on a retirement income. Good luck. Brad
Hello Mike G, I would happily endorse many of the stoves mentioned in the replies you have had. I prefer a stove/pot set combo, for an overnight. The svea 123, optimus 99, coleman peak 1, or a mini trangia. They are all worth some consideration, I'm sure you'll value & enjoy which ever you choose. Happy hunting, & Best regards. Optimust.
I think a long term view can be had, as well as a short term view. Short term: Have a few stoves to use, knowing a few others that you wish to have. Long term: Look at antique shops, flea markets, yard sales, consignment stores, etc. (No in that order). When you have a good idea of what you want it is a much better find and a bit of a better deal usually. A lot of those choices are a personal preference. Some like the 123 and don't particularly want to carry a 00, some the other way around, and still others love both. Most here have at least a fair collection, not just one or two for use. It would be hard for any of them to pick a favorite. Your own experience will serve to find what you want. And, do you want to cook, or just boil water? Ken in NC
stay away from flea mkts. antique stores junk shops and swap meets as i will be there trying to find the bargains. seriuosly, if the other collectors found stoves by the dozens in the past, there must be a few left for the newcomer to find. i've passed up several really nice stoves, even a new in the box 530 with the heat plate wrapped in tissue paper. also 502's and 8R's too.i am not greedy and despise that trait in others. a friend just found a very nice Svea 123r for $3.00 in a coffee can at an estate sale. someone else picked it up and put it back down because it was "not clean enough". i would love to have an Optimus 8 but i never see them around the mid-western U.S. keep a look out and you'll find a bargain. buzz
Thanks for the thoughts! I did a small bit of looking into these types of stoves, while I started buying a few over the last year or two. I found a great place to see many different types of stoves in "You Tube" under stove reviews. It gave me a chance to see quite a number of different types of stoves I would otherwise never see! My number one stove I decided to get was a Svea 123. I bought a nice used 123R and later found a nice used 123 {had the 123 Svea on the wind screen} with the angled valve stem. All I found on these stoves pointed to them being a field tried and tested stove with a very long history of service. Calling this stove the best of the best could be very apt statement. As it is still being made today is a statement within itself. I linked my number two stove into what I called "tin can" stoves. They are the Primus 71 and the Optimus 80 stoves. They are fairly easy to find on e-bay for sale and prices are both high and low. I bought one of both, in very good used shape. Now the can itself is another story! Both of these stove types are pretty easy to work on or rebuild. Now I think I should comment about e-bay. For many this venue has both good and bad points. This is not a antique shop where one may find a gem for a cheap price. Sure, prices reflect what the market will bear, and its buyer beware. Prices often start and stay high. But the bidding action calls the shots at the end of the day. E-bay allows one to shop all over the country from your home. If you are careful you can find a deal once in a while. This is just one way to find items to collect that one wishes to collect. I found stove type number three on e-bay. So here is stove number three. I like the white gas type of stoves. But I found myself drawn to the kerosene stoves. I found a like new never used Optimus 00 in the cardboard box so I picked that one up and like it well. And also in this line falls the Primus 96 and like stoves. These stoves are what I feel, falls into the "hands on" when using type stoves. I feel this type of stove is truly "old school". As I am not a camper or backpacker, I use these stoves at the range to make coffee and cook simple foods. Hey! I get a kick out of using them. We used to do a little camping years ago and used the old standby Coleman two burner white gas stove. I can pack one of these in my daypack and take a short walk to the river and cook what I wish. Also, as we live in a total electric house its nice to be able to cook some simple items when the power is off. Been their, done that!!! So this is my core of three types of stoves I feel is a great starting point. Thanks also for the points of places to look for these stoves. I feel its a much picked over area but one never knows. Its nice doing "some things" old school!!! Keep it simple. MikeG
Welcome Mike, Congrats on your choices so far. So your OP mentions "the day in and day out stove", the impression I get, within a classic camp collection what are also good user stoves. Even though your own camp stove use is now somewhat limited, the stove/burner is only 1 piece. I suggest you think as Optimust also suggests "a stove/pot set combo". Have a kit sized to stove that all works well together in a slight wind. Kits: a Trangia and a SIGG Tourist. Stoves for SIGG: your older Svea 123 and either of these 3 Coleman's 400/400a or 550B. Seek a complete SIGG Tourist for Svea 123 then add the SIGG windscreen that allows Coleman to be used w/the SIGG kit. Another impression I get is that on occasion you're using white gas indoors, although 550B is multi-fuel, above suggestions are for outdoor use only. So I may have come up short for what you want, ideally. @Nordicthug has shared wisdom here over many years, he has MANY classics but his kitchen choice during power outage was a basic propane 2 burner iirc. Re 99 the lid of it's aluminum case doubles as small pot aside from that 99 & 8R (steel case) are alike, I too like/suggest either 1 for use w/smaller kit. thx omc
I did just pick up a SIGG Tourist kit to work with my two Svea 123's. It was in like new shape and makes the 123's really work well! This makes a great set up for me. I am finding out collecting stoves such as these can be quite addictive! But fun as I like to tinker with gear. I just got a Premus 96 that I am cleaning up. Seams its as much fun restoring and bringing back to life a honestly worn old stove. Sites such as this is a great help to someone like me that is new to this game. So thanks to all for the kind words and nice greetings. I am looking forward to taking the wife with me and hunting some of the antique shops around in my part of Virginia this summer. Even if I do not find a nice stove, we used to like stopping in these shops and we have not done this in a long while. One needs something to be looking for I think! And of course in the house basic propane all the way. I still have a not so old two burner propane I used when hunting and it serves well in power outages. But one needs backups! My small attached garage allows me to open the door and use kerosene or white gas stoves if need be. Again to those who built and keep up this site THANKS FOR A WELL DONE JOB!!! Keep the "SON" in your eye's! Mike G
