Where can I find an Optimus 8R?

What you have here is almost what my favourite set up is. I put my stanley cup into a Ikea cutlery bin with a trangia stove at the base. Gives you silence...stability...simplicity...and a couple other "S" words I cant quite remember. I also use the GSI cup as well.

 

@snwcmpr, hoping I get this posted before John, @presscall.

https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/epigas-alpine.39126/

 

Greetings, @Dorraine Stanley ,

Welcome to CCS!! Your adventure sounds like it will be an outstanding, and very enjoyable trip!! We've done some canoeing up in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, in Northern Minnesota, and it has a special charm that hiking does not provide.... though hiking, and backpacking, have THEIR own special charms, too!!

We have used a Coleman M400 and Sigg Tourist kit, as well as an Optimus 111, for most of those trips, and they worked a treat! For your trip, I have to agree with @Majicwrench Wrote:

"...Have you used an 8r yet? They are a bit underpowered... at one point you mentioned "we will have help.." We, as in more than one?? Get more stove.
The Sigg/123 set-up is stable, plenty of heat, awesome.
Trangia super stable, I love mine, quiet, never ever fails nor do I have any fear of it not lighting, pricking jet etc. It just works.
Keep posting!!! about your upcoming adventure!"

IF SB and I were going on another adventure, such as yours, we would seriously consider the SVEA 123 and Sigg Tourist combination, or a Trangia 27 stove. Both are easy to operate, work wonderfully with the windscreens their kits offer, and are super reliable, and robust! They also pack down to compact, easy to stow packages. What's not to like? Both setups will be far more applicable to your trip, than the 8R might be. Don't get me wrong, but the 8R is not a stove I'd consider for a long trip, whilst the other two would most certainly work perfectly for such adventures!! Just my 'tuppence, but maybe worth some consideration.....

Good luck on your trip, and yes, please do keep us posted on how things go, especially for the myriad "warm-up/practice trips" you would be undertaking, before putting in for your planned grand adventure!! Take care, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc

 

Trangia. I am a huge fan after having been introduced to Trangia by Hazet (Jon).

For myself ....
I have found the only issue with the Trangia 27 is the small size of the kettle. I use the 25 only for that reason. The kettle is a better size.
27 = 0.6 liter kettle.
...... frypan Ø180 mm
...... two saucepans, 1.0 liters
25 = 0.9 liter kettle.
...... frypan Ø220 mm
...... two saucepans, 1.75 and 1.5 liters

Which set you get depends on:
With or without a kettle, what size pots you will require ...
And then to choose aluminum, anodized, or duossal.
You can find old vintage sets also.
So many choices, and that is just Trangia.

 

Optimus 8R wick: What happens if you let the tank run dry while running the stove? Does it char the wick like happens with the Svea 123? I'm imagining an extended trip and what contingencies to plan for.

Not that the wick is big deal to replace, after having done it once. If I were to take any repairable stove on an extended trip I would have the tools and spare parts to do field repairs of - repairable- equipment. That's the beauty of the Optimus 8R, and Svea 123R. I would trust their simplicity far more than my Coleman 400A. (which is a good stove, but has way too many parts for my liking)

 

Agreed in recommending a Trangia 27 kit. Also agreed in favoring the Svea 123 in the Sigg kit. Both are simplicity at its finest. The Trangia actually burns better when it gets windy. I take it when I camp in the canoe. Brad

 

@GeneH
Good points.
I would add that to replace the wick sometimes requires a vice and torch the remove the first time. Field repair the next time would then be easier. But I do not consider the wick replacement as field repair. Care should be taken to not run to empty.

 

@snwcmpr glad you cleared my misconceptions about replacing the wick. My 1st time pulling the wick on a Svea was tough. When I reassembled I used anti-sieze and expect it to disassemble smoothly.

 

Well, maybe not smoothly, but smoother.
It should be years before it will need to be done again.

 

Goodness gracious. I don't know how I managed to miss the latter part of this thread. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ignore y'all.

 

THAT was funny!

 

@Doc Mark -- Thank you for the warm welcome. I have a friend that used to canoe the Boundary Waters with her family when she was a kid. She keeps talking about taking me there one day so we can paddle it. The pics I see of that are are downright stunning.

I have the large Trangia set and the large billy pot, which I love, but it's just so big for this trip. I have everything packed to tightly in the kayak, and it won't fit. I have a lot of rethinking to do between now and then,so I may change my mind. I've taken it on one- and two-week trips before, though, and it fit the bill.

 

That's good to know. Thank you.

 

Alcohol stoves so often do not require spare parts.

 

I really do like my Trangia.

 

I like all my stoves. But, there are some that excel at certain tasks better than other stoves.

 

@Laitch - I agree with your post on the First Need water filter. Have had mine since 1987. Recommend taking a bunch of paper coffee filters and rubber bands to pre-filter muddy/silty water. Extends the life of the filter greatly, even if the water isn't that silty.
Katahdin (?SP) units are good, too

Tom

 

I'll probably get slammed but I recommend toting along one of the small Chinese wood burners. Cheap and take up little room. Fuel is abundant. Good backup if anything goes wrong with your primary stove.

 

If wood, get a Bush Buddy or Solo.
Caldera Cone system can burn wood too.

 

Or find three rocks.