I obtained a vintage unused alpine 2 set from eBay recently. I was wondering if any of the MSR fans could tell me about when it was made? Cool looking Matterhorn pot gripper!
Year it was made...i'll be interested to hear as well. You have 2 pots? My guess is similar kits were available for many years including the 90s. All the pieces are stainless (so heavy), IIRC the kits may be: 2 pots, 2 pots w/kettle or 3 pots and not sure how many pan-lids but they all have the outer 2L pan-lid. The reason for post and re age, the oldest pans/lids of this type have completely smooth bottom (I prefer). Most kits are burned SO if you scored a smooth bottom pan-lid that is not burned ya done good! The newer (most) pan-lids have a pressed-in raised inner circle. I'd guess the circle helps prevent warping (when it is burned) but makes it harder to cook with and a little harder to clean. thx omc
Just an educated guess based on stamps - sometime in the last decade. I bought a set in the mid 90's and they were not stamped back then. I remember it was quite a few years later that they started stamping them.
Thanks OMC! Feast your eyes on a completely flat in warped and indeed unused lid. Yes the set is equivalent to the current set. That is to say a 2l a 1.5l a stepped lid and a pot grabber. I started out looking for a 'user' alpine two and found this one for $40 +$10 shipping NOS. indeed the plastic was still on it. So I put the low bid and nobody came and sniped it away from me! As I said I started out looking for a current production one and found this instead. That price is about what the new ones go for. Now I have to shake my head and decide if I want to make this a user after all or....
Now you have entered the dark side of pot and pan collecting. Soon you'll have one of those red Trangia sets then your done for. Welcome to my world. Every stove has to have a pot right? Nice find! Cheers Jeff
Are you saying that pots are a gateway drug?? Looking back this explains so much. More pots than stoves. The humanity of it all. AR
I'm pretty well down the rabbit hole. I once bought a second omnifuel just because it was a bargain. I guess two is one and one is none right?
Morning, Paul, We bought our MSR Alpine 2 kit back in the early '90's, shortly after finishing our first 850 miles of the PCT in 1991. We loved the easy clean-up, and strength of that set, but unfortunately, it was not the best for actually cooking food. Unless you watched it like a hawk, the stainless steel pots, which are not the best at diffusing heat, would cause your food to scorch. We didn't care much for that. I tried it with various simmering plates, and that helped a great deal. But, in the end, we went back to our aluminum Sigg Tourist cookset, and other aluminum sets. Better for cooking, which is what we did, and still do. We even tried the stainless steel Sigg Tourist setup, and it also needed plenty of supervision, whilst cooking. Later, we scored our 3-pot set of Sigg InoxAl cook pots, and were in hog heaven!! They were strong, and cooked food much better than a pot that is all stainless steel. No need for a simmering plate the Sigg pots, either. So, that set became our "go to" set. Then, came the Primus cookset, with non-stick; Several other MSR sets, of different models; and when Trangia came along, our first M25 had the red non-stick pot set and kettle, and we loved using that, too! Then, when a very good friend here at CCS sent us a Trangia 27, with DuoSSal pots, we were hooked, again!! Now, we have DuoSSal pots for an M27, too, and like the Sigg InoxAl sets, it's wonderful for cooking! So, yeah, we got hooked on cook sets, too, just like you those others of our CCS Mates who were reeled in for yet another thing to collect and use!! 8) Here's a photo of the bottom of the MSR Alpine 2 set we got back in the early 1990's: If you need an exact date of our purchasing this MSR set, I may be able to provide that. It will take a lot of digging around, but back then, we used to keep track of all that stuff. Congrats on getting your Alpine 2 set. I think you'll like it's easy cleaning abilities, and robust strength. Use a good simmering pot, and it will do well at cooking, too. Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Mark
Interesting Doc! A zebra and not a seagull! Clearly the Matterhorn logo is older than mine. I generally try all of my recipes a few times before attempting them in the wild so I'll be sure to do that with these pots. These will replace a blacklite set that I've used for some years. It served me well but it had a very thin bottom due to the spiral anti slip groove. I'll have to make sure to throttle back the ol omnifuel when it comes to simmering. Thanks!!!
I just found an MSR Alpine 2 set at a second hand store. Paid $6 USD for the two pots and lid / frying pan. Stuff sack and pot grabber were missing. Same logo as Doc’s set. I think I have a pot grabber, Arno strap, and sack laying around to use with the pots to complete the set.
Very nice find. I started down the pot trail with graniteware Camp cups. Then bigger cups, and bigger cups. Then an evernew pot set. Several pots and lids and kettle, all in a stuff sack. My first MSR Alpine was a Stowaway pot. It’s stainless and heavy and the lid locks down with a clamp, and I’ve loved it. Super sturdy! Then Sigg sets, and more recently snow peak ti sets. So what I guess I’m saying is a gateway could be a cup. Whatever you get, enjoy it. Well done.
