My Pak Cook came from an Antique/Coin dealer in Flagstaff. I decided to step into the etablishment to await the end of a sudden rainstorm (A frequent occurance in Flagstaff during the mid-summer months...). The shop owner has just finished telling me that "I haven't seen any stoves in quite some time...". I turned to leave the store and spotted the stove & impulsively bought it on the spot.
My pakcook was bought on eBay about 8 years ago, I was looking for a Svea 123r and I received that instead. Initially I was disappointed, but from a performance standpoint, it's absolutely fantastic. Build quality is very good, just the brazing job underneath the tank is a bit sloppier than most svea tanks that I've owned. The windscreen on a pakcook does fit onto svea 123rs but it's slightly oversized on them, feeling a little bit loose. I would say there is absolutely no concern about reliability or quality of the pakcook, id get another if I found one. It's just that "235 pakcook" is such a comedically rediculous off-brand label, it makes me laugh every time I read it.
Just picked up a PakCook with matching clone of a Sigg Tourist kit, and an actual Sigg fuel bottle at an estate sale on the half-off day. All for less than 5 bucks. The stove needed minimal fettling to get going. Had to tighten the valve assembly, and that was all.
I remember seeing a Svea 123 clone on the camping section shelf at the Wall Drug in SD in the early 1980s, iirc they were about half the price of the genuine article. It’s easy to see why they were popular because of the cost.
See this is old post but still relevant. More than 5 bucks but what the heck. Globe Trotter case holds Svea/71 perfectly.
