I’m late to owning one of these but have taken to it like a duck to water. The kettle is my addition, THIS British ‘Bull Dog’ product. The wire rack the kettle sits on was packed with the Sigg. Well thought out and certainly useful - wok cookery example later … This particular set has a heck of a provenance, having been given to Trevor Halliday (Shagratork) fifteen years ago by another CCS stalwart, also sadly deceased, Gerry Nygaard (Nordicthug). Dave Shouksmith brought a number of Trevor’s stoves to our Newark meet this year on behalf of Trevor’s son, the proceeds from their sale going to a heart disease research charity. At the time of receiving the Sigg Tourist Trevor wrote, When not in use, Trevor evidently kept the set in the box Gerry sent it to him in. Coupled with my ‘beater’ Svea 123R and fuelled up from a Sigg bottle and filler spout, I was ready to give the set a trial run. Cup of tea a priority! Installing the Svea in the base unit. The retaining lugs are offset from the centreline, and the stove is inserted accordingly. Stowage. Towering Inferno mode. More usually, an individual pot at a time, the different ‘steps’ in the frying pan/skillet corresponding to … 1. The upper windscreen 2. The smaller of the two pots 3. The larger pot Powers a small wok beautifully. The wire rack is a desirable accessory for this application I feel, but I suspect that resting it on the upper windshield wouldn’t overheat the Svea, given the ventilation slots provided. Frying pork strips. Honey to glaze, chopped ginger for flavour, served on a bed of rice, green beans to accompany, sriracha sauce to taste. I can fully appreciate why the Sigg Tourist has endeared itself to so many over the years - I’m thinking @Ed Winskill (steaks in the back country in his) and @Doc Mark. I’m thinking particularly of course of Trevor and Gerry who owned and used this set, which invests it for me with a heap of memories by association of those dear fellows. John
A great post, John. Yes, once you have one of these sets in hand, its great virtues swiftly become apparent: the powerhouse stove, the nesting lightweight setup, and above all, I think, the stabililty of the windshield/stepped-pan design. In the backcountry it's all too easy late in the day to bump the pot on a small stove and send dinner into the forest duff. Can't happen with the Sigg; you'd practically have to kick it over. And what a splendid provenance, from both Trevor and Gerry, our great and ever-remembered friends! Here's a photo of my first use of my then NIB Svea/Sigg: frying steaks, of course. Next to it is the newly-lit Optimus 00, which became my avatar stove. Spring 2007, Carbon River, Mt. Rainier Nat'l Park.
I've gone back to using the Sigg set and Svea on canoe trips the last 5 or 6 years. When transporting it, I am now in the habit of removing the burner bell and filling all the "empty" space around the stove with odds and ends that will get used during cooking and clean up (Opinel, Bic lighters, mini scrub pad, ...). Everything is secure and unlike other items in the rest of my pack, I remember where that stuff is.
I do like the concept of the integrated cooksets. All you need in one compact package. I haven't used my Sigg set yet as I've still to fettle the Svea 123 that came with it. That stir-fry looks and sounds tasty.
The heavy gauge wire brace is interesting. To get about the same effect, I've taken the truncated triangular wire jig -- that is a Trangia accessory for putting a smaller diameter cafe maker [Moka, GSI one-cup] in the center of a Trangia 25 -- and securing the three sides to the rim of the upper Sigg windscreen with short lengths of aircraft safety wire so it stays centered. Pix are unfortunately on my old laptop.
They are great base-camp outfits & a great provenance with this one John. I let mine go to a happy recipient at a past Newark gathering. For backpacking I preferred the smaller outfit from Optimus. Optimus No:88
Doing a quick search through my scrap pile, seems I don't have any round stock suitable for making that rack. Guess a trip to the hardware store is coming.
Good Morning, John, and All, We've just returned from two "away" jobs, and finding this post of yours is a true delight! You have captured so many memories in sharing this, and I am deeply touched in remembering them! First, becoming the new caretaker for Trevor's Sigg Tourist kit is wonderful! Second, that it was originally owned by Gerry (NordicThug), is the icing on the cake! Gerry once sent me one of those very same wire supports that came with the kit he sent to Trevor (Shagratork), and it is a handy little addition to the Sigg kit. When thinking back, after enjoying your post, I note that all those you have mentioned, Ed, Trevor, and Gerry, are/were all sharing and generous Gentlemen. Remembering their generosity to me, and so many others, brings both joy, and sadness. The sadness is to be expected, I guess, as all of us who knew Trevor and Gerry will very probably remember them as do I, and will miss them deeply, as I do. Glad that Ed is still healthy, and happy to have him here, as always! Lady Cynthia and I are more than ready to do some camping, and especially since the weather and temperatures up here in our mountains, is perfect for such adventures. Warm, balmy days, and cool, chipper nights, are what we consider our favorite conditions for camping and backpacking! With work, however, and also dealing with our destroyed, and now removed, carport setup, I don't see any opportunities for camping in the near future. But, when we do get to enjoy such an adventure, I will be taking along one of our Sigg Tourist cook sets, which have long been a favorite of ours! Thank you for sharing so much in this excellent post, John! Very much enjoyed, and appreciated!! Congrats on your "new" Sigg kit! Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Mark PS - Wish we could have joined you all at Newark!
@Doc Mark I was thinking of you and Ed, as well as Trevor and Gerry of course, when I spotted the Sigg set among the items in the charity fundraiser collection brought to Newark by Dave Shouksmith on behalf of Trevor’s son, Daniel. Interesting what you say about Gerry’s handiwork of the wire support. Expertly fabricated in a high-carbon steel (spring steel I shouldn’t wonder) which doesn’t ‘wilt’ or shed oxide scale with repeated firings. Optimus should have chosen the same material for their 111 and 8R pot rests! I hope you and SB get some respite from work and snow-bound (!) recovery to get out in the back country. John
I agree. An unexpected bonus I really like is that sloppy dispensing of alcohol for priming doesn’t result in an expanding flame-front on the ground beneath as the regular Svea windscreen would allow. Twilight priming illustrates this, the Sigg stove mount/base acting as a spillage tray and supplementary priming/pressurising burn.
In my most active backpacking days through the 1970s, the Sigg set with a late 1960s Svea 123 were my friends on many hikes in the Sierra Nevada and other excursions in the West. I still have my set and the old 123 that still get pulled out on occasion when a day hike opportunity allows me to daydream back to those times. Have had many other stoves and sets over the years but always feel more at home on the trail with my Sigg/123 friends. Also, still have my tin fuel can and the Sigg fuel bottle that replaced it eventually. The Sigg having the near same filler spout that John shows. I don't recall ever thinking I needed anything like the wire support. Then, I never had a kettle. Just used the small pot for boiling water. My collection has an unfired Svea 123 and Sigg Tourist set from the 1970s. It is cold but my original set is always warm to the touch. Charlie
@Lantern I’m glad to have inadvertently prompted recollections such as yours, Charlie, and grateful that you and the others have recounted them here. John
Hi John @presscall The Sigg Tourist set really has a great provenance and in your telling of it some great memories have been shares. I love being the guardian of my modest collection and often wonder who will end up with a “Jeremy” lamp or stove in years to come. Regards, Jeremy
