Optimus was registered in the Swedish corporate register on June 19th 1899 so today is the 125th anniversary. Hurra! I will celebrate with some tinned Optimus birthday cake. This coming weekend, I will open a bottle of wine that I found on a trip upstate New York two summers ago. I'm very much looking forward to tasting this wine, it's been tempting to open it earlier but I've managed to keep morale high... Cheers!! /Staffan
Happy Birthday Optimus! If there was ever a reason for lighting up for a celebratory brew...! I don't think I'll be alone in wishing I could get hold of a tin or two of the special edition cake- despite not eating cake! I think a trick has been missed here, I think quite a few here would want one in the collection!
I feel even better putting my little Optimus stage together today knowing that! Pure coincidence! Happy 125th Birthday Optimus.
Happy Birthday Optimus!! And definitley +1 on the cake front! A thought for June 19th 2029 to celebrate 130 years perhaps?
The Optimus/Svea line of stoves on display at the local outfitters, along with all the other hiking accouterments, that is what really made me think about the possibilities. Gleaming brass, and Sigg spun aluminium bottles looked like small O2 canisters. Still remember this like it was yesterday. I knew about Coleman 2 burner suitcase stoves and established campgrounds. Now, though, here are personal cookstoves small enough to carry. Why hadn’t I been informed of this! They were well out of my current price range of dwindling funds - the backpack alone, the reason for venturing there into Alpine gear nirvana in the first place, cost $90 which was a lot of money for me at the time. Eventually I put together a complete kit. Being independent of established campsites and drive-in fire pits &c. made a lot of difference. Camp sites no longer had to be selected on wood availability or campfire suitability. Flat spot with a view, and Bob’s yer Uncle.
@Fettler An interesting parallel, I remember looking at Trangias in the local outdoor shop in the early years of the new millenium and eyeballing the full range on the website and daydreaming. I didn't have the funds and my parents didn't think I needed my own stove. Look at the results of denial in childhood! Though I've still never actually owned my own Trangia yet. On a serious note, your post is a reminder that companies like Optimus and Sigg made all sorts of adventures possible for so many, which is probably partly why so many of their products still hold a financial, collectable and sentimental value.
