Hi all, look at http://www.optimus.se/ I hope they let the classics alive and are willing to bring them better to market. I find the old slogan "We know what it takes", better than "We help you endure". The pictures are small but I find them better than the old ones, the layout doesn?t fit to a stove manufacturer/Brand in my mind. Interesting is that the newest Optimus Quasar is not mentioned. I?m anxious what will be going on with Optimus in the futur. Regards, Christoph
I just emailed them with all of our concerns. Stated that there are a few of us that would greatly appreciate a retro model stove. Say something like a 123 and not the R version. With all the retro goings on in business why not try a stove. My toes are crossed. Rob
Sorry you guys, support for the classics will be ending soon at Optimus...! I have seen previews of the range and talked to the guys about the future. The new owners of Optimus have bought new skills and cash for great new models for 2006 so things look good for the continuation of this innovative Company. There will be a new updated Nova, a new version of the 111and cooking accessories. On the downside the 8R Hunter and 123R Climber are to be discontinued like the #1, #5 and #00, ending the line of classics which went right back to the late 1800's.
Hi Mike, very bad news in my mind , I was so optimistic that the new owners are willing to keep the classics alive. The cooking accessories are going to be just labeled korean stuff, I want to buy solid Swedisch Craftmanship from Optimus and nothing else. What a shame to throw away the roots. Many thanks for supporting us Optimus AB !! Regards, Christoph PS: Lets buy the production plant and go on !
I am with you Chris, if I want some cheap asian junk I can go down to Wal-Mart and get it for half the price. That isn't what I am looking for. I might have to just relish all the old stuff as long as I can. To bad that with all of their new found genius/money they managed to lose sight of their heritage and a percentage of their customer base. Rob
Greetings, Stove Mates, Been super busy, with all the coming and going we've been doing, but I wanted to get off a quick note about Optimus and their change in ownership. How is this going to effect parts availability in the future? I would think that most of our needed stove parts, some of which are already getting scarce, will be even more hard to find as time passes. Most of us share parts, when we have stock on hand, and this is one of the great things about this group. But, for myself, if no more parts will be forthcoming from Optimus, I will have to be much more careful about what parts I can send off. I was down in the Hobbit Hole today, looking for parts for a Stove Mate, and can see the "end" of my parts stash, especially if there is no chance of replacing things in the future. If the day comes when I can no longer afford to share parts with my friends, this will bother me, greatly! Why can't Optimus continue to supply the parts we need? Do you think that they would respond to a massive Stovie mailing campaign? If so, what can we do to get one started? I am willing to write, and I'd bet others of you would also jump on board. But, to get a company like Optimus to continue making parts for stoves they no longer stock, it's going to take a world-wide outcry. Can we do it? Do we have the numbers to get their attention? What say you, Gentlemen? Can we do something about this, or are we crying in our Guinness? I look forward to reading your thoughts. We'll be off again, this time on our Alaskan trip, on Monday. See you all when we return. Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc Mark
...well Doc, it will be as you say....difficult.... I am very new to the vintage side of stoves but I would think that all the spares you get now come from old stock anyway. That will be sold off and regardless of in what form they continue to produce, when its gone - thats it. However, I do believe that the world is ready again for stoves that use brass instead of SIGG bottle and plastic-pumps.......with all the o-rings and springs that in 20 years nobody can find spares for... cheers dirk
I actually take a contrary view - if the current 'classics; were selling in sufficient numbers I'm sure Optimus would continue to have them made. Producing & supporting products with such a small demand would be massive drain on any company & you have to remember Optimus is not the huge company it was many years ago. The last info I had before the takeover was that it was a very small workforce of sales admin, R & D (many freelancers) & production was outsourced - maybe less than 20 people. Things may be different now but I wouldn't have thought radically so. The fact that they have evolved & taken on the likes of MSR is a credit to them. The previous owners, the R?nn family are very aware & proud of the company's history & roots. I'm glad Staffan R?nn is still with them. Without the R?nns the Optimus brand may have disappeared in the early 90's. Going back to the 1960's you have to give credit to Optimus for taking on the Primus liquid fuelled stoves & then Svea when Bahco & then Primus-Sievert decided to pull out of that market. And don't forget they took on the ailing Radius as well although they let it die. Just think of all the giants out there that made the classic stoves that are no longer around or exist in unrecognisable guises. That they are updating the 111 shows they will continue with what IS succesful. Ian says "If it ain't bust" but many of the 111's I see people raving about & waxing lyrical over aren't the 'original' 111 anyway - this stove has always evolved. I don't backpack with a brass stove & when I'm basecamp I can understand why I see others using lpg - it's just so much more damn convenient! But like the enthusiasts that run vintage traction engines, railways, cars, motorbikes, etc. etc I appreciate the old stoves for what they are - a beautiful, simple innovation born in the days before many in the 'civilised' world has gas or electric & that allowed explorers to push further into uncharted parts of the world than ever before. I'd rather see Optimus go on with new innovative products, including lpg, than see them go under making stoves that 99% of the market don't want. You guys are increasingly the custodians of this rich heritage so get on with preserving it, appreciating it, using it, but don't blame the likes of Optimus for moving on without you.
Good Evening, Ross, You brought up some outstanding points, and ones that I'd not considered. I think, actually, that you are right on the money. It just bothers me that our parts will become so rare and scarce that we probably won't be able to so free-wheeling with sending them out to our friends. When I get down to my last few of each thing I have, that will be the end of it, at least for me. That bothers me, greatly, but I guess, as you say, time passes, and we either get on board with the newer technology, or get left behind. As to Optimus, I, too, give them much credit for keeping our favorites going for as long as they have. And, when you say that they "took on MSR", hey, I think they did MSR one better, with the development of the Nova!! I love that stove, and think it's better than any MSR stove, even though I am quite fond of my Firefly and my X-GK's. So, yes, you are right, and we have to see the logic behind any decisions made by Optimus. Still, seeing the "end" coming saddens me, and I can't help feeling that way! OK, off to Alaska tomorrow! We'll be gone for about two weeks, and will miss our Stove Mates while away. We may have email and internet access up there, and if so, I'll drop in to see what's simmering. Thanks, Ross, for your viewpoint on this topic. You make sense, and your thoughts actually helped to calm me down a bit! Talk to you later, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc Mark
How many of us have bought a new SVEA in the last year? (before we knew thay were being discontinued.) How many have bought a new 8R? If we fanatics aren't buying them, I suspect that nobody else is buying them. My 123 is 31 years old and still working great. Optimus hasn't gotten a dime from me in 31 years. New backpackers are buying "ultra-light" stuff and the rest of us are content with our 31-year-old stoves. It's no wonder that Optimus can't sell enough of them to make it worth while. It will be fun to see what they have plannned for next year. It is quite likely that they will sell me a stove if the new stuff fills a need. Dwight
Hi, Interesting question Dwight, I bougt 2 Svea 123r in the last 5 years, one for me and one for my former Girlfriend. I think we fanatics aren?t buying them because we have them, and they last long, maybe to long to make real profit. The question is how many non stovies buy them. Maybe it was missed to communicate the advantage. Unfortunately they are less than fashionable nowadays, the developent has gone in another direction. It is regrettable that the "last classics" vanish into thin air but we have them, everybody should get happy whith his stove, im happy with mine. Concerning the future Spare shortage I think we have to make more and more parts buy ourselfs (compare the vintage car market). I heard that in 2006 there will be 2 Nova stoves, the new one slightly different, and in colour --> body =green, feets= black. The new version of the 111 is in my mind a Hiker with the Nova burner (would make sense from economical perspective. And the Is a new gas stove Do you have any informations which verify mine ? Regards, Christoph
I Backpack with the lightest lp stove I can find (Markill) and in cold weather the lightest Naptha. When I go out for five days food has to be the majority of the weight. The weight on my back controls the whole trip. I collect because of the heritage.The spares will be reprocuced if the demand is there. The Amish in Canada have started to produce lantern generators that were discontinued by Coleman years ago,lamp parts are being made that were history. Companies have to go where the money is. Maybe Optimus will preserve it's heritage like Coleman did with a museum and a historian. In the mean time it is up to us to preserve and protect . Dan
