Taking my first steps into the world of camp stoves

Eating like kings @Ed Winskill nice set up there!

 

The Sigg set makes the 123 into a real cooker. Actually, I don't think I've ever fired one up by itself without the set....

 

@Ed Winskill Its the roarer under right? Nothing special...standard stove and that pot set...hmmm

yeah....I got to get one of those, I saw one up some time ago but didnt go for it as I think it was for a 71 stove. I have a bunch of 123's that could use with more "use"

I am assuming there is more distance with the burner and the plate with that set...hmmm....

 

Yes, standard Svea 123s. Here's a pic that shows the flame:

 

The 00 is one of my favorite stoves.

 

Yeah @Ed Winskill ill bet its a lot better on the heat too. Yep...On mine if I run them too long the tank is too got to touch, tend to need to tweak the flame down to keep it from getting to high...
I am going to have to get one of those sets...I think they have a steel one too.

 

@The Warrior you and me both! The most duplicate stove I have is the 1 pint. Radius 21's, Primus 210's, Optimus 00's, Burmos...its a good size ratio.

 

111 or 8R, get it done.

Alec.

 

Fav stoves, gotta be a 00 and a 111T. Experiences with vintage stoves, lets one see what users went thru back in the 30's and 40's.
Duane

 

The 123 with the Sigg set is very tempting, but it's added cost. At present I'm leaning heavily towards the 502, though the 8R is an attractive option.

 

I could never argue against the 502 for quality, but I can't think of it as really a hiking stove. Same with the 111.

I think of the 8r as something of a toy, like the 96-types; not that they are anything alike, but they both fall short as a solid backcountry cooker. Best as wayside brew-up stoves. They are cool little appliances, but not really practical.

While the Sigg set has extra cost, as you say, the design incorporates fail-safe windscreening, and a full pot and frypan set. You need those anyway...

And one of the important features of the Svea/Sigg combo in use, less remarked-upon, is its stability in actual camp cooking, provided by the 'stepped' vessel design. No accidently sending your dinner into the dirt with a small bump....

That said, I have no idea what they are going for these days.

 

Howdy, All,

Threads like his are always a good bit of fun!

@Ed Winskill , Ed, like you, I love the SVEA123/Sigg Tourist setup! We have used that set on many a hike, and lots of backpacking, back in the day. I've not really had problems with burning things in that set, UNLESS I used the stainless steel version!

As to the Coleman 502, those are great and very reliable stoves. But, for some reason, it's never really grabbed me. Though I have several, it's not a stove I consider when going backpacking, or car camping.

That leads me to the one out of the three in this Poll that I have probably used far more than the other two. That's the Optimus 111T, which I consider to be one of the best, and most reliable stoves, ever designed. Yes, it's heavy for backpacking, but what the heck, I've carried it anyway, and been happy to have it. We have used it , or one of it's older brothers, when backpacking in Yosemite, and when we climbed Half Dome, from the back side, the 111B was the stove we took. I have a little book, from the early 1960's in which the author mentions that a certain backpacking/camping store in a large city, showed him how to remove the stove burner and fuel tank from a 111, and then use tin snips to fit those items into a Sigg Tourist cook set! I've wanted to give that a try ever since I read that little tome! I have other ideas for using the Optimus "guts", without the case, too, and maybe one day I'll make it happen! In any case, IF I could only have one single burner stove, it would probably have to be the 111T!

However, if the OP had mentioned that this one burner stove would be used extensively for backpacking, most of the time, I'd change my vote and go with the SVEA123 in a good, aluminum Sigg Tourist cook set!!

Again, fun thread! Take care, and God Bless!

Every Good Wish,
Doc

 

These are pretty rare, just need a correct pan or pot to fit. Kap Arctic. I’ve since rebuilt the hose on mine.
KAP Arctic stove with Patria burner
Duane

 

Why does this remind me of arguing with the wife over cast iron pans versus stainless steel pans.... Haha

 

Welcome aboard!

My vote is the 502. If any hiking or carrying is involved, then the 123.

Unless you need it RIGHT NOW, you can search garage sales and swap meets and probably get the 502 and 123 both for less than either would cost you from eBay.

 

Borde for the class act.

 

Of the stoves under discussion, the only one that I myself would actually rule out is the 8R.

If, as it seems to be, the choice is one that would actually be used for 'real cooking' as opposed just to water boiling for ramen or dehydrated foods, then the 8R is very limited.

I own a couple that I've never used. I can't think of anybody here over the years that has really demonstrated a big preference for the 8R as a 'go to' stove.

There have always been many real partisans of the 502, the Svea/Sigg, and the 111s, but I can't think of anyone who has extolled the 8R in quite the same way. Not that it isn't liked in some ways.

I'd be interested in hearing from a real partisan of the 8R as a top cookstove.

 

Not for hiking, the 502 is the best single burner stove cooking at it's weight. Both the 123R and the 502 is roughly the same BTU heat output. The 502 has an extremely low simmer. The stability is fantastic. The pot grate is near perfect. You use a 12 inch cast easily. The later 508 and 533 are a bit wobbly with ther 4 point pot grate support. Staying in the world of liquid fuel the MSR has nice multipoint pot supports. That's my opinion and I'm stiking to it, Jonnie.

 

To strike out in a different direction, there's the other stable, interlocking pan and windshield system:

 

Not to mention Trangia windscreen can strain pasta in a pinch. Much love for the near-silent, minimal-fuss woods loafing.