Svea Stoves

[Altjaeger]

I have not seen a Svea stove in years and assumed they had been retired from production long ago after almost a century of honorable service. Yesterday while browsing through Campmor's or REI's online catalog and saw one listed. A quick search showed it is still readily available. I know there are lighter stoves available but at 19 oz it is hardly a heavy weight, except maybe to gram weinies. I doubt any are more reliable.

I am curious as to who may still be using an old one or has bought one in the last 10 years and uses it.

[DancesWithKnives]

A backpacking buddy uses a couple vintage Sveas.

A few years ago I lucked into a 20+ year old Primus that had never been used. A bit heavy, crude, and noisy but it works.

DWK

[Rock Chuck]

I have one but haven't used it much in a long time. Neither of my partners is young enough for backpack hunting any more so we use a camper most of the time. The Svea is a good one once you get the knack of lighting it. I used to carry a can of lighter fluid for that. A good squirt down the stem gets it cooking beautifully.

My wife and I got a couple llamas this summer and we hope to give them a try in the mountains this summer. The stove might come out of mothballs.

[DancesWithKnives]

If Altjaeger will pardon a little thread drift, how much does each llama carry?

DWK

[Greywolf]

Re:
I am curious as to who may still be using an old one or has bought one in the last 10 years and uses it.

Paul,
I have a brand new one in the box. Have yet to use it. I remember one from a loooong time ago, and don't see where there was any major changes made since the old ones.
I have coleman single burner duel fuel. And I made myself a hobo stove from an old stainless thermos and liner.
They see most of thier use on the four wheler on day trips.
Other than that, it's a fire ring and a 2 ft wide cast iron skillet for my kit.

[Rock Chuck]

I think the only thing they've changed in recent years was the addition of an optional pump for priming. As I said in my earlier post, a bottle of lighter fluid works just as well and is a lot cheaper.

[tjhuels]

I have two, a bare SVEA with the little tiny pot cover, and also a Hunter, in the square metal box. For canoe trips I use one or the other. They're almost bullet-proof to use. Nevere have had a problem.

Don't like the little propane stoves; the fuel canisters are not recyclable, and the gas stoves are not that hard to fill.

Tom
Minnesota

[bill m]

Aw, come on, man! Gram weinies? I hate it when people use my name in vein.
7 to 9 oz's is a little more than a gram. That's a lot for a distance hiker.
They are good stoves. But there are so many out there now that can significantly come in under their weight that, for many serious hikers, they do weigh too much.
Remember that when you're cutting weight, a few ounces from one thing means nothing. But a few ounces from many things equals pounds. Because of their design age, they also are not eficient compared to new stoves. That means that you have to carry more fuel. If you have a Llama, ain't no thang. I don't....yet?
But they are cool looking!