From: Mike Bingley (mbingley@telusplanet.net)
Date: Fri Nov 15 2002 - 10:33:38 CST
Okay, itıs time for me to show my bias towards svea stoves (and,
incidentally you can still buy them from Campmor).
My first stove (backpacking, camping, home or otherwise) was a svea. My mum
bought it during the late 60s while she was an avid backpacker and
mountaineer and passed it on to me when I got old enough to go on camping
trips on my own along with the standard issue sigg pot set that works so
well with them.
It worked wonders for me for the first year I used it. I cooked meals
faster than anyone else on camping trips in a lot of ways the Whisperlight
stoves remind me of the Svea in terms of performance when itıs on itıs
hot, when itıs off itıs cold.
Then, one spring, I was using it at a large campout for Rovers from across
Ontario (for those of you who are unfamiliar with Canadian Scouting Rovers
is the program section we have for 18-26 year olds) and on the Friday night
while I was cooking supper the stove had a bit of a meltdown.
Basically the svea uses heat to generate gas and it overheated. When I
took the melted blob of metal that once was a svea stove home my mum (after
she finished chewing me out for burning up her stove) told me that youıre
supposed to turn the pressure down gently to keep the heat at a semi
constant level.
Now that I know that, Iıd be happy to use one of those stoves on my own
but Iıd be very nervous about using one with a group of Scouts.
As a side note after the stove melting incident I learned a bit about the
brotherhood of Scouting. I had lots of food for myself, but no stove, so I
went to beg stove time from other people and groups at the camp Iıve never
eaten so well in my life. Nobody would let me cook on their stove but
they all had extra food :-)
Mike
-- Mike Bingley Council Field Executive Scouts Canada - Chinook Region 403-327-4647 888-321-4647 (Alberta and BC) Experience High Adventure in the Canadian Rockies with Scouts Canada http://www.chinook.scouts.ca/impeesa-x/ > Actually the Primus and Svea 123 were two different stoves made almonst > exactly alike. The outer case was different. SVEA had a round pot holder > affair (still does) and Primus had a tin box that folded out to make a pot > platform and closed to make a case. > > The SVEA design was more compact, lighter and thus more popular amound > backpackers. > > Some of us old timers on this list still use the same SVEA 123's we bought > either pre or early post Colin Fletcher days. Mid 1950's. > > I bought mine in 1967 and still use it. I've never so much as replaced a cap > gasket or anything else. In fact I've never had the tip clog requiring a > takedown to clear. > > When you turn off a 123, the silence is deafening. > > The only stove I'd put with it in dependability is the Coleman WWII GI Pocket > Stove which has the same type generator system. BTW they will burn any > aromatic fuel. So will a SVEA. > > John LeBlanc > > ------------------------------------------------------- Scouting E-mail Discussion Lists @ usscouts.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe at http://usscouts.org/lists/ Listserv Commands at http://usscouts.org/lists/lc.asp ------------------------------------------------------- Send listserv commands to: listserv@troop47.com Send postings to: philmont@troop47.com List FAQ found at: http://usscouts.org/lists/faq.asp List Administrator: philmont_owner@troop47.com ------------------------------------------------------- As you gather around this virtual campfire with fellow Scouts and Scouters, do your best to be trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. -------------------------------------------------------
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.7 : Thu Mar 13 2003 - 10:38:38 CST