FS: SVEA 123 stove from Sweden

[Doc]

Selling my old Svea that I bought from REI in 1975. Great retro stove but I no longer use it. Want $75 and I'll ship it free to lower 48. Personal check or PayPal works. [email protected]

[Zalman]

Downright iconic!

[Feral Bill]

Downright iconic!

I hope it gets a good home, where it will be used and loved.

[Doc]

I agree-Iconic. My thought is to pass this classic on but if no buyer it will sit on my bookshelf and remind me of the great times we shared. The roar of this little beast in the morning is a sound that will always be remembered. I now use a Pocket Rocket but it just doesn't have the same romance.

[rickb]

I agree-Iconic. My thought is to pass this classic on but if no buyer it will sit on my bookshelf and remind me of the great times we shared. The roar of this little beast in the morning is a sound that will always be remembered. I now use a Pocket Rocket but it just doesn't have the same romance.

So, how did you two meet?

[soilman]

I bought one in 1975 from either REI or EMS. Bought another one a couple of years later. It was the upgraded "self-cleaning" model. I think I gave them both to my brother years ago when I upgraded to a Coleman Peak 1. I still have the priming pump for the second stove somewhere around the house.

[gpburdelljr]

The Svea 123 first came out in 1955, and is still made.

[Feral Bill]

Anyone considering this purchase, consider I am coming up on fifty years using the same Svea I bought as a teenager. It still works like new. Maintenance has been replacing the gas cap once in a great while. There is no upgrade.

[CalebJ]

I've had a Svea floating around my collection for as long as I can remember. Not sure when it was made, but it was passed down from my dad. Missing most of the accessory parts now, but I love the design. Wouldn't surprise me a bit if it was at least 40 years old. Yes, there are improvements on the market now, but if you're got one that's still intact, it's a great option - particularly in the winter.

[EdP]

I still have 2 of them and, if you don't need a low simmer, they are hard to beat. Poor stability is their only flaw and that can be improved by making a foam pad base.

[twentybelow]

If it doesn't sell, the bookshelf would be a fitting place for this little brass wonder. I still use mine on trips once or twice a year when I expect temps to dip below 10F. It's still as dependable as the day I bought it 40+ years ago. Gotta love that jet engine sound and the bright red glow of the metal when it's running full-tilt.

[zelph]

so pretty

[bighammer]

I've had one since the late 70's and it still works great. On a whim, I ended up buying an MSR WhisperLite International just a few years ago, but still pull out the old Svea once in a while. While the new one is lighter and more stable, I've already replaced more parts it than the old Svea.

[Doc]

So 515 views and still no sale. The gods have spoken and I have listened. Last night I polished the old girl and placed the stove with its lovely old brass patina back on the shelf. I'll take it on a snowshoe hike this winter and fire it up for a cup of tea and maybe a little hot soup.

[The Cleaner]

My 1st Svea lasted 26 years till the relief valve in the gas cap blew out with a surprising roar. I couldn't find a replacement cap so I just bought a new Svea. I later found a Svea stove collectors website in the UK and sold the old one to someone there. Do a Google search and you should be able to find it. Under FWIW on many past hikes many younger, and older, hikers had never seen one or would have no idea how to light it. My 1st one worked well @ -*28 in the 1895 Artic Blast here just north of Hot Springs NC.

[Old Hillwalker]

My old SVEA loves Brasso and looks bejeweled when polished.

[Nooga]

Bandana carried one in 2012. His SVEA was older than many of the hikers.

[Feral Bill]

My old SVEA loves Brasso and looks bejeweled when polished.

Mine is a nice patina, neither shiny nor green. Met a fellow with one on the Wonderland trail a couple of years ago who's Svea was totally black. It still had that classic cheery roar.

[nsherry61]

. . . Poor stability is their only flaw . . .

Well yeah, unless you count being a nuisance and dangerous(ish) to prime, or deafening to listen to, or heavy compared to other modern alternatives, or not good in high winds without an auxiliary windscreen which then dramatically increases the danger of overheating, or requires maintenance that modern canister stoves do not, or requires pouring of fuel and associated risk of fuel spills . . . I'm sure others can remember a few more failings of this iconic stove.

Let's not wax to poetic about this highly functional, but far from perfect stove. There are many good reasons it is no longer the market leader it was generations ago. There is a reason that my SVEA stove sits on my shelf unused along with my MSR XGK that replaced the SVEA in my pack in about 1979. They both still work. They both hold a place close to my heart in my memories. BUT, I haven't used either in decades because of the many better options for my use these days.

Now days I like stoves that are lighter, easer, cleaner, smaller, safer, more reliable and/or quieter.

There is no doubt that lots of old technology worked well and continues to work as well as ever. And, there is no doubt that we get obsessed with having the latest and greatest which isn't always better than the old and cherished gear. BUT, why (other than posterity, which is a damn good reason) would anyone choose to spend $75 on an old Svea stove now when there so many less expensive, modern "stoves that are lighter, easer, cleaner, smaller, safer, more reliable and/or quieter."

Along these lines, I've got an old scratchy felted wood blanket for sale, probably from my dad's days in the 10th Mountain Division during WWII . . . no even the army was more modern then, they used down sleeping bags with a light cotton outer fabric. ;-)

[The Cleaner]

Mine is a nice patina, neither shiny nor green. Met a fellow with one on the Wonderland trail a couple of years ago who's Svea was totally black. It still had that classic cheery roar.

Imagine being in a trail shelter in the 80s with 3 or 4 Svea stoves roaring. It's a wonder that OSHA doesn't require ear plugs with each new stove.