My non self-cleaning model was purchased in 1972 for $14.95 & it is still used on car camping trips to date. (I have since started using canister stoves to lighten my backpacking load).

This was my first stove & it has never failed me on any occasion. One particular time was @ a camp @ 12,600ft. After setting up camp, we started to prepare supper. Everyone else was using a Bluet/Camping Gaz butane stove & I was using my Svea. The wind was blowing the other stoves out & with the addition of a cold night approaching, it was time to get food preparation in order. My stove heated all the water for our camp of four people with plenty of power to spare. After that trip, my camping companions all purchased a Svea 123. The only change made to this stove over all these years is the addition of a self-cleaning needle inside the burner/valve assembly. A true classic in every respect!

(Use an Optimus Mini Pump to help with preheating & pressurization. To use in winter months & on snow, place a small piece of closed-cell foam underneath to help the pressurization process & to keep the stove bottom warm).

For my money this is the most relaible stove in the world. The design is time-tested over 100 years. It's a little heavier than some options, but nonetheless it's the one I always have with me. I do own a few Whisperlites and Colemans, but the Svea 123 is THE stove as far as I'm concerned. I still use one I've had for over 30 years. Only gripe I've EVER had about it is the aluminum pot- I hate aluminum as a cooking surface.

I'm waiting on delivery of a Backcountry.com titanium 700ml pot/lid, if I got the correct dimensions, this pot will slide right over the stove, resting on the stove's flared base. The lid looks like it'll fit upside-down over the bottom of the stove, and a 1/2" strap will hold it all together. I'll give an update as soon as the order arrives. -Taylor

Quick Review!
Backpacking with hot food is GOOD!
My friend bought one in 1976.Went backpacking for 2 weeks in the Rincon MT. range outside Tucson, Az! Grass Shack!Great Hike by the way.This little stove works great ran B-L-D for two weeks on 2 pints? of white gas.Little finiky at first with priming etc. but you figure it out quickly.If the old ones are still out there working they must be indestructible.Looked at new lighter stoves $$$ get yourself a timeproven stove you can probably give to your grandchildren!!!

Indestructible! I have had mine since childhood, 35 years, it still out performs many of the newer models and uses self contained liquid fuel eliminating wasteful canisters used by others.

I've had my SVEA for 27 years! No other stove I have owned has equaled its performance and reliability. I was checking my gear the past week for the Spring/Summer camping season (I don't do winter anymore at 56 and every major joint replaced!) and it suddenly occurred to me that the only piece of gear I haven't replaced is this stove! Not even any repairs have been needed. Well, I may finally break down this year and polish it! Honestly, the design is bullet proof. The engineering design follows the KISS Principal (Keep It Simple Stupid) which means fewer parts to break. Several buddies talk of "low drag, high speed gear". They look at the SVEA's "other generation" design and say its antiquated. But when I'm cooking and they aren't I asked, "Who is high speed and low drag now?" If you want reliability you would be hard pressed to find a better stove in it's class.

Does a good job of making coffee but has a dangerous side effect if not careful. When done making coffee after 17 minutes of continuous operation, I had to place cup on the unit to shut it off. On-off key would not shut it off. Even after putting cup on unit to cut off flame, unit would still output gas. As the unit sat there on my stove in the house, hissing gas, it burst into flames. This would have been a disaster if I had it in my tent. I had to place a pot over the hold thing to kill the flames.

I have been using my SVEA since the late 60's. It has NEVER failed to start and burn. My kids do not remember a time without it (30+ years old these days.) Small and portable, it can cook for 4, more in a pinch. I must've purchased 12-15 replacements over the past 25 years. Wisperlites, simerlites, alcohol stoves, kerosene stoves, etc... I always go back. Not really a true ultra-light, but, if it don't work, you are carrying excess weight. The SVEA always works.

My Svea 123 is 31 years old. First backpacking stove I ever owned. Now I have 7 stoves (gulp!). Haven't used it in a decade except to fire it up to keep it in good shape. With the optional pump to prime it it's a great stove. ULTRA reliable.

Can't belive it's so peicey now. I must have paid $30. for it in '78. I still have my much-used companion SIGG TOURIST cookset that was made for the SVEA 123. Brings back old memories.

My Svea's(5) have never failed me over the years.....no repairs, or problems to date..... they just keep on roaring. Larry

Had mine since the late sixties. Hours and hours of burn time. Was a guide up here in Alaska for many years. Finally replaced the burner about 9-10 years ago. Yep, still the same parts. Still using it. Will burn unleaded or Avgas in a pinch but needs frequent cleaning when using avgas due to lead deposites. I carry a 1/2" x6" dia. piece of blue foam to put under the stove in snowy conditions helps keep up the fuel pressure. I tried a couple different stoves but keep coming back to this one. Jim

I have one of these-have been using it on and off for almost 30 years-overall, a great stove. The only reason I gave it four stars was that (I'm surprised no one has mentioned this), in order to get it to light properly, with proper pressure, is that you need to either "preheat" it, from the outside, or use the little fuel pump that you can buy for it. Also, almost every time you light it, you have to be careful, as it practically explodes until the excess fuel is burned off, and the pressure stabilizes itself. It is also hard to simmer on this stove-though I admit it heats up food/water quickly, and works EVERY time.