Man, that guy in the orange looks like Mr. Gadget! I can't imagine dangling all that stuff off of myself. Keep it simple and KEEP it. My experience has been that anything tied or clipped on will either come off and be lost or be in the way a lot.

On another note, Jim 110 stoves?? I thought I had a problem with 15 or so. You are not only an expert you are a record holder!
I am surprised that a Svea 123 is your favorite. Those that I had were way too fiddly for my taste and unreliable. I do wish I still had mine and the alpine cooket/widscreen. It was a classic setup. Just for sentimental sake. Cheers!

I am still waiting for my RIBZ...one of the drawbacks of international shipping that usually takes anywhere up to a week or more depending on shipped item and originating shipping location.

Well, I'm only three hours drive away from the shipper, so it's hardly a surprise that I'd get mine quickly. Hang in there...

HJ

Yeah, especially the compass looks vulnerable to me. I want my compass in a solid pouch with a solid lanyard, not one of those little retractable jobs.

No where near my friend, no where near. Go browse some of the stove collector websites some time. I'm a light weight.

Unreliable? The Svea 123? Compared to what? The Svea 123 is the Rock of Gibraltar of stoves. There's only one moving part on the orginal model: the valve. Even the Svea 123R that came out in the 70's is little different. If you want a more reliable stove, maybe the Trangia (25 or 27), but not much else.

Maybe you got a lemon?

HJ

Well, the whole story on the Svea 123 stove that I owned..it was the older style that you had to constantly remove the brass valve and poke a special needle through it to clean the carbon out. During that process at some point the valve was overtightened and it had a hairline crack in it. Every time you tried to get the stove going it would fizzle out. I nearly threw it off a cliff but did not want to litter. I found out later that the cause of the problems was the cracked valve and replaced it and also added the little pump and cap to provide pressure for startup.

I think my real issue with it was the height and pot stability. I was also doing a lot of winter mountain hiking on snowshoes and Nordic skis and it just wasn't all that happy in the cold.

Anyone think it looks like two purses stuck under your armpits or like the Donald Duck water wings/life preservers in the military?

Not that there is anything wrong with a guy carrying a purse, or two.

I think the thing that the RIBZ system does is that it is politically neutral in appearance. But it isn't flexible- it is a decent sized possibles bag, and one you can wear under a jacket. The problem is pockets in the older model one I've looked at were layered- I've never liked that, becuase unless you are packing flat stuff, you know that what goes into pocket A will take space out of pocket B, but that is a personal preference. And the whole thing is fixed. Yes, that saves weight, but I like being able to strip gear down to what I need.

As others have said, military-type gear has been doing this for a long time. I've had my MAV since 2005, and I've set that up with everything from slim pockets that hold basically my wallet, pocket items, PSK, FAK and a spare flashlight for when I'm just cruising down the river in a tube, to big pockets that when added to a bed roll and a bread bag are pretty much all I need for an over night. I can even, by removing the back panel and letting the strap out, wear it behind me, as a lumbar pack.

*shrugs* I'd rather get get the glare of hippies and have flexibility, but YMMV. I love the concept though, because it does move mass up front which helps to move your center of gravity forward some. Although I also have, when it is fully loaded, about 8-10 pounds in my MAV, which is going to move my center of mass probably a good inch or two forward. *laughs*

Well, that's really unusual behavior for a Svea 123 that you would have to clean it frequently -- unless you were using automotive gasoline instead of "white" gasoline (e.g. Coleman fuel). I think you may mean that you had to remove the burner bell to clean it. If you were truly removing the valve to clean it, uh, no offense, but you were doing it wrong. If it got a crack, then indeed it wouldn't hold pressure and would not work properly, but that (a crack) is fairly rare also. They're really tough stoves.

Using a stove that relies on thermal feed back in the snow is going to be tough, but the little mini pump should have taken care of that. The stove is a little high, so I can see how you might indeed have some challenges there.

Sorry you had such a bad experience. Too bad I wasn't along. I could have shared some of my tips and tricks, and I'd have enjoyed the skiing. The Svea 123 has been a real work horse for me, needing very little maintenance.

HJ

Thanks Jim. Msybe I should find another Svea 123 and give it a second go. I am older, wiser and gererally more patient now:) I wish they still made the cookset with the windscreen and all. I shoulda kept mine! Cheers!

Those old cooksets (I assume you mean the Sigg Tourist cookset) are really nice. I still use mine. It's a very stable platform for bigger pans like when you want to fry up some trout or cook pancakes. You can still get them on eBay, but a complete set in good condition typically commands a pretty good price. People know about those cooksets.


However, a Svea 123 in and of itself can be had for sometimes less than $30.00. One in good condition will command more, but I've managed to get several "ugly duckling" Svea 123's for less that shined up well and made very good stoves.

HJ