My Svea 123 is almost 30-years old, and I have never in my life bought Coleman fuel. It’s run great every time I have used it, I buy just the regular gasoline for it.


One thing they tell you is to not let them run out of fuel as it will burn the wick. My Svea has run out of gas at least 4 or 5 times a year for every year I have owned it. Never a problem. Put more gas in it and relight it and it’s back to normal cooking.

I’ve seen them on sale on e-bay for as little as $40.00, and as much as $100.00 for a new one. I would say it’s worth every bit of $100.00 for a new one. It will still be working when you are dead.

Don’t let the price of this stove keep you from buying one. For a survival item it’s great. Few things are able to give you the quality and service life this stove can.

If I ever needed to replace mine, price would not come into play, It’s simply the best gas stove made.

Other stoves (Coleman & MSR) are made with plastic. Also the current trend in backpack stoves seems to be to have a separate tank attached by a hose. This to me is a weak link that will give you fuel leaking problems down the road. Coleman Apex 1 & 2 stoves are known for the hose leaking fuel. The Svea is all one compact unit, it’s simple & reliable. It also comes with a 1.5 cup pot that fits over the stove; this way in a survival situation you always have a pot with your stove to boil water. I don’t think any other camp stove comes with a pot like it does.