Primus Omnilite Ti

Have any old WWII Axis stoves?

Which for the youngsters here should be noted was the 1970s.   I camped next to somebody who was using a SVEA123R about five years ago.  He still liked it, except for the occasional unexpected ball of flames.

I have to say that, during the 70s, I mostly dreamed of the day when I'd be able to "go camping". I was a reader and a dreamer. I read Colin Fletcher and every issue of Backpacker that came out, virtually until the pages came out. But, with kiddos and a severe lack of cash most times, I didn't do much of anything.

So, most of what I have now (and I never throw anything out either) is from very recently (90s forward), though a lot of it is the result of having those "dreams" back so long, long ago. While I was busy raising two separate families (serially, not in parallel), I was far too busy doing that to do much else. Now I find that I regret very much having "missed out", but not enough to think I would change all that much if I did it all over again. It is what it is.

Yeah, the "camping" I did back then was mostly with family and friends and with used (or discount store) "gear". I too still have a Bleuet (French origin, so "bleu" instead of "blue") stove and lantern, even though the canisters have long since (I think) disappeared. I distinctly remember trips to state parks, New Mexico mountains and Colorado with my "precious gear".

Guilty admissions department: I have 3 XGKs, one very old with a "solid" fuel line, one much more recent, and then the "EX". I have 2 Mukas and 2 SVEAs, 1 each of which I've never had "out of the box". I've got a couple of Windpros, a couple of SimmerLites, a WhisperLite (old one with the old-style legs), a Brunton Vapor I got on clearance (testy thing, always breaking down at the joints, even though it doesn't require a jet change between liquid and canister), a Primus Gravity MF, a Primus Lander (white gas) & 2 Spiders (canister), 2 each of Crux & Crux Lite canister top, 2 (I think) Soto OD-1R Micro Regulator canister tops, and 4 BRS3000T micro-micro (25g) stoves I just got from Hong Kong ($8.53 apiece - always buy in bulk). I'm sure this is NOT all. (I was right - I have an MSR Dragonfly...I'm sure there are still more! ((And I was right: I forgot about all the Snowpeak stoves! I have an older WG and 3 or 4 remote canister ones from back in the 90s that they no longer make. Got 'em all from a local guy who was unloading them. They're finicky in some ways, but nice designs.)))

Okay, I admitted a long time ago I had a "problem". I just never joined the appropriate "anonymous society". So there. At least I have one thing in common with DT.

On that other "aside" about "unlined bottles": I definitely have an MSR fuel bottle with alcohol "pitting". My mistake. I keep it around on a shelf in the garage (empty) to remind me to use something lined when I do any silly experiments again - if ever. Presumably, Euro bottles are "lined", since at least one stove I remember (the Optimus 111B/C/T?) specified "methylated spirits" as a fuel. It required a rather "large bore" jet for that particular fuel, but, I think I remember this. Anyway, that's where I'm coming from, and the source of my observations on o-rings.

ETA: On a personal note, I have found that I haven't lost my ability to safely and consistently light these mothers since pretty much dropping them for alcohol and canister about 5 or 6 years ago. The SVEA still starts reliably and easily, and the Primus Himalaya (called simply the OmniFuel now) is no problem to prime and light at all. Very reliable, still very strong.

First Aside: I am in love with the Primus Ergopump - all metal except for the very tip and some "innards", and no weird plastic "straws" sticking out every which way.

Second Aside: The one problem I did have this week was remembering the somewhat out-of-the-ordinary setup of the Soto Muka. I'd forgotten (oops!) the relatively complex arrangement of the valve on the pump. You have to pull it out to let fuel (or air) flow to the stove. I admit I was puzzled for about 15 or 20 seconds before the "aha!" moment came. As usual for me, it was then that I pulled out the paper manual, still stuck in the bag, and read the part about firing it up. By then, however, the stove was purring along, heating water for breakfast. It had started up much as it always does, no "ball of fire" prime required: just set to "Start" and let it run for a bit to warm - all while the pot is already on the stove. No soot, no problem. The damned thing does require a hell of a lot of pumping, however. A hell of a lot of pumping. I keep thinking that, like many other such devices I've used that have something similar, the little pin that pops out to tell you you've "pumped enough" will someday fail.

I just got the stove this last Thursday via UPS, so I haven't actually done anything as serious as timing or fuel economy tests. I don't know if I'll ever, actually. I looked at both the WhisperLite and the new Optimus Polaris Optifuel while considering my purchase. I bought this stove over those primarily because I really like the Ergopump (all metal), though I have a Nova+ and I really like the compactness of the design with the "wrap-around" legs.

I used the stove yesterday morning to boil water for my typical breakfast of oatmeal, fruit and coffee after topping off a .3L bottle I already had. Like the OmniFuel, this stove is rock solid. Everything works just like the OmniFuel. Priming is a snap, and with the "flip the bottle" from "ON" to "OFF" style system and 2 fuel control valves, switching from "simmer" to "blast furnace" is smooth, intuitive and simple, and flipping the bottle to "OFF" when you're done cooking releases the pressure in the line and clears the fuel line, meaning you won't get a pffft of gasoline when you remove the pump from the bottle. I've come to appreciate that - it's the small stuff that makes your day, you know.

Though I haven't attempted to perform any tests, I've read several online, and at least a couple have reported fuel economy gains of 1/3 or so over the OmniLite's big brother, the OmniFuel. The SVEA is pretty economical - that little 3.5 oz tank seems to last forever. Priming is perhaps more expensive in fuel and time, though. Again, this kind of thing is pretty subjective if you don't do rigorously controlled tests considering every aspect (priming and flame runout when you flip the bottle to "OFF" - the SVEA knows of no such thing, of course), and, then, I think I've gotten past the stage where I was constructing hundreds of alcohol Pepsi-can stoves with varying configurations to see which worked best in terms of speed and/or efficiency.

So, I'll just defer to the "testers" who publish online. Hendrik Morkel of "Hiking in Finland" has a review and a video in which he melts nearly 2L of snow with the stove. Then there's a nice comparison, with photos, of the OmniLite and what appears to me to be the "old" version of the OmniFuel at bushcraftuk forum. The OmniFuel in the pictures looks just like my "Himalaya", which I acquired from Moontrail in San Antonio back when it was actually called the "Primus Himalaya".

An aside just for grins: I have a running dispute with my brother (who don't I have a a running dispute with, eh?) about the pronunciation of "Primus". He says it's a long "i" - pronounced like "eye" - and I have always pronounced it like a long "e" sound. This may very well be because I had Latin in college and my brother did not - and there is always, it seems, a difference between how we Americans pronounce words that those guys over there just, well, mangle. Just view any Jaguar car ad. "Jag-you-wire", indeed! Anyway, Hendrik is clearly on my side, as is the pronouncing Latin dictionary. You may discount that opinion at whatever rate appeals to you. :^)

I wasn't all that pleased with the carrying pouch that came with the OmniLite. It's far too large and heavy for what it does, I think. It's a very large bag about 3 times larger than (I think) it needs to be, with a zippered pocket on one side. It has a "drybag style" closure with a metal hook apparatus and a loop of nylon webbing that protrudes from one end of the (once again) drybag style closure at the top of the pouch. It's true that you can put the entire included rig, with the .3L fuel bottle, into it, but I don't think I'd ever do that. It's ruggedly constructed of heavy material, and, acc. to Henrik in the review cited above, weighs only 60g less than the pump and bottle. By comparison, the OmniFuel "Himalaya" I bought some years ago came in a lightweight nylon bag which only barely holds the stove, pump and windscreen.



I strongly suspect that this stove, or any other weighing this much, has very limited appeal to most people hereabouts. However, if I discover anything further of note about it as I use it, I'll post it. So far, it seems to be pretty much what you'd think: a smaller, lighter less powerful version of the OmniFuel.