All right, we're vying for who has the oldest Optimus 8R. I bought mine in 1971, so we're almost at the three decade point. Just took my son with me on a backpacking trip and he was fascinated. Simple, rugged stove that always works. May not be the lightest but I like the packaging in the steel box. Suggest owners of this stove carry an eye-dropper (best if plastic, not glass). Suction a small portion of gas from the tank onto the brass basin beneath the burner. Light & in a minute or so, there's sufficient heat to build up tank pressure. Value has been great. Of course, I only paid about $12 for this stove in 1971!

Similar Products Used:

Kelty Mountaineer Backpack. North Face Ibex Down sleeping bag

I have had an 8R for about 15 years. It gets a lot of use. I bought the optional pump for it and find that handy in the higher altitudes or colder weather. I can cook for my entire family (8) on it. It is slower and heavier than some but reliable and easy to use.

Similar Products Used:

None

Found an old 8R sitting under a pile of crud at a flea market, and checked it out. Being primed to light with what seemed to be everything combustible (including a CANDLE!) I was skeptical to buy, but for 15 bucks, I opted for it. At home, I cleaned the (wax!), dust, oil and wood flakes from inside the clam-case, and filled its round, brass tank. A few drops of gas in the priming cup, a match, a lazy flame for 20 seconds, open the valve and woof!--it ran perfectly. I boiled a giant pot of coffee, getting it perked in less than 10 minutes. I then boiled some soup, in a big litre pot; it took about eight minutes. Not bad for an abused stove... The 8R closes up into a neat little metal box, unlike those trendy, assemble-all-the-bits volcano-on-a-hose stoves.

Customer Service

Made calls to the Canadian distributor, and as almost all the bits are shared with the Svea 123, and the stove had been made for so long, the bits are all available.

Similar Products Used:

I've used many other cooking implements powered with everything from wood to naptha.

I can't say enough for this stove! I've owned mine for close to ten years and it is still as reliable as when I first got it. The all metal construction makes it very durable. It is a little heavier than some of the Mt. Lite stoves, but to have the reliability I am willing to carry the extra weight.

Similar Products Used:

None

I bought my Optimus 8R in 1973 with my paper route money for 18.00. It has burned for 26 years and 5,000 miles of hiking, climbing and paddling trips. ( including my 1977 thru-hike of the PCT ) I could have kicked this stove to Canada and it would still work every time. I burned straight unleaded gas for those 6 months with no problems. The stove still cleans up nice with brasso. ( though the metal box has been painted almost every color of the rainbow ) Buy the mini pump for more horsepower in winter or cold weather.

Similar Products Used:

I collect all old Swedish stoves ( primus, Optimus and Sveas ) as they are becoming rare in the U.S. because of cheaper ( and cheesier ) butane stoves. P.S. priming is now a lost art with todays generation X hikers.

Optimus 8R is the decendant of a stove that I have been using since 8 years old in cub scouts. I still have my model 199 with aluminum box. The stove occasionally gets half a can of spray carburettor cleaner into the jetting system and to get the soot to fall off the priming area. Volvo 144 of stoves.

Customer Service

No experience with manufacturers; I do my own repairs.

Similar Products Used:

Many Coleman white gas stoves and lanterns of the last 80 years.

Bought mine on an ebay auction. Had wanted one for ages and when it came I immediately went to the garage to test it. Within a minute I had it going. Very simple design, amazing self-pressurizing, self cleaning system. I also have a Model 80, which needs a little work, but I have pushed my msr and sigg stoves to the back of the shelf, and now use my little Optimus stove.

Customer Service

I emailed them, asking about a manual and spare parts, and within 2 weeks had a manual in my hands and addresses for spare parts (which I doubt I'll need)

Similar Products Used:

coleman, msr, sigg.

I had my 8R for nearly 26 years, until one of my backpacking buddies lost it while we were hiking in the Porkies this fall. I bought it from my brother way back in 1974. He shoplifted it from a local backpacking store. The best things in life are free, or at least second hand free. I have used it pretty much everywhere: Smokey Mountains, Yosemite, The Presidentails, etc. I have used it backpacking with my family, and now that it is lost, so am I. The stove was my ol' reliable. Yes it was slow to heat up and slow to cook but you could pound nails with its steel box. Refueling was always a pain, and if you ran out of fuel in the tank while cooking you were screwed. I rebuilt the stove only once during the past 26 years and it worked like new. The new stuff isn't always the best.