Optimus 99 Review

"This stove was given to me by my father who bought it back in 1971. This stove is made by the same company as the Svea 123. The design is very simple using an aluminum box (approximately 5”x5”x3”)that comes apart. The stove is in the bottom part and the lid is used as a wind screen or a small square pot. There is no pump so priming is in order. Once the priming is done this little stove takes off! it will do everything between blowtorch and simmer. The key that is used to turn up the heat also has a wrench hole that will take the whole stove apart. The down side to this stove is it is loud (but no louder than a Whisperlight), and being small it doesn’t hold much fuel. Some people don’t like stoves that need to be primed but it doesn’t take long to learn how to do it. I carry a little eye dropper in the stove case for priming. I’m not even sure this stove is still made. It may be the Hunter 11 now. Even if it isn’t made any more it is worth checking garage sales for."

"I've had this stove since I started backpacking in 1975. It has given me no real problems, although I did replace it for parts about 10 years ago with one I picked up in a garage sale. I do use a pump to more easily prime it. As I'm now pushing 80 years old, my backpacking days are more limited, but I still use my old stand-by stove. It is light weight, yet noisy, but it heats water more quickly than the Bluet stove I use when traveling overseas, since the airlines frown upon gasoline stoves not filled with water on their planes. Also,Gaz fuel for the Bluet is more readily available anywhere in the world. All in all, the Optimus 99 has served me well."

"Ive had this stove since 72 and never even had to tighten the packing yet,I did manage to blow the safty lid about ten years ago but that was easily replaced.All in all a very good stove."

"I acquired a 99 from Ebay. It is basically an 8R with aluminium case, and the stove body is fixed in the case, unlike 8R. This may be a quirk, but all of my 8R's require pumping, in order to get them to put out a strong flame. 99 doesn't. It fires up, and the tank pressurizes in a short time, and the maximum blue flame roars out soon. It performs as good as Svea 123. Fire power is not so great, compared to today's improved canister stoves, but it will serve a single backpacker reliably--as it is designed. Boils a quart in about 8 minutes under the calm weather. Fuel tank is rather small (45 min. burn time), but if you want to extend your trip, just carry extra fuel. It may not qualify as high performance, but as reliable as any out there."

"I have a few Optimus stoves, and this is probably my favorite. It is really the same as the 8R, except for the housing it's in. When I hike solo I use this stove because I don't have to bring a mess kit, I just cook in the lid and eat from it. These stoves are almost indestructable. Not the lightest stove out there, or the fastest at boiling water, but I know it will do the job."

"I've had this stove since about 1975 and it has been a solid performer. I used to have the little priming pump, but now just rely upon a plastic eye dropper that I keep in the case. I've found that an aluminum wind screen closely wrapped around the stove really improves its heating ability. I just lost the burner plate on my last camping trip and am trying to find a replacement. If I can, there will be no reason to replace it."

"Biker Stove! This is a favorite of mine while motorcycle camping. Its fairly small, and moderately lightweight. I ride motorcycles with easy access to the gasoline petcocks. If I need to extra fuel I just get a little 91 octane unleaded gasoline from the motorcycle fuel tank and the little stove fires right up. It sounds like a minuture rocket or blow torch. I have used this stove in altitude from 7000 ft all the way down to sealevel. The aluminum lid serves as a cooking pot. Since I run gasoline in it, I have to wash the gasoline smell out of it before using it to cook in. I give it the A#1 hobo award, if you can find one, this is about as simple and effective as it gets!"

"After my first solo Boundary Waters canoe trip, I swore I'd find a way to cut down on all the stuff I was carrying. Anyone that has ever portaged alone can attest to how important it is to travel with only the essentials. One of the first areas to trim down was my mess kit and cooking supplies. I found the Optimus 99 to be the perfect answer. The lid is the cooking pot, dinner plate, kettle to boil water which I pour thru an MSR coffee filter, the whole works. It will even deep fry fish if you don't mind cutting up fillets into chunks. I use a small section of a plastic straw which I dip into the fuel tank, covering the end with my finger to prime the pan. I've never had a problem lighting it or keeping it lit. I did notice that you need to watch it in case of wind, and turn it so that the flames arent licking the tank. The lid seems like it was made perfectly to fit a block or 2 of Ramen noodles. Mine has the knob adjuster instead of the metal key and it can be left in place without getting hot. A small MSR pot handle, box of matches, the knob, a small lexan spoon and the straw all fit inside the case when closed up. The small tank size does mean carrying a fuel bottle to refill it, but the whole assembly takes up alot less room than my Coleman 502 with it's case. For solo traveling, it's fantastic.
On the down side, it's downright scary trying to balance a small round cooking or coffee pot on those 2 straight rails."