most broken uncooperative winter stuff

[dave.m]

Not everyone has problems with them [MSRs]...

Oh, it was more the nature of the problem described that got me to guess MSR. They have a loyal following and I have to admit, I've seen more than a few work as advertised. ;^)

Now, if they had described scary flare ups and trouble getting lit, I would have guessed a Peak One.

 

[dave.m]

I'm looking to replace my whisperlight now (due to it being gunked up beyond repair...probably my fault), is this the same SVEA that you have?

http://www.rei.com/product/3023679.htm?vcat=REI_SSHP_CAMPING_TOC

They also mention a fuel pump sold separately, is this something that you would recommend if I went this route? Thanks for your thoughts.

Yes, that's the one, although mine isn't nearly that shiny. Get me some shades!

SVEAs aren't all easy living now. Like all white gas stoves, they are portable explosive devices, so care must be used. Here are my tips...

1) Use an MSR windscreen but use it with the utmost of care. It is very easy to over heat the SVEA and when that happens, you get a fire stream out of the filler cap. While terribly unnerving (yes, I've done it once), they typcially don't go bang nor does the flame get completely out of control. You *can* turn off the stove in that state if you use care. This is unlike the 2 MSR with plastic pumps I've seen flame up. When they melt down, you need a snow bank handy.

2) Carry a spare filler cap in case you do over heat the stove. This is the only spare part I carry. If you over heat the stove, you might want to replace the o-ring in the filler cap and heaven forbid you loose the filler cap. A spare filler cap solves both problems. BTW, i used my stove for a week on the o-ring after my flare up.

3) Use Fire Ribbon priming paste to prime the stove. This allows you to put the windscreen on easily while the stove is priming. Using white gas for priming is a good way to get things very sooty and to have fire all over as it spills out of the priming cup. Its possible and you should know how to use the gas, but the paste is infintitely easier to manage.

4) In winter, use a wood/foam insulated base to keep the stove from loosing its prime.

5) I don't bother with the pump. I've never had any problem with keeping the stove going down to -15f in the Whites. I think (somebody should confirm/deny) that the pump is more benificial at altitude.

6) As with all stoves, you should make tea once a day for a month before betting your life on it. IMO, this is the only way to get a stove burned into memory (ahem) as second nature.

 

[carole]

The zipper pull on two different fleece vests broke off. Interesting to try to get out of them when you can't unzip them.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

,.,, is this the same SVEA that you have?

http://www.rei.com/product/3023679.htm?vcat=REI_SSHP_CAMPING_TOC

They're making them again? I thought they had stopped a few years ago. I think I paid $12 for my first one.

They also mention a fuel pump sold separately, is this something that you would recommend if I went this route?

I don't have one (never did). Just slobber the thing with gas and light it (for priming), and use some insulation to keep it off the snow/ice in winter.

 

[DougPaul]

Oh, it was more the nature of the problem described that got me to guess MSR. They have a loyal following and I have to admit, I've seen more than a few work as advertised. ;^)

The model G may be more reliable than the later multi-fuel versions--no vaporizing tube going through the flame. Of course, they don't make it any more. The older pumps had a metal shaft, unlike the recent all-plastic pumps. (An all metal pump would be nice, too.)

I've seen surveys of AT hikers that conclude that the unpressurized alcohol stoves have the fewest problems. (Unless you consider cold weather a problem...)

Doug

 

[woodstrider]

The weakeat link in my gear...

seems to be my footwear. I am really hard on my boots and the soles almost alway separate from the uppers and I really chew up the leather. Gaiters also get harsh treatment- It must be the bushwhacking.

Second
the snap locks on my backpack- especially the male side. This happened once in the winter when I was going up Calkins Brook, but I saw that it was cracked and I had a spare. Unlike someone I knew whose hip belt snap lock broke and he was forced to try to tie the hip belt of his backpack. I try to carry a spare in all sizes.

Third
the plunger on my whisperlight. It has cracked twice.

 

[Oldsmores]

...They also mention a fuel pump sold separately, is this something that you would recommend if I went this route?...

Bought one years ago, used it 3 or 4 times and haven't touched it since. Fuel or fire ribbon will prime the stove just fine.

 

[spider solo]

sherpa parts etc

That was a really nice link for Sherpa parts.....Arctic TrekKer Snowshoes... the laced ones sure do look like Sherpa snowshoes from days gone by.

NYBRAD...I was surprised that you've had to relace them so often. the most I've ever had to do was occasional preventive repairs, maybe reinforce a potiential break with a few inches of lacing or an extra crimp here and there.
A friend of mine has been using them for rentals for years and the lacing still holds strong on them.
I'm none to gentle on mine, so I got a complete lacing kit a few years back, but have yet to use it. Perhaps I'm in different terrain in these parts.
Last year while looking on e-bay for possible extra pair of Sherpas I noticed that on some shoes the lacings were completely gone or "shattered". If I remember right they were shoes that had been stored in barns or attics, like in Arizona ,where the lacing got brittle from the heat over the years...basically they cooked.

TIMMUS ...with the rough leather boots soaking up like a sponge..these days I would just buy some rubber boots as an overshoe to keep em dry..that's what I've been experimenting with this past year and it's beenn working out ..so far so good.

I've been surprised with problems on MSR stoves... I've never seen them catch fire, but I do remember that the weld on my Dragonfly came loose so that it separated from the body of the stove. Basically I had the stove base in one hand and the flame burner in the other. They sent me a new stove...I haven't used it long enough to know if the weld holds up better on this one, but it does look like the weakest part of the stove design.

Zippers, Zipper, Zippers...EMS made good when the breast pocket zip needed replacing but...on the next hike it jambed again....this time my glasses were in it so I had to take a knife and stab into the pocket and cut the zipper out...I can't read a map or compass without them...
Figured it would look a bit queasy if someone came along to see this guy who couldn't see that well fish out a jack knife and start poking himself in the chest with it..I imagine that's what it would have looked like.

 

[DougPaul]

They also mention a fuel pump sold separately, is this something that you would recommend if I went this route? Thanks for your thoughts.

I have the fuel pump for my 8R. I usually pump just enough to get enough gas to prime the stove--easier than using an external source of gas or fire ribbon. Also useful if you are having difficulty keeping the stove heat pressurized in the cold. (Rarely a problem for me--I usually use my MSR model G in the cold.)

Doug

 

[Becket1903]

Thanks for the stove info

I know that I have wandered a bit from the thread, but thank you all for the information. I thru-hiked the AT in 1996 with a MSR Whisperlite Int'l and never had a problem for the entire trip, routine cleaning and maintenance aside. After hanging up my boots for a couple of years, I am getting back out there and it [the Whisperlite] has been nothing but trouble (though it may just be mad at me for getting thrown in the closet for so long!). I think that I am going to give this SVEA a try, and for the cost, seems to be a pretty good deal. I like to hear that people have had theirs for 20 and 30 years, if that doesn't instill confidence what will!

Not bashing the MSRs though, that little guy served me well! I do like to shake things up a bit, and it will be fun to try out a new toy for awhile. Thanks again everyone.

PS -- I figured that pump was a gimmick to get you to pay an extra $25 (nearly 1/2 the cost of the stove?! ) and carry unnecessary baggage!

 

[Chip]

All this talk of Svea's and 8R's is making me teary-eyed. I might have to break out the old 8R this week-end !
Neither of these is your lightest option, but they are bullet-proof.
I've used the eye-dropper and fire-starter-paste method of priming, but, like Pete, found it was simpler it over-slop some fuel in there and go for the first time, full prime. Loads of fun for the un-initiated.
Remember to take that adjusting key out right away - those babies get red-hot if left in while the stove is on.

 

[spencer]

Does the MSR "Whisperlites are pieces of crap" vs. "I've never had any problems with mine" debate remind anyone of the soon-to-be-revived MSR "these snowshoes are pieces of crap" vs. "I've never had any problem with mine?"

I love my Whisperlite (although I only use it in the winter now) and hate those MSR shoes. I've never used them but they look like pieces of crap

the things that gets me is sweating too much in my clothes. My thermostat is broken. The advice of "walk slow enough that you don't break a sweat" (which I used to preach before I knew better) is ridiculous. I'd never get anywhere... I usually end of winter hiking in one thin layer which I then take off and replace with more appropriate attire when I stop or get where I'm going.

spencer

 

[Rick]

I have seen more than a few people curse and kick their whisperlites, swearing to never use them again. With the exception of snapping off the plastic pump collar on one brutally cold winter trip, I cannot recall ever having a problem since I got my first W-lite in '90. In all the years of use and abuse, it just keeps going. I do tend to take it apart every couple of years and run everything through the dishwasher to keep the carbon deposits to a minimum.

Where my anger sets in and my frustration abounds is the damn snow and ice getting into my BC ski bindings - When it is warmer out they are a royal Pain in the a$$, also, getting the damn klister all over my pack, my dog and anything else in the way and dealing with climbing skins.

I wholeheartedly agree with the other assorted comments sleeping bag zippers, pants falling down, shirts riding up and Ski poles snapping or lock mechanisms fail. Might I also add being beaten senseless and blinded by loose hood cords whipping you in the face on a summit. Grrrrrrr.........

 

[Becket1903]

Water Filters

When I still used my PUR filter, I would constantly forget to bring it to bed with me on winter trips. Those things don't function so well when they are frozed through. Don't use one anymore though, so the problem seems to have gone away.