Primus Himalaya

I bought this stove about 11 years ago, about mid-way through my Army career. I had to carry everything I needed in a rucksack so every square inch of space was a precious commodity and versatility and durability was a necessity. 

I would carry a can of ISO butane and a fuel bottle full of white gas with me also and occasionally, when I ran out of both, I would go "borrow" some JP-4 from the Support Troops' vehicles. JP-4 is similar to diesel fuel but I'm told it is a bit more refined. This stove worked perfectly, although it is a bit loud and became less efficient very quickly when using JP-4. About 10 minutes of cleaning with the included tools revitalized the stove.

My previous stove was a Scorpion II that only used ISO butane and before that I used the old Army "heat tabs". The "heat tabs" were OK, the Scorpion II was pretty good even though it only worked with one type of fuel but the Primus Himalaya offered the most versitility. I virtually could never run out of fuel.

I would recommend this stove to anyone who was looking for a way to cook while away from the "comforts of home". This stove never let me down.

I took this stove on a bike ride from Anchorage to Seattle and used it twice a day for two months straight. Somewhere in North BC the leather pump tore, but we repaired it with epoxy before replacing it with a new seal at Prince George. Make sure to keep your leather greased! All the parts are designed to be preplaced/repaired and it has very fast lighting time compared to MSRs.

Just recently I started to have pressure problems. I called Suunto (Primus dist. in US) and they sent me a new fuel line free, which fixed the problem.

Oh, and one more thing: its all metal construction looks cool and it makes a loud roar when burning. Even with two major problems, I'd still recommend this stove.