I first had an Optimus when I was thirteen, in the Boy Scouts, in the early 80's. I was given it by a man who'd been using it for about ten years previously. I continued to use the stove, without an repairs or problems, for the next 10 years. A couple years ago, I pulled it out of storage, just to try it out, and it fired up, no problems. So, that one stove worked for almost 40 years!
That is why I bought it again. I still have the old stove, but couldn't ship it to myself in Japan. I plan on giving this to my son when he needs it for camping. It is just amazingly reliable.
For weight-conscious backpacking, the Optimus has it's good points: it is light, it has a compact design, it is tough, it has a built-in pot for heating water, and it is powerful. It's drawback for backpacking, as I see it, is that you must either bring a fuel bottle for priming the stove, or a small container of white gasoline for the same. Which brings me to the Optimus' main drawback.
To light it, you must pour a small amount of white gasoline into its reservoir and light it, so the heat will build up pressure in the tank, and force the gasoline out of the nozzle. After that, it's smooth sailing--unless you want to turn off the stove and turn it on again later. This is possible if you plan on lighting it again after a minute, but more than that, and the tank cools off and loses pressure. In other words: plan what you're going to heat, or just plan to keep the stove going (which you can on its low setting no problem).
For non-backpack camping, this stove is great for cooking small meals and heating water. If you're going to be cooking for three or more people, you'd need more burners.
For solo campers, this stove is perfect. I don't do serious backpacking, and I love the sound this stove makes when it's fired up, especially in the mornings: that is the sound of coffee getting ready.
スベア123Rには、本来なら燃料タンクに MADE IN SWEDEN の刻印があるのですが、 このスベア123Rは、SWEDEN とだけ刻印された台湾製のものでした。 台湾製のスベアは、バーナーの材質がスエーデン製とは違うので、焼きが入ると色合いが本体と変わり、磨いても同じようには輝きません。 ロマンを追う方には、残念なOEM品ですね… 国内ではスター商事が正規代理店ですが、スベア123Rに関しては台湾製しか取り扱っていないので、 少々お高くはなりますが、日本で本場スエーデン製のスベア123Rを手に入れたければ、スウェーデン本国で倉庫に眠っているデッドストックの新品を探して個人輸入するか、日本で転売ヤーから馬鹿高い中古品をしかなさそうです。