The stove

The plan is to be independent as much as possible during this trip, not having to get to a shop or a hostel or a restaurant every day. So, a stove is a must.

I want to be sure to always have fuel, so a multifuel stove feels natural. MSR is well liked in the USA but Swedes also like Primus (especially the stores in Gothenburg) so I first thought of an OmniLite with a silencer (these stoves are noicy). Digging deeper it turns out there are stoves where you don't need to change jet (for different fuels) and there are also some having a built in needle (for cleaning). After all, small things will be lost eventually. So more and more my eyes was drawn to Optimus' Nova and Polaris stoves.

Optimus is owned by Katadyn which is Swiss, which feels conservative but high quality and their cooperation with the Swiss army felt like reliable so the question became Nova or Optifuel. Optimus Polaris Optifuel became my choice as it can run also on gas. When it turns out my hardcore outdoorsy friend from the Finnish army, Stoffe, has used Optimus for the past 15 years and Bergfreunde.se had it on sale, it was a done deal. I needed a fuel bottle too, and found the 0,6l Optimus bottle on sale at some dodgy internet outlet. Every penny I save is another kilometer on the bike, after all! :)