Back in 2004, I bought my first pieces of outdoor gear: a Primus stove and lantern. Twenty years later, I'm still using both of them. Same stove. Same lantern. The piezo ignitor on my stove still clicks to life every time, and I've replaced the glass and mantles on the lantern as needed over the years. That kind of longevity—and repairability—is uncommon, and it's exactly why we carry this brand.
Primus has been at this since 1892—that's over 130 years of making stoves. They started when two founders in Stockholm created the world's first soot-free kerosene stove and named it Primus, Latin for "the first." Their gear went to the South Pole with Roald Amundsen in 1911 and to the top of Mount Everest with Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary in 1953. When failure isn't an option, explorers chose Primus.
Here's what sets them apart today: the majority of Primus stoves are still made in Europe at their own factory in Tartu, Estonia. While other outdoor brands chased cheaper manufacturing overseas, Primus opened this facility in 1995 and kept it running. All their products are designed in Sweden. They control quality from start to finish, and you can feel it in the final product.
But here's the real kicker—Primus builds gear that's actually repairable. They maintain spare parts for older models, run an Expedition Service program, and even offer free spare parts through initiatives like "Service Your Stove." When my 20-year-old stove eventually needs a part, I can get it. That's practical thinking for people who put their gear through it's paces and need it to work.
So yes, my Primus stove and lantern have been going strong for two decades. But we carry this brand because Primus gets it: outdoor gear should be reliable, practical, repairable, and built to last. They've proven it for over a century with European manufacturing and a commitment to supporting their products long after you buy them. That's the kind of gear worth putting in our customers' hands.
You can checkout our Primus selection here.
See you out on the trails,
Camper Dave