My first stove was an Optimus 8R that I bought from a tiny backpacking store in NJ that was in business for about 3 months in '75. I still have it and it has made meals on several hundred days afield. It's been long supplanted by a Whisperjet and a Micro-Rocket. but I may pull it out New Year's eve on our annual tradition backpack. May make a complex meal with multiple stoves, the 8R would be worth the weight carrying it just for the memories. We still use my first Thermarest with the tiny metal valve that freezes up in the winter. It's never leaked in it's hundreds of nights of use. Still a good pad in the winter. This is a good thread; it really makes me appreciate the gear I've had and the memories it helped create.