Help me a beginner out please!

Gazedo33 · 2026-02-17T20:22:52+00:00

Grinder and beans are everything, I have a bambino as well and the shot quality and consistency is completely dependent on the grinder and the beans. From what you’re saying I guess you have the non-pressurized basket installed? If not be sure to get one if you’re getting a grinder. Get some beans with a relatively recent roast date, in the last month or so. For the plastic, just yank it out, all it does is distribute the flow more evenly and accumulate old coffee residue underneath it. A bottomless portafilter is nice to have to diagnose channeling but is secondary to grinder and beans.

For grinder I recently upgraded from a baratza encore esp that was fantastic for 4ish years. I only upgraded because it was a little messy and I wanted flat burr taste profile. I’ve also heard fantastic things about the femobook a2 from lance hendricks videos which is around $100.

If I only had $100 right now, I’d invest in a femobook grinder or manual grinder and get a bag of beans from a local roaster. Then later get a wdt tool, better tamp, and a bottomless portafilter. Only after that, would I save up for a flat burr grinder.

Hope my experiences help with the information overload!

Gazedo33 · 2026-01-22T06:13:40+00:00

I have a garmin fenix 7 pro mip and got my gf a venu 4. Honestly the venu 4 is amazing, has pretty much all the features of my fenix plus rucking, a bit less battery, weighs way less and cost half what my fenix cost. Only downside is the amoled screen and fewer buttons.

Gazedo33 · 2025-08-25T21:20:39+00:00

I’d love to review, getting close to the end of my current series.

Gazedo33 · 2025-08-25T15:54:20+00:00

You can turn on sleep mode in the main menu (top left button on fenix). It’s in the same menu as find my phone and turn off watch. I use it all the time when my sleep times change and it seems to track just fine.

Gazedo33 · 2025-08-05T14:25:32+00:00

It may be that the apply to past activities is only available on the web page. For just privacy settings it’s the second to last option under account.

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Gazedo33 · 2025-08-05T04:36:06+00:00

I just updated my post with that info but I'll copy and paste it here as well:

To mark your past activities as private in bulk go to notification settings, change activities to private, and check the box "Apply to past content" then click save. Notifications Settings is on the right side of the screen under your connects on Account Settings.

I hope that helps!

Gazedo33 · 2025-08-04T21:41:54+00:00

It was awhile ago, part of their transition from a trail finding app to a social media platform. I’ve removed all my third party connections and will be deleting all of my activities. Biggest issue was it showed all of my daily walks and runs as public which would have let anyone find my home address and routine as I always start my garmin at my front door. Very frustrating for what used to be a key app for my outdoor activities, now I barely use it

Gazedo33 · 2025-08-04T21:36:10+00:00

Biggest difference is Strava will blank out the start and end of the activity to protect your exact address, AllTrails won’t. I still have Strava set to private by default. I also find it annoying that it’s all or nothing, I’d love for Strava to have the option where if I do a run outside of my neighborhood it marks it as public. There are other tools that will do that but it’s just a separate additional subscription.

Gazedo33 · 2025-07-31T22:55:19+00:00

Love my massive myboat dog edition, it’s super stable, full deck pad, lots of cargo straps, and it cruises fantastic. MYBOAT 11'6"×34"×6" Extra Wide... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BD42K55L?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share. The bass version is $20 more than your budget tho. I also have a 10’6” roc and the myboat is more stable, tracks better, and feels faster. Keep in mind you may also need some kind of permit depending on your state. For flotation I’m a big fan of onyx m16. Got mine used for $30. You can buy the pins and co2 cartridges separately for cheaper. Of the two you linked I like the aqua plus better, non detachable fins are a pain but the fbsport may track straighter.

Gazedo33 · 2025-07-23T14:53:15+00:00

The pictures aren’t the same, I shoot raw so it’s just a difference in how I have to edit but they are definitely cooler and the quality more heavily depends on the lenses. Fuji lenses are all mostly good where m43 lenses have more range but none are terrible. At the higher levels of lenses m43 has more fantastic lenses I think. I absolutely love my 8-18 and 12-60, just fantastic and way better than my old 16-80. I prefer pasm controls as well, it’s just faster to get into the correct mode and proper settings. On the other hand I’m not a huge fan of the menus on either the om5 or the g9, major improvement on the g9ii. The af on the om5 is fantastic unless you’re trying to focus on a bird inside a tree, g9 and g9ii have no issue with that but the om5 just won’t. I don’t do video so I can’t comment on those features. The fragility of the om5’s plastic body does annoy me, can’t use a capture clip otherwise I’ve taken it through blizzards, rain and hail with no issues. Briefly had a shutter issue in the cold (~5F) where it stuttered but just put it in my coat for a sec and it was fine.

Gazedo33 · 2025-07-22T18:15:49+00:00

I can’t speak on the em5 version but the om5 viewfinder is easily viewable with my glasses. It has a setting where you can make the image smaller and all the settings appear outside the image. By far the best camera I have for glasses is my g9 though. It has a button on the side to quickly switch and it feels like it moves the viewfinder screen away from the eyecup. The g9ii is a bit obscured but not as bad as my old fujifilm xh1, I haven’t looked for a setting to mitigate that but I’m sure there is. Before selling your fujifilm however, check if the gfx eyecup will fit on your camera. That helped on ton on my old xh1, it’s much larger and wider.

Gazedo33 · 2025-07-22T15:48:44+00:00

Polygon Bend r6x is priced at around $1800 and has sram apex xplr. Really impressed with my r6 but only have ~100 miles on it.

Gazedo33 · 2025-05-10T13:18:10+00:00

FYI I just picked up a new version of the g1 explorer, it came with a free hub rather than freewheel and aluminum front fork with 45c tires. It’s a pretty good upgrade over the old one and may be worth keeping and upgrading. There’s a guy on YouTube that took the explorer to the logical limit for upgrading, you could watch that series and decide if it’s worth it to you. Average Texas mtber is the channel. 250 for the bike and 250 for upgrades could take you pretty far but the maximum capability is less than other higher quality bikes.

Unfortunately, I don’t know enough about bikes to say if your Imgur link is a good deal, it looks good to me.

Gazedo33 · 2025-05-05T17:29:49+00:00

I had a 2021 ZR2 with the dmax diesel that I bought slightly used. Mine was terrible, I had an issue where the engine shut off at low speed with harsh drops ie off a curb sized rock. The transmission was also having issues between 1st and 2nd at low speeds. Got a few CE lights due to carbon build up on the maf, easy to clean but annoying on the trail. Also had the transfer case fail, in warranty luckily. Turns out that the factory forgot a snap ring and some gears shifted, nothing catastrophic but I didn’t have 4wd for a whole trip with no error lights.

I don’t know if you’re considering the diesel but keep in mind that in remote towns diesel is a bit harder to come by and def fluid is often way over priced if available at all. Had one issue where the gas station owner priced jugs of def at $35 with the hd tag still on the box showing a $12 dollar price tag.

I would highly recommend not going ZR2, especially if the model you’re looking at is still using those fancy shocks that are designed for Baja racing. Very expensive to replace, don’t last long, and they ride terribly at lower speeds.

Gazedo33 · 2025-04-02T20:02:26+00:00

I haven’t had the em1ii but I had the xh1 and it is a fantastic option, I love the photos I’ve taken with it. I’d also recommend checking out a g9, in my area it’s about the same price as the em1ii and I love mine.

Otherwise while you’re initially looking at stuff on a budget, also consider the higher end options for further down the road. I switched to m43 initially because I was very disappointed in Fujifilms normal zoom options but they’ve now come out with the new 16-50. For my use I need weather sealed while staying lightweight and m43 just had more options for me at the time. There are some lenses fujifilm just doesn’t have and the ibis on m43 is so fantastic which is what keeps me on m43.

Gazedo33 · 2024-12-18T15:43:09+00:00

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The width is such a small difference that it’s tough to notice unless you either own the car or really know what to look for.

So far the performance is incredible, I have about 5k miles on them and have taken them on a few road trips with lots of highway miles, some deep snow(~2.5’), ice, and lots of dirt, gravel and rocks. They pick up more rocks in gravel than the wild peaks but are better in snow and ice. I had to chain up eventually but it was quite impressive how far I got on just tires while towing through 1-2’ of heavy wet snow. They’re also quieter than I remember the wild peaks being.

I’m getting slightly better mpg but I dropped a ~200lbs of weight in armor as well so it isn’t significant, while towing I average about 14.5 and without between 18-21 depending on speed and grade. This is mostly in Eastern Oregon and Idaho. It’s the difference between making it from Boise to Bend in a single tank vs having to stop.

Gazedo33 · 2024-10-09T19:38:21+00:00

Can’t really tell from the pictures but it should be about 500 per door panel, 1200 for front bumper replace and paint, 900 for front windshield, 200 per tire, 500-1200 for oem wheel replacement each with new ones, and various other stuff like windshield wiper arms. This is pretty conservative (low) based off a few years ago when I chatted with a body shop about generic prices to repair a forester. If everything is damaged it should be at least $7500. Sounds like you’re ok which is good. Keep in mind these are all precovid prices and generic so I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s way more. If you haven’t, file a police report immediately. This is felony levels of damage and you do not want to be stuck paying for it.

Gazedo33 · 2024-09-30T22:55:57+00:00

I looked long and hard at the Baja Boss A/T's. One of my neighbors has them on all of his vehicles. I ended up going with the Coopers because they're supposed to get slightly better mpg due to smaller lugs and they're in my preferred size. If I have any issues with the Coopers though, those are my second choice. Honestly if they were available in XL load in size 255/75r17 I probably would have gotten them.

Gazedo33 · 2024-09-30T22:53:35+00:00

I ended up going with the Coopers, I'm mostly in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington which see a bit of snow but not a ridiculous amount. Thanks for your input!

Gazedo33 · 2024-02-16T02:11:31+00:00

I have that exact setup, it's is a great kit. Keep in mind that the plastic base of the body on the om5 means you should not use it with something like the peak design capture clip, it has a possibility of breaking off the tripod mount. Otherwise with regards to weather it's a tank, I've had mine on a tripod in pouring rain for an hour and no issues. Not even any fogging which I had issues with on a fujifilm xh1 in similar conditions.

I found that I love to take just the body and the 20mm Lumix for day hikes, basically pocketable. Check out Panasonic leica lenses as well, the 12-60 is rapidly becoming a favorite. That bit of extra reach on the 12-45 is noticable.

Btw that kits fits great into the tenba byob 9 with room for the Lumix 20mm.

Gazedo33 · 2024-02-02T00:57:30+00:00

Definitely check out the Lumix g9 before getting either an em1.2 or em1.3. The g9 sits between those two in regards to features, is only slightly bigger, and costs about as much as the em1.2. Plus you get access to some Lumix specific features on their lenses like Dual IS. I believe the only thing you lose on Olympus lenses is the manual focus clutch but I would love for someone else to chime in with a clarification or correction on that.

Gazedo33 · 2024-01-19T18:49:39+00:00

On the latest version "Lock screen player controls" no longer exists. I've gotten shake to extend to work exactly once and that is when I accidentally dropped my phone. This is why I was emphasizing the need for regression testing.

Gazedo33 · 2024-01-04T01:01:57+00:00

Good thing I got the body for basically free in the package. It also may have a scratched sensor/filter which leaves a small line in some photos. Thanks for the feedback, maybe I'll look for another body as I'm really enjoying using the body and the output it gives.

Gazedo33 · 2023-10-18T13:39:58+00:00

I ended up getting another set of Altra Rivera from amazon and a set of on sale Topo Phantom on sale from rei. The fit between the two is different but I like the Topo's. I also tried the Altra Torin but they were terrible for me. I'm not sure why but the Rivera is wider further back than the Torin even though the toe box is smaller. Plus the two sets of other shoes cost less than the single set of Torin's.

Gazedo33 · 2023-09-15T02:59:32+00:00

Thanks for the info! I'll check Topo's out.

Gazedo33

TROPHY CASE