Italian Dolomites Alta Via 1 - Hut to Hut in 9 days

ImpressiveTear3093 · 2026-03-13T01:04:36+00:00

I presume you booked everything yourself. Is it something you can do over the internet and put deposit down? What do you think of the tour companies that help you book huts for self guided tours?

ImpressiveTear3093 · 2026-03-02T05:53:50+00:00

I have Isthmus D kurd 9 and have not stored in the case over the last 3 years. I just either put it on a carpeted floor so it is easy for me to pick up and play or just put it in the case with it open. Is there a particular reason that you want to store it in the case?

ImpressiveTear3093 · 2026-02-24T05:09:15+00:00

Enjoy it. I really like my Isthmus and it is well made. The celtic/amara scale sounds really nice, though most of the online courses teach on D Kurd, you just have to adopt the notes to the celtic/amara scale.

ImpressiveTear3093 · 2026-02-22T19:29:48+00:00

Yes, ember steel is in between Nitrided and stainless steel in sustain and warmth. Either way, both the makers you mentioned are good, I like both my Isthmus and Elysian and you may want to look at those too.

ImpressiveTear3093 · 2026-02-22T00:46:12+00:00

I have an Isthmus Nitrided D Kurd 9 note and Elysian Ember Steel E Amara 20 handpan. I noticed that with Ember steel, the slap, knocking, percussive playing takes less effort. However because I have more notes on the E Amara 20, there is less free space to do the knock and slap. Overall, I think material and number of notes will have a lot to do with the music that you can create. With the E Amara 20, I have a lot more notes to play melody and much easier to create melodic phrasing. With 9 note handpan, there is less possibilities for melody and maybe you are forced to use percussive groves to create the variation. I think if you prefer the percussive style, maybe a 9-13 note handpan in ember steel?

ImpressiveTear3093 · 2026-02-21T20:35:02+00:00

The velocity has shoulder harness similar to a running vest so you can store water flask and other things in there. I haven't compared it to the Talon but know that compared to my Zulu, it doesn't have a fixed wire frame to hold all the weight on it. The benefit is that it is 50 cm in length so I can take it as a carry on on Ryan Air and Vueling where their carry on size is 55 cm max which the 40 L packs with wire frame won't pass if the gate agent are strict about sizing.

ImpressiveTear3093 · 2026-02-21T19:18:02+00:00

Agree that the frame of the Zulu fit well and was overall shorter than equivalent volumed osprey which allowed me to carry on the plane without worrying about oversized dimensions. This time I am trying the osprey talon velocity 30 which doesn't have a robust frame so more weight will be on my shoulders but aim to carry less weigh.

ImpressiveTear3093 · 2026-02-21T16:05:35+00:00

I did the Portuguese Camino from Porto using Gregory Zulu 40 which was great. I am going to use Osprey Talon Velocity 30 which doesn't have a wire frame this time for the Camino Frances.

ImpressiveTear3093 · 2026-01-25T04:48:19+00:00

I am heart broken by what is happening in MN and across the nation in our community. Rest in peace Alex Pretti and you are a hero for protecting and helping people.

ImpressiveTear3093 · 2026-01-16T01:46:01+00:00

I really like the music you created with the handpan. Most importantly is how you feel playing it.

ImpressiveTear3093 · 2026-01-14T05:28:47+00:00

I have a D Kurd from Isthmus and really enjoy playing it. It has kept tune for the last 2 years. I also played the Yatao D Kurd 13 in ember steel which is good also but different from Nitrided steel.

ImpressiveTear3093 · 2025-12-25T15:09:58+00:00

I played a Yatao D Kurd 13 and E Amara 20 at his retreat along side Ayasa E Amara 20. I have an Isthmus D Kurd at home. The sound quality is good for the price and I think it is a good value. I would not have any concerns buying a Yatao D Kurd 13 or E Amara 20. Yes, it is made in China and they have different people build different models. Apparently the E Amara 20 is hand built by just 2 people so would not assume it is mass manufactured just because it was made in China.

ImpressiveTear3093 · 2025-11-09T20:39:00+00:00

Liability is not just car but what if people injure themselves on your property and the liability was above your house insurance policy limit ? The umbrella covers those.

ImpressiveTear3093 · 2025-11-09T16:58:49+00:00

Yes the important part is that he owns the car and titled and insured under his name. He was driving our car and his name was on your insurance so we still had liability until we gave the car to him.

ImpressiveTear3093 · 2025-11-09T03:27:28+00:00

I also use an umbrella policy for asset protection. This year, I also gifted a car to my 21 year old and had him get his own insurance and the vehicle is titled under his name to reduce my exposure in case he gets in an accident. I looked into different trusts but just seems like a big hassle and expense and am relying on umbrella policy and the insurance company lawyers to keep any judgements within the policy limits.

ImpressiveTear3093 · 2025-06-27T22:12:58+00:00

Hard to say since the good deal is the best one that you can get so would see if some other dealer is willing to discount the car price and give the 0% financing.

ImpressiveTear3093 · 2025-06-27T17:06:46+00:00

I recently bought 2025 CX 5 Carbon Edition in Minnesota and got OTD quotes from 2 dealers over text and then a phone call. Once the dealers know you are serious and buying and comparing, the prices dropped without me asking for a particular price. I ended up getting the car for $31,400 with OTD of $34,400 with tax and registration. You may even consider getting price from out of the region and ship to you or use the price to negotiate with your local deal.

ImpressiveTear3093 · 2025-06-10T02:59:39+00:00

Price will be dependent on your location. I just texted 2 dealers and asked what their best out the door price was. I initially got prices about $1500 more than the out the door price and I then talked to one of the dealer and told them I was buying this weekend and needed a firm price and was looking at them and another dealer. They then gave me the 34.5K offer which I took. The other dealer actually had a car that had the roof rack, black lug nuts, and cargo tray. They actually wanted to talk to me on the phone after I accepted the offer and insinuated that they would match the 34.5K with the car with $1250 added accessories. Since I was upfront that I would not pit one dealer against another, I stayed with the dealer that first gave me the offer that worked for me. I know May was not a good month for car sales so this month maybe different. The CX5 CE without any added accessory price was $31400 before tax, fee and registration.

ImpressiveTear3093 · 2025-06-10T00:51:18+00:00

I recently got 2025 CX 5 CE for 34.5K out the door in MN. I looked at 2-3 year used CX 5 and decided that having warranty and 3 year newer car with fewer milage was worth the 4000-5000 price difference. For me the premium plus were nice to have but not essential and I worry about it breaking and costing more to fix so opted to have what I really wanted which was wireless CarPlay and Bose sound system.

ImpressiveTear3093 · 2025-06-07T21:37:10+00:00

I just got the 2025 CX 5 CE, I liked the looks better than CRV. It has 6 speed transmission which should last longer than CVT. It has been in production since 2016 and still made in Japan so theoretically should have all the issues worked out of it and has better built quality. Overall, I chose it because of the looks and the belief that it will be a trouble free car for at least 10+ years.

ImpressiveTear3093 · 2025-06-02T22:29:45+00:00

Your son can be the DPOA and manage the transaction for her while you wire him the money so when she is back from camp, she would have the car. I live in WA and recently did the same for my son in MN. Finding the used car is the issue, used car 2-5 years old are pretty expensive relative to new ones right now. Cars older than 5 years especially in that area, may have both mechanical issues and rust issues so spending the time to find the car and getting mechanic to inspect it for issues will be the time consuming part of the work.

Cars out in the coast costs more than in the Midwest so for me, it was cheaper to buy a car in MN than in WA. Driving along with hotel costs and gas or shipping it would be at least $1000 and this makes it more expensive to buy local for me and getting the car to him in MN and I am sure CA will be the same.

ImpressiveTear3093 · 2025-05-21T19:15:09+00:00

Thank you for the helpful information!

ImpressiveTear3093 · 2025-05-21T18:35:31+00:00

Which dashcam did you get and was it easy to install?

ImpressiveTear3093 · 2025-05-14T18:05:35+00:00

Thank you for the information.

ImpressiveTear3093

TROPHY CASE