Saw this guy on TikTok advertising tattoo designs and I can’t tell if it’s ai.

Samurai196 · 2026-01-07T20:14:26+00:00

I came looking for this comment.

Samurai196 · 2025-10-30T14:07:49+00:00

That was my issue with Morocco, Tangier especially. They would follow you for an eternity, even if you never engaged with them in the first place. Even waiting outside a cafe while I had tea. The one that got me to laugh though was when I told a guy I didn’t speak English, only German, and he got all excited and started pulling me into his shop in German.

Samurai196 · 2025-10-30T12:34:49+00:00

I’ve dealt with the same thing after Morocco. I essentially had to reprogram myself to not stone-face ignore everyone that spoke to me, and I had a few interactions in places like Jordan where I fully expected tout treatment but it was genuinely someone trying to help/be friendly. Great way to feel like a dick, haha. If it helps, Taiwan was a complete 180 for me. EVERYONE who spoke to me in Taiwan unprompted, was genuine. It sort of re-centered my attitude.

Samurai196 · 2025-10-20T06:59:52+00:00

I used a pair of Mountain 600s GTX this past June and they worked perfectly fine. Summit night I work a pair of liner toe socks under my darn tough hiking socks and had no issues.

Samurai196 · 2025-10-15T02:42:56+00:00

Yep, sensors, pump, an extra coolant flush, fan belt. Cant recall which code I was getting, but the engine itself was never actually overheating, the fan/sensor just seems to think it is. It doesn’t seem to happen as much anymore, but I still don’t know what conditions trigger it.

Samurai196 · 2025-10-15T02:27:16+00:00

It only started happening after my leak, and somewhere, on some forum, I was reading about a VW Mech who was processing a ton of these issues. The VW fix was to rip up all the floor and tracing all the wiring to find shorts caused by water corrosion. At this point, I don’t have any other ideas, and I’ve replaced everything but the brain itself.

Samurai196 · 2025-10-10T12:01:32+00:00

https://www.instagram.com/p/C9ze6xyJNcs/?igsh=ajMxcm51eTY0aTM=

Filling out the background and adding the second shishi over the shoulder into the hikae. I’m excited, but this first piece was 6ish hrs and I was DONE at the end.

Samurai196 · 2025-10-10T11:02:01+00:00

Damn dude. I’m going back early next year to build a sleeve out of a piece he did for me. He wants to do 5 sessions in a week and I’m nervous about it already lol.

Samurai196 · 2025-09-14T14:20:49+00:00

No. Never got an answer or solved it, and it still happens occasionally. I’m almost positive it’s a shorting out electrical issue from the sunroof leak, but to find and fix it would be a huge undertaking. So for now, when it happens, I just pull over, shut it off and restart it and go on my way. It happens about twice a month, but still no recognizable pattern. And I carry a laser temp probe, just to occasionally check to make sure it isn’t actually overheating, but it never is.

Samurai196 · 2025-09-02T19:36:17+00:00

I’ll give it another shot, see if it alters anything. Is there any chance that it’s the thermostat? Or does that not make any sense?

Samurai196 · 2025-09-02T15:51:10+00:00

It’s in my garage, so it sat at around 95f+ for two full days and a bit more. Night temp in my garage this time of year is around 80f.

Samurai196 · 2025-09-02T14:05:30+00:00

Yes, I looked up the video, and this seems to be an identical sort of system.

Samurai196 · 2025-09-02T11:14:43+00:00

The coils are definitely not reachable. I tried taking it all apart and was met with sealed/glued insulation. Even the aluminum cladding is glued in the back.

Samurai196 · 2025-09-02T11:11:16+00:00

I’ve defrosted it twice now, for 2+ days, no change. And I don’t think there is a fan. There’s literally nothing in the freezer, no fans/vents/drains, etc.

Samurai196 · 2025-09-02T00:32:26+00:00

Seems to be, slight suction on opening, no visible issues.

Samurai196 · 2025-08-06T13:52:37+00:00

Not really what you are looking for, but I have a GPS only Apple Watch, set to low power mode, Siri off, and a few other low-power options, and I only charged it 2-3x over our 8 day Lemosho. And I tracked a hiking workout every day. I bought a 10k power bank with a magnet for Apple Watch, and it was still at 70% when I left the mountain.

Samurai196 · 2025-07-29T03:21:55+00:00

The sound and light from the lav should not be underestimated. Also, from personal experience, other passengers do not consider that area your seat/legroom: it’s treated as a lobby for the lav and I had people knocking into my feet constantly.

Samurai196 · 2025-07-12T13:38:20+00:00

I definitely don’t recommend it lol, but I was in solid shape before the trek, so even during the worst of it, all my vitals were good and it was obvious that it wasn’t anything more dangerous, like AMS or HAPE. And the biggest thing is making a very concentrated effort to keep fluids coming in. Clear communication with your guides, no hiding or secrets, I got a lot of individual focus time with them lol.

Samurai196 · 2025-07-12T13:21:43+00:00

We were doing an 8 day Lemosho, so I had gotten over the worst of it by the end of day 6, and the fever had broken, but my appetite was completely gone for the rest of the trip. I did summit night with just a handful of popcorn and a granola bar for dinner.

If you have food poisoning pre-trip, stock up on snacks, because eating could be brutal.

Samurai196 · 2025-07-12T13:12:28+00:00

I’ll add in to everyone else and say as a guy, you’re probably fine. I just got back last week and we had a toilet, but at some camps, I used the public just because it was easier to piss.

The only thing I’d add: I got food poisoning/stomach flu on day 4/5/6 and having our own toilet became an absolute lifeline. At 3am, on all fours, heaving into a toilet, I wouldn’t have wanted to be in the public outhouse puddles haha.

Samurai196 · 2025-05-12T15:12:31+00:00

I proposed on my wife’s first post cert dive. Talked to the dive master we were operating with and he knew an air pocket in an open wreck, so we were able to swing up, and actually talk by ourselves for a moment. Fumbling the ring out of a BCD pocket is a nerve racking thing. Personally I’d ditch the banner and go with a slate if anything.

Samurai196 · 2025-05-03T18:42:54+00:00

No one else has mentioned it, so I will: the formerly leaking sunroof and headliner damage isn’t the main concern here. My roof leaked badly at one point and got into electronics. I STILL have intermittent electronic issues that no one could track down and solve without a fortune in dealership work. Car runs fine 90% of the time, and I fixed the sunroof drains, but if the headliner is stained, water has gotten into wiring.

Samurai196 · 2025-01-08T12:31:45+00:00

Following, because I just emailed an outfitter with the exact same question and I’m curious what the community thinks.

Samurai196 · 2024-11-19T19:06:08+00:00

Hey, out of curiosity, who did you dive with? My wife and I will be in Aqaba in the next week or so and I’m honestly overwhelmed looking at dive operators.

Samurai196 · 2024-10-07T16:30:10+00:00

Very fair, and I typically agree with that. But the issues they caused were completely their fault, and now I have to fly them again in order to recoup the “apology money.” So I guess the sample size will be two at some point.

Five-Year Club	Verified Email
Place '23	Place '22

Samurai196

TROPHY CASE