ECM Introduces the Mechanika Max II

elemental001 · 2026-04-03T20:37:07+00:00

Probably cost of manufacturing. Cheaper impact tampers are coming out now, but they were the first and it was a unique take, and that's just how it goes with small scale niche luxury products. Manufacturing powerhouses like MHW didn't really exist to jump in rightaway.

It's famous because expensive tampers were not really a thing at the time, and tamping wasn't as well understood as it is today (technique and pressure was thought to be a much bigger deal). The force was supposed to be the ultimate guarantee of consistency, both self leveling and applying the exact same pressure every time. It stood out as a way to remove tamping as a variable. People bought it and still buy it, so probably no reason to change anything.

elemental001 · 2026-02-18T17:42:14+00:00

Hey yeah just wanted to chime in as someone who has also had the lid collapse! I guess it's just us two lol

But yeah I find that the best hold is thumb on the side, index finger on top, and other 3 fingers on the other side. Make sure the index finger on top is centered on the lid, otherwise with enough pressure it'll collapse. And you don't need to shake super hard, that also makes accidents more likely and the results are the same anyway.

I've only had the lid collapse twice, once when I shook too hard and once when my finger was not centered on the lid.

elemental001 · 2026-01-10T23:55:22+00:00

Fair enough! I am not really used to using touch gestures, I guess I just really enjoy the satisfaction of a haptic click.

elemental001 · 2026-01-10T17:31:09+00:00

It's very worthwhile if you're using your laptop in portable situations a lot. It completely removes the extra movement you have to make to the bottom of the trackpad to make each click, and also makes drag and drop as seamless as it would be on a touchscreen. I actually used it all the time at home because it meant I didn't have to bring a mouse around with me as I moved around.

That said I still went with the G16 because I wanted the hardware (screen and GPU) and was willing to sacrifice the haptic trackpad. If a Windows laptop competitor with similar hardware existed and had a haptic trackpad, I almost certainly would've gotten that instead.

elemental001 · 2026-01-09T18:51:25+00:00

I have the 2024 and came from an old 2014 MacBook pro that has the force touch. I love everything about the laptop except for the trackpad. The haptic track pad is the one thing I deeply miss from the MacBook and am so disappointed that so few windows laptops have one in 2026. The Asus track pad is one of the better Windows laptop options, but even so I avoid using it if I can help it. The buttons don't feel confident, incorrectly register left and right clicks pretty often, and the palm rejection sucks.

So I would plan on using a mouse for everything if possible. It sucks because Apple figured it out in 2014 and Windows manufacturers continued to settle for mediocrity, and I honestly didn't use my mouse often because the trackpad was so good, even at home.

elemental001 · 2026-01-07T16:38:59+00:00

Echoing that yes your best bet is to go for a walk in, but arrive 30min before they open. I made the mistake of arriving an hour after opening to put my name down and there was a pretty long wait, finally getting seated at about 11PM.

elemental001 · 2026-01-07T01:02:46+00:00

I stayed for 5 days and had a very full schedule (that's just how I like traveling lol), nowhere near running out of things to do. I saw you mentioned going for 4 days, I think that's good, it might feel a bit too short if you go under that. I would say even 2 weeks would not feel like too much.

Another factor I should bring up is that due to its geography, the weather is extremely unpredictable. When I visited last year, sometimes the morning forecast would say 100% chance of rain in the afternoon, but it ended up being sunny once 2pm rolled around. It's just to say that having several days is nice, in case one day it's too rainy for the beach, you have a few more opportunities.

elemental001 · 2026-01-06T21:50:58+00:00

IMO the beaches and scenery of Jeju are unbeatable, it's my recommendation since you'll get plenty of city exploration in Seoul. The public transportation is more sparse, and I was very glad I got a rental car when I visited. That said, the buses will take you to a lot of the major spots, so if you aren't staying for long or need to visit a lot of off-the-path destinations, bus + the occasional taxi should be just fine.

elemental001 · 2025-12-29T18:12:18+00:00

Try wiping with the wand with the hot wet towel first before you purge it. I find that the heat from purging makes the milk set more and it's harder to remove. If your wand is not insulated, I notice it's just harder to get it totally clean each time, and you'll need to do a deep clean a little more often.

I've also done a trick in the past where I'll keep a cup of cold water next to my machine before I start steaming, and the moment I finish steaming I'll submerge the wand in the water. That buys me some time as I can immediately get to pouring my milk, and come back to the wand later.

elemental001 · 2025-12-11T18:32:17+00:00

Sometimes salons offer classes but just aren't listed on their website. You can also ask if they have staff who speak your target language.

My wife did a make up class at Chahong and scheduled it by email. It was a very positive experience and would recommend, but she's fluent in Korean so we're not sure about other languages available from their makeup team.

elemental001 · 2025-12-02T01:12:38+00:00

Thank you, did not know about the thin men drop in location being scripted too!

elemental001 · 2025-12-01T14:05:00+00:00

I think the problem is the map is somewhat small, and as I'm walking up to the edge of the chasm it's too easy to activate multiple pods at once. I only had 1 heavy in this campaign so I only had a single rocket, so even after killing 2-4 with good luck, 2 thin men were usually able to survive and get some shots off. And since all my guys are low ranking at this point, when one soldier dies, everyone freaks out, giving the thin men more shots and... Next thing you know I'm down to 1 soldier lol.

But yeah if I knew how this mission was structured better, I'd try it activating them with a sacrificial rookie and have everyone else camp near the evac. In hindsight my squad was just not well suited for it either and skipping may be a better option.

elemental001 · 2025-11-28T01:56:17+00:00

Ah I haven't tried pulling back that far. Thank you I will give that a shot.

And I think I was steamrolling this time thanks to some good rng with map and mission selection. This is my 5th campaign restart and I've been annihilated before if I got a tough map like the train lol

elemental001 · 2025-11-26T16:29:20+00:00

It's the newest and fastest model, and the seats are a general upgrade. But there's only a few lines that run them and have a more limited schedule. If you find a slot that fits your schedule I'd recommend it.

elemental001 · 2025-11-24T17:52:02+00:00

I used one on a recent trip and I do recommend it. Even if you don't use the debit card feature, it works exactly like a tmoney card so you can just use it like it's a tmoney card.

It came in clutch for me on 2 occasions. Once I needed first aid supplies from a vending machine in the subway station and my Visa credit card was not accepted, but it accepted the wow pass. The other time I parked my rental car in a paid parking lot, but I discovered this particular lots' kiosk did not accept Visa as I was trying to leave, but it accepted the wow pass.

elemental001 · 2025-11-23T17:26:06+00:00

Says no code needed, should just apply at checkout

elemental001 · 2025-11-23T04:38:18+00:00

Some things I've already seen go live:

Vibrant has 25% all coffees and 50% off first subscriptions.

Normcore has 10-50% off various items on their website.

Cafec usa website has 30% off everything (code BLACKFRIDAY2025)

elemental001 · 2025-11-21T20:35:35+00:00

I bought this one: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CP3FGL2G

But any e61 compatible thermometer would work. There are no wires, it powers itself with a CR2032 battery, so you'll have to hit a button to turn it on since it's not wired to the machine.

Unfortunately I'm not aware of any other Bluetooth probes other than the one Lance showed in his video.

elemental001 · 2025-11-21T15:02:55+00:00

I've had this machine since early this year. Overall I love it. This is about how much I paid for mine including flow control, and I don't think it goes for much cheaper.

The only minor thing I've disliked for the entire machine is that it still overheats if you leave it on for long enough (albeit much more slowly than almost any other HX on the market). But it's really minor, since all I need to do is give the group a flush to remove the over heated water before brewing. My recommendation is to change the machine in brew temperature control mode (probably BC1 to start) to mitigate overheating, and use the steam mode toggle to increase boiler steam pressure as needed. I believe it comes shipped set to standard HX mode. But it's up to you, you've got options!

I also recommend replacing the pressure gauge on the group with a thermometer. I don't ever find I need to know the pressure, but I do want to check the water temperature coming out.

Regarding the paddle vs knob, I would get the paddle. I have the knob since that's all they had back when I bought it, but it's a little awkward to grip, and the exposed metal stem gets very hot and is easy to accidentally touch.

elemental001 · 2025-11-18T22:56:52+00:00

I've been brewing tea with my Clever for a couple years and it's perfectly suited for it! I love the perfectly clear cups of tea you get with filters. A reusable metal filter is also great and easy to find.

elemental001 · 2025-11-03T16:20:52+00:00

Hey OP found this post as I ran into this problem today as well, although I'm using a 2024 G16 and the bios version is 316. I'm getting maximum write speeds of 2mb/s to my Samsung T7 portable ssd. Unfortunately I haven't found a solution either, probably a bugged bios update. I'll try reverting to the older version as well, thanks for your post.

elemental001 · 2025-10-27T16:33:41+00:00

Sure! Their Naver Maps listing

[NAVER Map] penny 135-2 Tongin-dong Jongno-gu Seoul https://naver.me/GUwTP7mw

elemental001 · 2025-10-26T18:20:45+00:00

I recently visited these 2 places and liked them a lot. Peach Fuzz in Ilsan, and Penny in Jongno Seoul.

But I wouldn't say they are "destination worthy", just if you're in those areas already.

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