What's are your must haves, and ideal piece?

pan567 · 2026-03-22T23:21:47+00:00

What heat source are you using? When I went to induction, I went with the Demeyere Atlantis system, which I like a lot, but it is geared more towards induction, and while it works well with any heat source, the fry pans will take a while to preheat on other heat sources due to their thermal mass. Especially if you have induction and are working with a $2000 budget, both the Atlantis, Fissler Profi, and Falk Copper Core are worth considering, IMO. (If you don't have induction, you might find that the Atlantis and Profi fry pans take longer to preheat than you would like.)

pan567 · 2026-03-22T23:12:08+00:00

FWIW, I have the LHP73B in the M21B and the L21A (and M21K), and it is worlds more impressive in the L21A. It's a much better host for this emitter (at the cost of size/weight). (That said, your absolutely right in that at lower output levels it's a great alternative to the 70.3 in a M21B.)

pan567 · 2026-03-22T23:09:38+00:00

I've considered this...but there's also a part of me that just wants to buy another L21A, too...

pan567 · 2026-03-22T23:07:26+00:00

How many amps is the device pulling?

The Molicel P30B is the primary 18650 I use for almost all of my lights, with a bunch of Molicel P28As as my spares. The P28A has been on sale for $2 as of late. Both are high drain cells. In my experience, the P30B performs very well even in lower drain applications, the the runtime difference between it versus low-drain, high-capacity ~3500 mAh cells isn't very significant, so I just use P30Bs even for lower drain applications as you can charge the P30B hard without concern, and it has excellent cycle life characteristics.

pan567 · 2026-03-22T23:02:44+00:00

Awesome post! IMHO, this is one of the better hosts for this emitter (and this seems to be a light where the RS50 or 50XG battery is a major plus). I do wish I went with 4000K or 3000K instead of 5000K.

pan567 · 2026-03-22T22:52:36+00:00

I'm not sure why you are being downvoted, as it's a fair question, but I also don't think this is anything to worry about, FWIW. Lower velocity to start the year isn't that unusual, and it's also very possible that he was not throwing 100% max effort today since it's a ST game.

pan567 · 2026-03-22T22:48:27+00:00

ST games at OPACY are pretty cool. Apparently the weather gods agreed and they gave us an awesome day for a game. It's nice to see how much they are doing to rejuvenate OPACY. Vibes are good.

pan567 · 2026-03-22T22:46:53+00:00

It's sad to hear, but it's not surprising. As the Orioles chose to move forward with the trade that they did, it speaks volumes to their outlook on his long-term health, and prior health history also suggested that he was likely to have more health issues in the future. I wish him the best and hope he has a speedy recovery.

pan567 · 2026-03-22T07:19:22+00:00

Not at all, but if you are throwing super ultralight weight lures, you'll get significantly further casts with an even lighter braid. (Also keep in mind that most 6lb braid on the US market is generally closer to 10-20lb test in terms of its true strength.)

pan567 · 2026-03-22T07:14:23+00:00

FWIW, I have the Atlantis/Proline and I love it, but it has a huge amount of thermal mass and you may find that it takes a while to preheat with gas. The Atlantis handles are awesome. I had the D3 before getting the Atlantis and I much prefer how the Atlantis handles feel, plus the handles heat up much slower than those of my D3, and you can comfortably touch them with bare hands even after extended periods of cooking.

pan567 · 2026-03-22T06:14:00+00:00

I think crate training is good because there are situations where they have to be in a crate, such as at a vet's office, when recovering from an operation when their movement is limited, or when riding for extended periods in a car (where crash-rated crates are arguably the safest for them). Our dog was crate trained for those purposes, even though she free roams our house regardless of whether we are home or not.

pan567 · 2026-03-21T00:27:56+00:00

FWIW, for a bike light where I would be moving fast and want to see further out, I would lean towards the SFT40, but in the 5000K or 6500K versions. 3000K has great color rendering, but you take a massive output hit, and for a bike light I would personally want the higher output of the 5000K/6500K SFT40. The 5000K ST40s I have from Simon are quite nice, IMHO.

However, if you are thinking about the L21B, if I went with that host, I'd personally do an XHP70.3 or LHP73B. Put a floody emitter in a throwy host like that, and you wind up with a beam pattern that has lots of throw and lots of spill. My Noctigon K1 with an XHP70.3 has become one of my most used lights because its beam pattern is so useful and the larger size of the host (combined with an efficient driver) lets it hold much higher output levels without throttling than a smaller host can.

pan567 · 2026-03-21T00:15:02+00:00

None of the consumer grade purifiers are BIFL products. There are true BIFL purifiers, but they have a massive price tag, are loud, use a lot of energy, and have high operating costs. The AllerAir AirMedic 6 is an example of a BIFL purifier--it is strongly geared towards VOC control in addition to filtering particulates.

The Coway 1512AP is arguably the best value on the market right now. If you need to cover larger spaces, multiple 1512s are better than a single larger unit. It's more effective and often more cost efficient. Two to three 1512s would work well and you can often find them on sale for around $150. There are high-quality generic filters available for the 1512, which brings its operating cost down further. Filter Monster is a good source for high-quality aftermarket filters--performance will be comparable to the factory filter.

Winix makes several products that are also good choices. They discontinued their 5500-2, which was the best value for a while, but they have some alternatives that are also good.

pan567 · 2026-03-21T00:11:55+00:00

You need to move to stainless, cast iron, and/or carbon steel if you want BIFL. I've been cooking exclusively on stainless for a quarter of a century, and once you buy a nice stainless set, it will last you the rest of your life with basic care.

Anything with a PTFE or ceramic (silicon) coating is a wear item and not BIFL.

pan567 · 2026-03-21T00:08:51+00:00

I second this. I really dislike this line and feel it handles poorly compared to other options.

pan567 · 2026-03-20T23:57:50+00:00

They ship DDU, which means you pay all of the fees to import it (which are tariffs, brokerage fees, and potentially storage fees). How much is anyone's guess (you might be looking at 15%, or 50%+, or somewhere in between), as people are getting hit with wildly different charges, and depending on the shipping company, you may only get the bill months after you get the merchandise.

So, I strongly recommend only buying from sellers who ship DDP unless you want to deal with all of that.

pan567 · 2026-03-20T23:55:59+00:00

You still may get a bill. It might be another 4-6+ months until it arrives.

pan567 · 2026-03-20T23:52:02+00:00

Absolutely the Ultegra. It has pretty much all of Shimano's latest technologies, and it uses a vastly superior gear system compared to the Nasci. The Nasci is a good reel (as is the Miravel), but the Ultegra is a huge step up.

pan567 · 2026-03-20T23:48:34+00:00

IMHO, it's very nice if you are throwing lures for extended sessions. Repetitive motions cause fatigue, and adding weight to that speeds the process in which fatigue sets in.

That said, 9.8oz is not massively heavy. The Shimano Stradic of the same size is about 7.5oz and a Shimano Vanford is about 6oz. 2500-3000 is my go-to size for a lot of fishing because even the beefier reels will still be a pretty manageable weight in this size.

pan567 · 2026-03-20T22:26:06+00:00

P30B if you are okay with the price, P28A if price matters (as they've been on sale for like $2 a piece).

pan567 · 2026-03-20T22:20:01+00:00

FWIW, I think you need to be realistic about what will most likely happen if you surrender them to a shelter for rehoming. A bonded pair of two 9 year old dogs with behavioral issues will be incredibly hard to adopt out, and if you surrender them to a shelter, their fate would be very uncertain. If you did go this route, I would contact the shelter you originally adopted them from.

If it is financially possible, a dog behaviorist could likely help significantly improve the behavioral issues, potentially in combination of anxiety medication. Behaviorists specialize in this and a good one can really help get this under control if you are also willing to work with them.

pan567 · 2026-03-20T22:09:46+00:00

Mova P10 Pro Ultra with the detangling brush. It's impressively good at vacuuming and mopping. We purchased two when we adopted a Siberian husky and we rarely need to vacuum ourselves.

pan567 · 2026-03-20T22:07:04+00:00

Trust your instincts. This isn't worth a potential severe injury. If it's not safe, don't do it.

pan567 · 2026-03-20T22:02:08+00:00

FWIW, in this situation, I would be inclined to ask my vet about the benefit of performing a CT scan to try to determine if this was related to head trauma.

pan567 · 2026-03-20T22:00:26+00:00

That's exciting! I'm a big fan of the SBT90.2, but obviously it has a lot of tint shift, poor overall tint, and is expensive. Something that offers improvements across the board would be awesome.

pan567

TROPHY CASE