Marmot wrote:I measured the tamper at 51.47mm and the stock basket at 51.55mm at about 2 to 3mm depth. I guess 51.5 or 51.6mm will be perfect but 51.8mm might be too wide. Some users on the facebook group for Wacaco products used 51mm screens off aliexpress with 100 microns (there are also 50 and 150 micron screens) and reported good results.

Here is a pic with the screen on the stock basket and one with the la pavoni single. Same screen.

jpender wrote:How much does the grounds bin weigh? At some point weight savings strategies get into what ultralight weight backpackers call "stupid light". That's when you give up too much comfort or safety just to shave a few more grams. Like sleeping on bubble wrap (I knew a guy who did that).

For a while I was connecting my grinder directly to an Aeropress. But ultimately I found it to be kind of annoying. Maybe it will work better with the Picopresso although I can't quite picture how you'd rubber band the basket and funnel to the grinder in a nice stable way.

I agree with the "stupid weight" but it depends on your motivation to drop weight/conserve space. In the case of backpacking I think the travel case is a waste of weight/space to begin with, just wrap it all in a towel. With general travel restrictions like luggage on a plane I don't see travel grinders (even the heavier ones) an issue. I always put my metal stuff in my checked luggage because I don't want them to be confiscated for some obscure reason. With the rubber band it would be used to secure a small plastic bag on the end of the grinder to act as a grounds collector. You would dump the grinds from the plastic bag into the PF.

I finally got my superlight travel espresso set together




The only problem was the large steps between grind settings on the plastic hand grinder. I removed the original setting screw and replaced it with two flat nuts. I have to loosen the upper one to move the lower nut and then tighten it again with the upper one. It works really well and stays in place.
I did several test shots on my most stable machine and if you move the lower nut by about one millimeter you get a shot duration difference of one second. So now it works really well for espresso. I only have to take a small flat wrench with me to change grind size.
The whole set is just under one kilogram which should make it no worry weight wise on any occasion

I just got my picopresso in the mail. I was surprised to see so much packaging for the unit. there was an outer shipping box and an inside box which is standard. in the inner box there was a fitted foam section for the main body, the case, the funnel, tamper and WDT tool and the rest of the accessories were inside the body. It was a lot of packaging but it made it feel like a preimium product so I get the messaging. I was able to fit everything securely inside the main unit including the funnel, tamper and WDT tool and then the unit inside the travel case which was expected (hence why the packaging seemed excessive). I had this product shipped to Canada, it said the origin country was China according to the tracking but it was using singpost (singapore postal service) so I'm guessing it was sent from singapore and labeled as china. It was shipped Decemeber 3rd and received on the 24th (I just picked it up today). I expected to pay duty but was pleasantly surprise there wasn't any. it was just dropped off at my PO Box so I'm not asking any question.

I also own the nanopresso with the barista kit added and you had to leave things behind inorder for it to all fit in the travel case so I'm glad they seem to have thought this out and nothing needs to be left behind. compared to the nano I can see the improvements/changes they made. the whole thing is a more premium feel. the added metal parts make sense and are in the right places plus it has a proper basket and showerscreen (plus proper orientation) and make it very clear an intuitive to set up (the nano was a little odd in this respect). the main body seems to have some rubber coating which feels right, is comfortable and fits in the hand. the pump seems to be better deisgned than the nano and seems more flush to the body and generally the whole thing feels it's designed better and with tighter tolerances. I see they removed the reservoir/cup of the nano to make it more compact and you fill the champer directly which I think is a smart move. The nano for this reason had more fiddly bits and parts you loose where the pico everything seems to make more sense.

it makes me wonder why they didn't just go for a 58mm basket but the 52mm basket size is a good compromise since La Pavoni baskets can be interchanged with them. The tamper with funnel works well together and they both feel premium and designed well even if the tamper is a little odd looking it makes sense for it's need to be compact. I also am happy with the choice to make a 18gr basket which puts this unit at another level then a lot of these other hand pump units like these. I am pairing this with a 1ZPresso J-MAX and am impressed with the results. I know I've used the nano but even without that It seems quite intuitive for anyone used to espresso. Wacaco set out to make a premium product aimed at a specialty focus that's travel friendly and think they've figured this one out. With all the other manual inexpensive machines on the market this one seems to stand out. The flair58 stands out and it fir more of a lever culture and easy to pressure profile. I applaud Flair for stepping outside of it's properitary sizing and accessories into a 58mm standard market with the Flair58 and I do the same for Wacaco with the 52mm and standard parts. It would be interesting to have a pressure gauge on this and perhaps that's on the road map but for it's compact size and price I can't see any other that can perform as well as this.

Since day one my picopresso's travel case has a horrible time zipping it up. The zipper teeth don't grab and it just leaves a big split. It's not a big deal and since the picopresao holds everything securely inside of it the case is only protecting the body. I can just put an elastic band around the case if I wanted to use it but I was wondering if others had the same problem.

Yes, many reported the same problem as you.
I have a "beauty espresso case" where I put the Picopresso with a grinder and small scale so I don't need that cover anyway.

DamianWarS wrote:Since day one my picopresso's travel case has a horrible time zipping it up. The zipper teeth don't grab and it just leaves a big split. It's not a big deal and since the picopresao holds everything securely inside of it the case is only protecting the body. I can just put an elastic band around the case if I wanted to use it but I was wondering if others had the same problem.

i would contact them they will send u a new case, i did find it only fits one way and that i almost broke the zipper trying to yank it closed when it was upsidedown....not saying you did that but funny how close that pump protrusion is from center yet not

I have the nanopresso too and it's has a similar body and case just longer. But the protrusion is very clearly off centered so there is no confusion which way it goes. With the pico I assumed the same and noticed it was slightly off centered but it's so close you need to double check it every time. I almost want to put some mark on it to indicate which is top and bottom. Right now I'm in Canada but I live and work in Asia returning at the end of the month so I'm not sure they can get a replacement to me in time before I leave but they are based in Asia so maybe would have no problems sending it to me there. I could contact them to see what they suggest. The see the zipper seems to be the fault more and it doesn't allow much tension on it all so I'm not sure if I'm interested in getting a case with the same problem.

DamianWarS wrote: You don't typically get baskets in the 9-13g range and there's no demand (or very little) for those sizes.

That's actually exactly what I'm looking for. I use single dose 12.5 gram vials for my other espresso machines and would want to be able to use the same amount with the Picopresso. Is the La Pavoni 14 gram double basket suitable for this amount?

I've only used the stock basket with the pico and I don't have any La Pavoni baskets but apparently they work fine. Broadly speaking however you should be able to use a lower dose in a higher dose basket. With too large of difference you risk having too much head space but a 12.5 dose should be fine in a 14 gr basket. How that works with the pico may be another story but worth trying out.