Silicone is quite good at absorbing/retaining odor from my experience...seeing the bellow part is made of silicone, does it taint the taste of hot water?

All of your posts about cleaning made me think it wasn't all that easy. Ease of cleanup, in the context of traveling or camping, is one of the Aeropress's best features in my opinion. And a paper filter makes it easier so I leave the metal filter at home. But if on the fly cleanup with the Kompact is just as easy than that's not an issue.

The dimensions specified on the kickstarter make the Kompact sound larger overall. But if it feels less bulky than the Aeropress that's worth something. I nest a Porlex (and hopefully one day an Aergrind) so the grinder adds very little bulk. I take it you can't do that with the Kompact.

The Aeropress is purely a travel/camping brewer for me so weight, bulk, and ease of cleanup are the main concerns. I stuff everything into a small padded pouch (an old insulated water bottle carrier), something I can drop on the floor without worrying about. It's not a perfect system but I'm not sure how the Kompact would improve things.





I sometimes fit a pocket scale and a probe thermometer in there as well.


The Kompact is an interesting brewer. I can see how it might be a good fit for someone else.

samuellaw178 wrote:Silicone is quite good at absorbing/retaining odor from my experience...seeing the bellow part is made of silicone, does it taint the taste of hot water?

After rinsing in hot water, I cannot detect any odor retention. Perhaps this is because the coffee is only in contact with the bellows for a few minutes at a time.

jpender wrote:All of your posts about cleaning made me think it wasn't all that easy. Ease of cleanup, in the context of traveling or camping, is one of the Aeropress's best features in my opinion. And a paper filter makes it easier so I leave the metal filter at home. But if on the fly cleanup with the Kompact is just as easy than that's not an issue.

The dimensions specified on the kickstarter make the Kompact sound larger overall. But if it feels less bulky than the Aeropress that's worth something. I nest a Porlex (and hopefully one day an Aergrind) so the grinder adds very little bulk. I take it you can't do that with the Kompact.

The Aeropress is purely a travel/camping brewer for me so weight, bulk, and ease of cleanup are the main concerns. I stuff everything into a small padded pouch (an old insulated water bottle carrier), something I can drop on the floor without worrying about. It's not a perfect system but I'm not sure how the Kompact would improve things.

I sometimes fit a pocket scale and a probe thermometer in there as well.


The Kompact is an interesting brewer. I can see how it might be a good fit for someone else.

I like your setup and wouldn't change a thing; you seem to have found an ideal pouch for the Aeropress.

As for the Kompact, the Porlex mini will fit inside the bellows even with the band that holds the handle. But the collapsible Kompact with my collapsible silicon cup, all in the one pouch, makes such a neat little package I wouldn't bother.

samuellaw178 wrote:Silicone is quite good at absorbing/retaining odor from my experience...seeing the bellow part is made of silicone, does it taint the taste of hot water?

bruc33ef wrote:After rinsing in hot water, I cannot detect any odor retention. Perhaps this is because the coffee is only in contact with the bellows for a few minutes at a time.

To be fair, the Aeropress plunger seal is a semi-pourous thermoplastic elastomer that, in my experience, smells like an old tire that ran over a bag of stale coffee after just a few uses. I have never figured out how to make the thing smell clean. To me it's a weak point of the Aeropress and something that really calls for regular replacement (or some sort of redesign).

Another brewer I have (the Impress) has a silicone seal. After a relatively few number of uses the seal has become stained and sticky. It's really gross.

I may have to steal this setup on my next trip! Great job

Marshall wrote:The Klassic has become very popular with coffee professionals who travel frequently. I pack it with me nearly everywhere when I'm out of town. It's a brilliant design.

I, too, travel with a Klassic, and yes, "brilliant" is definitely the word. However, when I pack it as carry-on, it almost always attracts attention from the scanners at Security, no matter which airport I'm in. I've been singled out several times for an enhanced search because of what it apparently looks like through the x-ray machine. It is fun, though, to see the faces of the agents as I take it out and show them it's just a coffee brewing device. Tonight, though, I'm heading back to the US and will pack it as checked luggage. Enough is enough.

bruc33ef wrote:I've been singled out several times for an enhanced search because of what it apparently looks like through the x-ray machine.

What does it look like in the x-ray machine?

The Klassic does appear to be a well thought out travel system. Maybe a better one in certain ways than the Aeropress/Porlex.

jpender wrote:What does it look like in the x-ray machine?

I guess it just doesn't look like anything they've ever seen before, hence the curiosity.

One thing that I should've mentioned previously: The Kompact is only equivalent to the Inverted Aeropress. I could never really warm to the tendency for the Aeropress to drip in standard mode, despite those who claim it doesn't affect the taste. If you want to avoid the dripping, you have to grind your beans so fine that it affects the amount of force (hence pressure) necessary to compress the plunger (increasing the chance of bitterness) or very quickly replace the plunger after pouring the water to create a vacuum which is difficult and doesn't always work.

The inverted Aeropress is simply immersion coffee, like the french press, Clever dripper or Eva Solo, with the addition of a bit of pressure at the end. That also describes the Kompact. The Kompact cannot be used in standard Aeropress mode. The plunger is the bellows itself and can't be separated from the enclosure while brewing. So strictly speaking, they are not identical.