# Porlex or Hario?



## totallywired (Jun 25, 2011)

Looking for a good hand grinder for trips away and camping. Porlex or Hario whats the difference? For and against? Anything other brands I should be looking at?

Cheers


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## Wobin19 (Mar 19, 2013)

I have a Porlex and got my father in law a Hario. It seemed to take a bit longer to grind same volume of beans (same fineness) in the Hario. So my preference is the Porlex. I only got him the Hario because the Porlex seems to be in short supply. I also thing the Stainless rather than plastic just feels nicer somehow&#8230;

Cheers.


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## totallywired (Jun 25, 2011)

One selling point for me on the Porlex was no glass so less chance of getting broken in transit.


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## Scarab (May 11, 2013)

As someone who travels a lot for business I have tried most of the portable ones. I really can't fault the Porlex and for me it's the ultimate travel grinder.


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## Geordie Boy (Nov 26, 2012)

I own both and the Porlex is the no brainer choice for me if you're going camping. It's aluminium casing makes it really sturdy compared to the glass/plastic of the Harios (depending which one you're thinking of). Grind quality is similar for both as well. Put it this way, the Hario will probably break if you dropped it, the Porlex won't.

The Hario has a much better grip feel than the Porlex when using it so if you were asking which is best for the home/office I'd have gone the other way


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## totallywired (Jun 25, 2011)

Thanks guys. Do you use the tall or short Porlex?


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## Java Jive (Sep 21, 2013)

Tall Porlex for me, it's the perfect size to go with an AeroPress.


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## Saftlad (Nov 12, 2013)

Tall Porlex works well for me in work. If only it had some knurling on it to give a better grip, I would consider it my perfect manual grinder.


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## Geordie Boy (Nov 26, 2012)

Mostly the short for me but it only holds enough beans in the hopper bit for a couple of coffee worths. I prefer it because it has the rubber bit to attach the handle during storage (the tall has nothing), and the rubber helps makes it easier and more comfortable to hold when grinding. For the tall, you don't get the rubber to attach the handle during storage so I'd go for the mini if it's big enough


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## spune (Oct 3, 2011)

I've got a Porlex Mini and it's spot on.

It goes to and from work and has been away on holiday with me too!

Adjusts easily and is easy to use regarding grinding fairly quickly even at fine grind settings. The parts are easily replaced too from what I can see, not that I've looked into Hario.


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## Plevis (Mar 6, 2013)

Also have both Hario mini and porlex tall and there's not much in it - they're both excellent and have their pros and cons -,as mentioned before the Hario feels better in the hand (nicer shape to hold, feels warmer and there's something nice about seeing how much you've ground and how much there is to go!) but I think the critical difference is that the porlex has a slightly better mechanical design since the way the main shaft is constrained makes it more stable at coarser settings so it tends to produce more consistent grounds at filter and press grind settings. Both are excellent though!


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

What about one of the new Made by Knock handgrinders?


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## Mrboots2u (May 10, 2013)

Charliej said:


> What about one of the new Made by Knock handgrinders?


They look good , aren't they a lot more expensive than a porlex though?


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## Geordie Boy (Nov 26, 2012)

I think £120 for the cheapest


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## gcogger (May 18, 2013)

I bought a Porlex Tall for when I'm on holiday, and I think the grind consistency at coarser settings is just awful - a mix of boulders and fines. I've yet to try it on finer settings but I'll give that a go on my next trip.


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## Saftlad (Nov 12, 2013)

Charliej said:


> What about one of the new Made by Knock handgrinders?


Probably around £100 difference in price. Whilst the quality of engineering can't be questioned, I'm not sure I could justify such a differential based on the quality of the grinds alone. You would need an incredible palate to notice the difference between a knock and Porlex/hario.


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## Java Jive (Sep 21, 2013)

The Knock Hausgrind isn't really a travel grinder, it's heavy (~850g) and the arm isn't designed to come off and on on a regular basis. I've only had mine 2 weeks but it's clearly much better at coarse settings with very little fines compared to the Porlex.


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## Geordie Boy (Nov 26, 2012)

Good to hear. I'm looking for something better than the Hario/Porlex for work so got my eye on one. Is the Madebyknock much quicker to grind with?


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## Java Jive (Sep 21, 2013)

Haven't timed it but I'd guess the MBK Hausgrind is at least twice as fast as the Porlex. It's a bit of a beast!


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## totallywired (Jun 25, 2011)

Just got the Porlex today. Whats the general consensus on how many clicks from shut for a fine espresso grind? Just looking for a start point with out wasting to many beans as I'm cutting it close on running out before we go away.


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## MWJB (Feb 28, 2012)

Try 2 clicks to start with


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## urbanbumpkin (Jan 30, 2013)

It's about 2-3 clicks from tightest on mine.

It's worth resting it against the next loosest click as when you grind the setting can wind down to the next available bump/click. Hope that makes sense


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## totallywired (Jun 25, 2011)

Nice one! Cheers people. Let the fun begin.


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## flibble (Feb 27, 2013)

I hope it is ok to resurrect this thread.

I have basically lived with sub-par grinders and before saving up for who knows how long I want to see if I can taste the difference of a decent grind with a hand grinder (which will then have to last me at least a few months).

From my reading it seems most prefer the porlex (a bit), and I really prefer the design, but most reasonably priced options are out of stock at the minute, or need to be posted from Japan meaning being hit for a royal mail handling fee etc as they go over the limit. So its looking like porlex = around £35 Whereas a hario is £22

So - anyone prefer the hario (slim)? And anyone know a good reasonably priced (really cheap) source for either or are those prices good?

Finally ... I'd love a hausgrind but dont have the cash or the patience at the minute - so it looks like a choice between these two.


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

Been having a look around for a Porlex, found one on Ebay but it has this in the product description,

Grind rate is 100 turns for 14grams - one good strong coffee

Is that right?


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## flibble (Feb 27, 2013)

Most of the ebay options are from Japan - so you need to be willing to pay the RM handling charge of £8 plus import VAT


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## Geordie Boy (Nov 26, 2012)

The number of turns depends on the fineness it's set to. For 18g worth at a V60 grind setting, it'll take a couple of mins. If you want it a little coarser for example for a French Press you can easily half the time


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## Geordie Boy (Nov 26, 2012)

Froggy, if you pop over to mine at some point you can try them both and hopefully play with a Hausgrind for comparison as well as i'm due one any day now


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## aaronb (Nov 16, 2012)

what's your brewing method?

For pourover a Hario Skerton will suffice, but the steps are quite large. I wouldn't recommend it for espresso as you wont get the best out of your coffee with a grinder like this, and I wouldn't recommend it for french press as the burrs wobble at very coarse grinds.

I really wouldn't recommend any budget hand grinder for espresso tbh, you are much better off saving those pennies and getting a second hand MC2 or similar for sub £100 when the opportunity arises. In the long run you will save yourself world of grief and get better coffee.


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

I need one for work, using my V60.

Spent a lot of today reading up grinders, on here and other sites, looks like two may be best option as i would want one for home espresso if i ever get a machine, then another that can be moved around and grind to 3 or 4 different settings!


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## froggystyle (Oct 30, 2013)

Geordie Boy said:


> Froggy, if you pop over to mine at some point you can try them both and hopefully play with a Hausgrind for comparison as well as i'm due one any day now


Gonna hold you to that, would be good to chat roasting and try some equipment before i splash the cash!


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## Charliej (Feb 25, 2012)

It's also worth noting that you can buy the rubber grip/handle holder that comes with the Porlex Mini separately so you can add one to the Tall or do like I did and glue a strip of pound shop non slip matting around it. I glued the matting to the matting not to the grinder body itself so it can be slid off for cleaning.


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