I had a Porlex Mini II—I'll compare it to that one. The Porlex is a basic tool for camping, hiking, etc. The Timemore is sturdier, more luxurious—for home, the office, the train...
It runs more smoothly and grinds faster. It doesn't slip in your hand.
It has a subtle click at zero, so you can set it exactly the same way every time (without worrying about stones)
To me, the French press _subjectively_ seems just a tad tastier than the Porlex
Porlex was supposed to be able to brew espresso, but it didn't work. Timemore has at least two more settings lower, but I haven't tried it yet.
I ground 80 g for cold brew in the Porlex in 3 batches. Here, it might take 4 batches, but it’ll take the same amount of time :) I was able to fit 32 g into the hopper, but I’m not sure how much fits in the ground coffee container...
The design is simply great. It has a rubberized bottom, a sturdy ground coffee container, and there’s even rubber on the bottom of the handle (a nice touch). The way the handle joint is concealed is also nice.
Working with Porlex is fine, but working with Timemore is a pleasure
For that price (1,490), it's great
Good for travel only if you're not worried about the weight; otherwise, check out something else (it's a bit heavy, weighing 530 g—the Porlex weighed 250 g and was a bit more compact)
Do not submerge in water—keep this in mind when traveling—and clean only with a brush (the Porlex had ceramic stones—I used a toothbrush to remove coffee oils).
It comes apart into a few more pieces than the Porlex, but it's no big deal. You just have to be careful not to lose the washers and springs.
You can't remove both grinding stones—which makes it a little harder to clean the one that doesn't rotate (with the Porlex, both parts of the grinding stones can be removed)