Five months of daily shots. The calibrated spring clicks at the same pressure every time, so my tamp stopped being a guess and my pulls got more consistent with fewer gushers. One surprise: it's heavier than I expected.
Before this I tamped by feel, which means some shots got packed harder than others. The Normcore's spring clicks at a set pressure, so every tamp lands the same. For me that showed up as fewer channeling shots and gushers, the pull just got more predictable once tamp pressure stopped being a variable I was guessing at.
The thing that caught me off guard is the weight, it's noticeably heavier than a basic flat tamper. Some people like the heft; I got used to it but noticed it right away. It's a flat 58mm base, so it fits standard 58mm portafilters but not smaller 51 or 53mm machines. And to be clear about what it does and doesn't do: a calibrated tamper makes your tamp consistent, it does not fix a bad grind or uneven distribution, you still have to dial those in yourself.
In my experience yes, but indirectly. It makes tamp pressure consistent shot to shot, which for me meant fewer channeling shots and gushers. It won't fix grind or distribution problems, those are still on you.
It's heavier than a basic flat tamper and I noticed it right away. Some people like the heft; a few find it tiring over a lot of back-to-back shots. It didn't bother me after the first week.
It's a flat 58mm base, so it fits standard 58mm portafilters. It will not fit smaller 51mm or 53mm machines.
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