Today my bottomless/naked portafilter for my Sage dual boiler should be arriving. Although the basket Sage provides looks okay I thought as I had a couple of quid for my birthday recently I'd treat myself to a new 18-20g basket as I did for my Gaggia when I had it. Of course, the likely contenders are VST or IMS although there may well be others out there I am unaware of. So, I looked to see if there were any comparison reviews and although I found a few, there didn't seem to be a massive difference between them in what they produced flavour wise, well none that my taste buds would be able to distinguish. However, there was one very big difference… price! The VST baskets were often well over double compared to the IMS. So, knowing there are many of you real coffee sages on here who know far better than me, I thought I'd ask you what you think.

@"Pompeyexile"#p4278 Many thanks for asking this question, I don't know the answer personally but would really like to know!

I tried the IMS basket a few years ago, I found it inconsistent ( it could have been me or the prep) I have always used the VST since then and been very pleased / happy with use and performance. Some members say they are difficult to use, I do not find this. The only exception I found was the 15 gm very difficult to get right, quite a few other members found the same. I use the 18 gm basket and dose 18 / 19 gms and find good consistency, if it does not come through the basket evenly and uniformly it is down to my prep.

> @"Elcarajillo"#p4283 Some members say they are difficult to use, I do not find this. The only exception I found was the 15 gm very difficult to get right, quite a few other members found the same. I use the [15g IMS E&B basket](https://www.bluestarcoffee.eu/eb--competition-flat--double-filter-basket-10876-p.asp) and I don't find it difficult to use. I Never tried a VST but from reading quite a lot I got the feeling it's a Nikon/Canon sort of debate - some swear by one and some by the other. I think here (well, in the other forum at least) there were more VST fans, but I have seen places where it was the opposite. I may well be mistaken, but my understanding is that both are good, the differences are small and it's mainly a personal preference. My own personal preference is the cheaper one, which when I bought it was half the price of the other. I know that some people are the opposite in that respect as well. ;-)

@"Doram"#p4293 I have both VST and IMS….I just use whichever is in the naked portafilter…The VST I have is slightly more challenging to use…but with a good grinder, won't give you any problems.

@"Doram"#p4293 Another vote for the IMS basket B702th24.5 if planning on 15-16g dosing. The 15g VST is too fickle for me as a daily driver, whereas the IMS seems a lot more tolerant of prep. I've not really looked at the 18g upwards baskets where the VST seems to be highly regarded. The IMS (this spec at least) has a rounded base with the holes grouped more centrally, when compared to the VST one which has a straight(ish) base and the holes come closer to the edge. Mentally at least this is what I have attributed the reduced reliance on puck prep for the IMS.

Where is everyone getting 54mm VST baskets from, please?

> @"coffeeb"#p4314 The IMS (this spec at least) has a rounded base with the holes grouped more centrally, when compared to the VST one which has a straight(ish) base and the holes come closer to the edge. Mentally at least this is what I have attributed the reduced reliance on puck prep for the IMS. If you look at the link to the [IMS E&B Lab](https://www.bluestarcoffee.eu/eb--competition-flat--double-filter-basket-10876-p.asp) that I have you will notice that the bottom is flat. I bought it because the normal IMS basket was out of stock and the guy on the chat said it was "the IMS version of the VST…" It also has more holes than the standard IMS. I don't know what the difference is between the IMS standard and the IMS E&B in use because I only use the E&B. I do have a standard 18g IMS as well, but I never use it. That is because 1) I tend to use 15g doses; and 2) The "15g" basket I have (IMS calls it H22, because it's 22mm deep) can take much more than 15g of the coffee I am using. It almost seems too big for 15g. I gather I can easily put 17 or 18 grams in it.

The LSOL brigade prefer VST, because with a high precision grinder (think Kafatek, Weber etc) and precision prep, you can get higher extractions which suit the roast better. Doesn’t matter so much if your grinder isn’t up to it, or you like darker roasts. Lots of YouTube stuff on this if you have the time! It’s quite interesting.

@"Doram"#p4335 Apologies, I wasn't at all clear with that description. I was referring to the 'corner' at the perimeter of the base rather than the actual base. If you take a look at the IMS Competition catalogue, p15 (B702TH) is the shape I'm referring to, whereas p17 (B702TFH) is more like the VST 15g basket I have. [IMS-Competition-Catalogue.pdf (imsfiltri.com)](http://www.imsfiltri.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/IMS-Competition-Catalogue.pdf) I bought the B702TH as I was getting reasonable (read: forgiving compared to the VST!) results with the stock Lelit basket and this was basically a simple upgrade to one with controlled hole sizes.

> @"coffeeb"#p4357 Apologies, I wasn’t at all clear with that description. I was referring to the ‘corner’ at the perimeter of the base rather than the actual base. > > If you take a look at the IMS Competition catalogue, p15 (B702TH) is the shape I’m referring to, whereas p17 (B702TFH) is more like the VST 15g basket I have. > > [IMS-Competition-Catalogue.pdf (imsfiltri.com)](http://www.imsfiltri.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/IMS-Competition-Catalogue.pdf) > > I bought the B702TH as I was getting reasonable (read: forgiving compared to the VST!) results with the stock Lelit basket and this was basically a simple upgrade to one with controlled hole sizes. Yep, I understand. So if you look at page 10 in the catalogue, you see that they have baskets with a concave or a flat bottom: [upl-image-preview url=//i.imgur.com/CMdiCvD.png] My IMS E&B 15g has a flat bottom (below left), and my standard IMS 18g has the concave bottom (below right). You can also see that in the E&B the holes reach closer to the edge. What difference all this make? I haven't got the foggiest idea 😂. : [URL=https://i.imgur.com/56FeThQ.jpg][IMG]https://i.imgur.com/56FeThQ.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Basket Case

dutchy101

Was only kidding re WD40 no way I’m using that.

Think it’s possibly the spring in the portafilter needs breaking in further.

Will try grinding finer tomorrow- thanks.

Done the classic mistake of changing about 5 variables at once

HVL87

dutchy101 Was only kidding re WD40 no way I’m using that.

I was trying to be polite 😄

dutchy101 Think it’s possibly the spring in the portafilter needs breaking in further.

You might be right.

What other variables have you changed?

dutchy101

Puck screen, VST basket, IMS basket, dose, new tamper, dosing funnel and WDT in basket…..

Considering some of the other posts / questions I’ve been asking recently I can see the WD40 being perfectly plausible, lol

dutchy101

Still not quite got to grips with the VST basket - shots still running a little fast at 18g so going to need to keep grinding finer. Also moving onto new beans so probably back to square one again.

Somehow my milk frothing game also seems to have gone backwards lol

Ernie1

dutchy101

Just so you don’t have to waste the volume of beans that I did…

I’d highly recommend getting used to the VST basket with a large quantity of ‘cheap’ beans.

Trying to learn consistently perfect VST prep whilst dialling in a new bean is a recipe for disappointment and wastage.

dutchy101

Yes I’m considering switching back to the IMS for the time being or evem the stock whilst I’m getting used to everything

Alexvs

dutchy101 Only thing I’m not liking about the stock so far is the ridge as after tamping, it seems to hold a little grind in there and then seems like a wetter rim where the water sat post shot. Think an IMS will be on my next purchase list.

HVL87

dutchy101 you just need to grind finer. What grinder are you using?

dutchy101

Using the Solo. Will keep going finer sure I’ll get there, just a bit of a learning curve

HVL87

dutchy101 Solo, should have remembered!

You’ll get there…wherever there may be. I’m somewhere that’s for sure but still on my way, like many 😄

dutchy101

Haha, just feels weird to be grinding in the single digit settings and still not fine enough

HVL87

dutchy101 from what I’ve seen that’s normal for the Solo - what setting are you on?

dutchy101

Cheers - tomorrow I’ll be trying 8.5 and see how that goes. I’ll get used to it soon (I hope) lol

dutchy101

Different story this morning. New bean at 8.5. Was looking like I almost choked it for a few seconds but it soon started to flow through, but a little on the slow side. Tasted great. Will loosen up a tad for the next one and see how it goes but a vast improvement on anything else on the VST too.

Milk was a damned sight better too.

dutchy101

Revisiting this thread as I have been exclusively using the VST basket for a few months now and seem to have mastered it. I recently tried a few drinks with the IMS with a higher dose (it’s an 18-22g basket) and I was really struggling - found it pouring over the top and all sorts. I’ve packed the IMS away and sticking with VST

Alexvs

I also ended up buying the VST and haven’t struggled too much with it thankfully, finding it pretty consistent. I mostly dose as close to 18g as I can get (+/- 0.2) and seems to be around the sweet spot for my beans. I did a 16.5g drink today to cut down on my caffeine intake slightly (probably minimal difference) as the wife wasn’t having one with me and only had to drop 1 mark on the Niche (complete guess). Also tasted pretty good, which has made me realise I don’t really have the right palette for testing adjustments lol. I’ve not bothered trying to do a side by side taste test with the stock basket as think I’d end up wasting a lot trying to find the right setting again for stock and I probably wouldn’t be able to tell a noticeable difference.

My main benefit of the VST is the straight sides so no more spoon needed to remove the ridged basket. I’m sure there’s a benefit to the coffee too.

drdre89

Has anyone tried the VST 15g basket? … I’m looking to reduce my dosage from a VST 18g down to 15g. Or should I just use the stock 16g basket from my Rancilio Silvia pro x

prezes

drdre89 I am using the VST 15g basket on daily basis for the same reason with great results. Depending on the coffee I switch between this and 18g VST.

It requires perfect puck prep and less forgiving that the 18g basket.

Elcarajillo

I tried the 15 gram VST but could not get on with it, I found it finicky, stuck with the 18 gram VST

drdre89

I might just try using 16g in my 18g VST basket. Anyone else tried this

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