Air mattress in Denver for 3 weeks" is honestly a flex, my lower back hurts just picturing it. I moved with barely enough for gas and ate gas station hot dogs for a week, so you're basically royalty compared to me.

Cut mine dry for years now and never going back. Wet cutting hides everything til it dries and then the client is mad at the shape. Do the dry cut first to get the shape right, then wash and fine tune the ends wet if you need to.

Mine honks like a goose and I feel your pain.