upsidedownfork wrote:
the person I was playing actually complained that they weren't a regular looking set and were difficult to play.
It's a plastic Staunton style set. How is it not "regular looking"? Some people are just miserable.
Most durable weighted plastic set?
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Jul 22, 2021
0
#3
You get what you pay for.
I can suggest a lot of good plastic sets, but they're all going to be around $50.
upsidedownfork wrote:
... The knight looks kind of dopey which isn't a big deal but I brought them for club play last week and the person I was playing actually complained that they weren't a regular looking set and were difficult to play.
I wouldn't base my buying decision on a single club player's complaint. I have some DGT sets (wooden and plastic), and they are all easy to play with.
The most durable plastic sets I have are the solid DGT plastic sets. There're no weights to come loose. They are lighter, but not so light the hinders playing much. I've not weighted the,. but I think they feel about the same as the DGT wooden sets for the DGT electronic boards. The best part is that each set cost < $20.
I've wasted more money trying to find that CHEAP but good-looking, weighted, plastic chess set that can survive rough play for years. That's a classic "red herring."
So what are the alternatives besides the ACE Ultimate
I have a couple of Alegría plastic chess sets from Dennis at Legend Products and I really like them. I have found these sets to be an excellent product at a very reasonable price.
I hope I'm not going too far off topic, but does anyone here have any experience with this plastic "faux wood" set? I thought it looked pretty cool and would make a nice birthday gift for my grandson. It just seems somewhat expensive for a plastic set. Just curious that's all.
https://amchesseq.com/products/41542?variant=7213046038586
Jul 22, 2021
0
#8
upsidedownfork wrote:
So what are the alternatives besides the ACE Ultimate
upsidedownfork,
You have to understand that most weighted sets are made to be "Consumable". These companies now make stuff to last 2-4 years at best before you have to replace it. It is how society is asking for it. People want cheap and fast.
Most plastic sets are made and then weighted as an afterthought. Slap some glue (not even a good epoxy that binds plastic to metal) on a weight, shove it in the hole, and slap a felt over the bottom and you have yourself a weighted set. After a while the glue dries out, becomes brittle, and the weights fall out.
We actually incorporate the weight into the piece while it is being molded. Yes, it does cost more. that is because the process to make the pieces and the weights take a lot longer to do. That is why, in my humble opinion, that the Ultimate is one of the top 2 sets on the market.
Hope this helps,
Shelby Lohrman
American Chess
Shelby. I’ve heard great things about your sets and read the thread about what you had to do to remake it. I’m not crazy about the bishop and knight. Ideally if I’m spending $50 on a plastic set I’d really like how it looks.
MGX9600, I think that’s what I have. I thought they were single weighted but maybe they’re just solid plastic. Either way they play well and I like them.
Jul 22, 2021
0
#11
I've said it before but my favorite is the Ultimate Chess Set in butter yellow. Hard play on those concrete NYC Park tables and haven't had anything more than scrapes and scratches but no cracks or loose weights. I'm going to buy 2 more 1 as a gift and 1 more for myself. Coffee Chess House used them in the Hikaru visit. I prefer the butter yellow because they stand out more but if you want to be 100% tournament safe then maybe the off white. Although I've never had anyone object to my butter yellows.
Jul 22, 2021
0
#12
I would suggest the new plastic German Knight set from thechessstore.com They look like the plastic DGT set combined with the German Knight set. They weigh more and are the in price of the DGT plastic set but have extra Queens. I did a short review and comparison of the two sets on another thread.
Most durable weighted plastic set?
IMO there is no contest.....
Ultimate Chess Pieces...(the new & improved version 3)...
Be sure to check the customer reviews.
Otherwise, you might also check out....
Chess Sets for Club & Tournament Play...
https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/chess-sets-for-club-tournament-play
Thank you for the link RussBell
Jul 23, 2021
0
#15
I have this German knight version 3.75 inch king. High Polymer Weighted Chess Pieces 3.75 Inch King Figures Chess Games Standard Competition Chess Pieces with Extra 2 Queens 2 Storage Bag Extra Gift Large Folding Portable 19 inch Chess Board Set https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NDSB9R8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_C1VS27JS7CTD607GZK8S?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
Even this widely popular generic Staunton-design, triple-weighted plastic chess set has needed repairs as I've had to re-glue crosses, felts and weights back onto them.
Jul 23, 2021
0
#17
Here's a robust chess set. The King's Indian Staunton Chess Set. This set is designed really well with little to no vulnerability to chipping or snapping. I have the Black & Camel version. When I can get Black and Natural or Camel color option. I get it for best piece contrast on boards. You will see the Botez sisters play with this set on some of their YouTube videos. They are missing a Black Rook. You think that the money they have. That they would just order another set to make it a complete set. Unless it's not theirs.
https://www.legendproduct.com/index.html
I’ve been in your position before. I have the original plastic ultimates that I purchased in the mid 2000’s at the world chess hall of fame, back when it was located in Miami, Fl.
I still have that set 15 years later. After confirming how durable and comfortable it had been through the years, I decided to buy a “back up” set that I could use at the park or haul in my bag for any lunch break games at the office conference room.
To my surprise, I found out they had been discontinued and the factory that made them had lost the molds forever. You can still find the thread in this forum with all the info about what lead to their discontinued status.
I thought: “Oh, well. I’m sure that by now other companies have made even better sets than that”.
And so began my wasteful experiment in finding a comparable plastic set.
I bough the pro-tourney from “the chess store”, several types of triple weighted sets along with the reikjavic set from HOS, some from the chess house, and even a quadruple set I found on amazon. After more than $300 spent on this endeavor, I was just sorely disappointed in the quality of the plastic used on all these sets.
The crown tips and other parts are pointy and brittle. Some are prone to chipping and crumbling by just normal carry on my tournament chess bag. Even the cheap $12 sets that everyone carries stands up better to dropping on the floor in error than on these supposed high end plastic sets. I accidentally dropped a knight from the pro-tourney set ONCE and the ears and part of the mane broke off. The king’s cross broke by just normal contact with the other pieces inside the bag. It only takes a couple of months of daily use to start feeling the weights rattle and start coming loose. These fragilities are just everywhere in these $25-$40 dollar range sets. When I found that the Ultimates were being made again, I didn’t hesitate and bought two sets.
I really didn’t like the butter yellow color, but the quality of the plastic and feel of the pieces was very close to my original set.
I’m sad to report that I did experience loose weights in some pieces with the butter yellow set. But that was only on the first attempt at reviving the Ultimates. Now the newest version has white pieces (Thank God) and a new system where the weights simply cannot come loose unless you literally completely dissect the piece open longitudinally. Props to Shelby from American Chess Equipment for both acknowledging the issues and fixing them.
The new version ultimates are virtually identical to my old set. The only difference being that my original set is a creamy off-white color, instead of the almost ivory white color in the new ones. That’s it. I purposely dropped a couple of pieces on my hard tile floor to see if they will stand up to heavy use like my old ones. No chipping, and barely a scuff.
I can guarantee that once you try the ultimates, you just can’t go back to other plastic sets.
The pawns in other sets now feel puny to me. The robustness and stability of the pieces makes them SO satisfying to handle.
I generally prefer the look and feel of wood to plastic. But with these ultimates it really does not feel like you are compromising the tactile enjoyment of handling good quality pieces.
Give them a go. You won’t regret it.
I still have that set 15 years later. After confirming how durable and comfortable it had been through the years, I decided to buy a “back up” set that I could use at the park or haul in my bag for any lunch break games at the office conference room.
To my surprise, I found out they had been discontinued and the factory that made them had lost the molds forever. You can still find the thread in this forum with all the info about what lead to their discontinued status.
I thought: “Oh, well. I’m sure that by now other companies have made even better sets than that”.
And so began my wasteful experiment in finding a comparable plastic set.
I bough the pro-tourney from “the chess store”, several types of triple weighted sets along with the reikjavic set from HOS, some from the chess house, and even a quadruple set I found on amazon. After more than $300 spent on this endeavor, I was just sorely disappointed in the quality of the plastic used on all these sets.
The crown tips and other parts are pointy and brittle. Some are prone to chipping and crumbling by just normal carry on my tournament chess bag. Even the cheap $12 sets that everyone carries stands up better to dropping on the floor in error than on these supposed high end plastic sets. I accidentally dropped a knight from the pro-tourney set ONCE and the ears and part of the mane broke off. The king’s cross broke by just normal contact with the other pieces inside the bag. It only takes a couple of months of daily use to start feeling the weights rattle and start coming loose. These fragilities are just everywhere in these $25-$40 dollar range sets. When I found that the Ultimates were being made again, I didn’t hesitate and bought two sets.
I really didn’t like the butter yellow color, but the quality of the plastic and feel of the pieces was very close to my original set.
I’m sad to report that I did experience loose weights in some pieces with the butter yellow set. But that was only on the first attempt at reviving the Ultimates. Now the newest version has white pieces (Thank God) and a new system where the weights simply cannot come loose unless you literally completely dissect the piece open longitudinally. Props to Shelby from American Chess Equipment for both acknowledging the issues and fixing them.
The new version ultimates are virtually identical to my old set. The only difference being that my original set is a creamy off-white color, instead of the almost ivory white color in the new ones. That’s it. I purposely dropped a couple of pieces on my hard tile floor to see if they will stand up to heavy use like my old ones. No chipping, and barely a scuff.
I can guarantee that once you try the ultimates, you just can’t go back to other plastic sets.
The pawns in other sets now feel puny to me. The robustness and stability of the pieces makes them SO satisfying to handle.
I generally prefer the look and feel of wood to plastic. But with these ultimates it really does not feel like you are compromising the tactile enjoyment of handling good quality pieces.
Give them a go. You won’t regret it.
Jul 25, 2021
0
#19
Easy: Best Chess Set Ever XL. ! No loose weights!
They’re running a special now on bundles with Tempest clock (the hybrid digital / analog clock on Kickstarter now. - also super sturdy / heavy weighted judging by YouTube reviews)
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tempestclock/tempest-chess-clock?ref=user_menu
They’re running a special now on bundles with Tempest clock (the hybrid digital / analog clock on Kickstarter now. - also super sturdy / heavy weighted judging by YouTube reviews)
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tempestclock/tempest-chess-clock?ref=user_menu
Really disappointed in the poor quality of the House of Staunton triple weighted tournament pieces so I'm looking for an alternative that doesn't get loose weights after a few games. It looks like all of the big places probably all buy their tournament pieces from the same factory so I wonder if it's even worth buying them from somewhere else. Are there any others that are more durable?I've heard good things about the American Chess Equipment ultimate set but not sure I want to spend $55 on a plastic set.
I bought a set of the DGT Plastic pieces and they seem to be good. Made better. No loose weights so far. They're not as heavily weighted but the weights are actually flush with the bottom so they feel more secure. The knight looks kind of dopey which isn't a big deal but I brought them for club play last week and the person I was playing actually complained that they weren't a regular looking set and were difficult to play.