Best way to store a mousepad chessboard?

I recently purchased my first mousepad chessboard. I love the way it lays flat.

My question is regarding the best way to roll and store the board when not in use.

Some people roll it inwards and others roll it outwards, but is there a “right way” or at least a way that will protect the board’s surface better?

I’ll be storing in one of those deluxe chess bags that has the straps to secure the rolled up board in the case.

Thanks.

Thanks, that's one less concern... but what about the surface of the board itself. It almost seems like each way to roll it has some disadvantages:

- If I roll the board inwards, the rougher rubber underside will rub against the playing surface.

- If I roll it outwards, the playfield will rub against itself and then the case straps will wrap around it.

 

Or I could be overthinking this (like my chess moves) 😅

That's reassuring, thanks. Glad to hear that these things are so rugged.

Indeed. When I purchased the bag there were a few negative comments about the zippers, but  apparently there is only one supplier for these bags, or everyone uses the same parts, because they all had the same zippers.

The BEST way to store any rollup board is rolled up with the PLAYING SQUARES OUTWARD as shown in the following photo, and store it in a cardboard mailing tube - this will prevent creasing, wrinkling, warping and ensure that it lays flat and smooth for playing.  For the newer, thinner 1/16-inch thick FlexPad/MousePad boards a 2-inch inner diameter tube will accommodate it...

https://www.chesshouse.com/collections/club-style-chess-boards/products/flex-pad-club-chess-board

The mailing tube should be at least 2 inches longer than the dimensions of the board to accommodate the plastic end-cap inserts which typically come with it.

https://envelopes.jampaper.com/search?p=Q&lbc=jampaper&uid=20620283&ts=custom&w=tube&isort=score&method=and&view=grid&af=size:2x24

Note that the canvas "tubes" sold by many chess retailers will not work as well as stiff cardboard or plastic tubes which are structurally rigid and so are able to more effectively constrain the board from creasing, wrinkling or warping.

I have heard using a mailing tube is overkill for mouse pad boards. I disagree with that of course. I have friends who just put their boards in their bag without a nice roll. Just plop the board in the bag. I see their boards have creases now. I agree with RussBell on using a mailing tube for storage. It is more of a challenge to get a mouse pad board into a mailing tube than a vinyl board. Your roll needs to be tight enough for the board to slide in. You can't simply get the roll cock-eyed and get it straighten out by tapping the top

Well, I would prefer to keep everything together in the Chess bag I bought,
unless there is some overwhelming reason not to; if the board would somehow get damaged in the bag or something like that.
If that was happening with these bags I would imagine that this forum would be filled with posts about it, though.

I was more concerned about rolling the board the wrong way since this is my first roll-up board of any kind, and there seems to be no consensus on how to roll them up.

It’s a bit challenging to find information on these boards beyond “don’t fold them” and “vinyl doesn’t slide”
Most videos are just basic advertising with no real-world reviews or info, especially for mousepad style boards.

chess bag is better to store all the stuff 

check out chess.com merchandise 

Technically speaking, if you have the space for it, the best way to store them is laying them flat. I have a handful of various vinyl and mousepad boards that I just have stacked flat on top of each other. Sorry, I couldn’t resist 😄

I see what you did there 😎
Actually, it’s my fault for not specifying “for travel” in the title.

Come to think of it, lack of precision is my Chess playing problem in general 🤣

Read the first sentence in my post above.

They key point is to roll the board up with the playing squares outward.  For any rollup board, but especially for vinyl boards.  Once you experiment with it a little, it should become obvious why.

Right, I saw that, but someone else above your post seemed to suggest that the way you roll a mousepad board doesn’t matter.
That’s why I said there’s no consensus, and left somewhat confused still.

My point was to describe the BEST way to store a rollup board. The newer flexpad/mousepad boards are clearly more forgiving than vinyl boards when it comes to folding etc., but if you want to ensure that there will be absolutely no creasing, wrinkling or warping issues, then rolling the board and storing it in accordance my recommendations is the way to go (in my experience).  Or use the rollup/tube method for long-term storage, then transfer to a chess bag when you're ready to travel with it (i.e. for short-term storage & transport).  Of course, if your experience storing it differently is ok with you, then so be it.

Just updating this with results… when my mousepad board finally arrived, I found it nearly impossible to roll it tightly enough to fit inside the straps of the chess bag without squishing it to slide into the loops. I felt like I was going to damage the board just by attempting to shove it in those straps.

I solved this by buying a quiver bag just for the board. I loosely rolled up the board and put it inside the quiver bag and then stuck the quiver bag in the top pouch of the deluxe bag so everything is still together and the board has a second layer of protection.

As a bonus, both the quiver bag and the deluxe bag are forest green color, so it almost looks like it was meant to be that way 😎

I meant to say “When the bag finally arrived,“ I already had the board.

(For some reason I can’t see any way to edit my post from the mobile app)

The newer 1/16-inch thick mousepad/flexpad boards will allow these boards to be rolled up to a smaller diameter, thus mitigating the issue you have experienced.  Mine easily fits inside a 2-inch diameter cardboard mailing tube.  So be sure to check or enquire about the board's thickness specification when purchasing.

I just use the cardboard roll from a roll of paper towels for my silicone board. 

Today in my area, is the cans and cardboard recycling day of the week. I just tossed a bunch of holiday gift wrapping paper tubes. For a split second I thought maybe I should keep them for board storage...