ChessMate Pocket/Travel sets - excellent

Dear David,
I'd just like to say how happy I am with the ChessMate Ultima pocket set! Received it in the mail today. This is exactly the type of pocket chess I've always been looking for. Beautifully crafted and elegant, and the four extra pieces are a great feature. Finally, I'd also like to say a big thank you for including another set of pieces free of charge. It's greatly appreciated! Top notch quality, worth every single cent!

Once again, thank you, and may your business prosper even more than hitherto!
Ola

Hey BonTheCat (Ola),

Thank you for your comments and your kind words about the ChessMate Ultima; it's gratifying to hear.

As you may be aware, I recently began modifying the capture-panel on that set to eliminate any magnetic adhesion issues caused by the thickness of the imitation Ostrich material used to hand-wrap the folding case, and it seems to do the trick quite nicely even if I do say so myself!

That has become my favorite pocket-style set among any of those that I'm making these days.

Thanks again for your comments, your order, and your interest in my ChessMate sets.

-- Best, David Weinstock

Mindspan Labs & ChessMate.com

I have an old pocket set from this manufacturer. My only complaint is that it's a little beat up. Since I am the one who beat it up, I can hardly complain! In all the years of using it, I have never lost a piece.

Stumbling on this thread recently, I was going to order another set. Because the shipping costs to Canada weren't clear, I wrote and asked for clarification. Mr. Weinstock responded promptly and courteously. This is in stark contrast to a lot of other sellers I could name.

This company offers quality products for a reasonable price given the workmanship and value. I would not hesitate to recommend doing business with them.

I had my set out yesterday.  The case is starting to show the effects of being jammed into the dark depths of my backpack amongst the books but, other than that, it's in great shape.  

The same Wallet, though untouched for more than a year, presents obvious signs of corrosion. Perhaps the manufacturer’s personal beliefs stand in the way of delivering a better product, since authentic leather is not an option here.

I have been carrying a ChessMate pocket set with me for quite a few years.  My latest is the Ultima set in the nylon holder which is currently sitting in my right blazer pocket.  I also own the slim version. 

I bought the Deluxe TravelMate last fall.  I like this set very much and it acts as my analysis set when in an office/exam room.  The board and pieces fit nicely in an inner pocket of my messenger bag that carries my laptop and other things.  The pieces are very well done.

I saw the picture above and pondered on it for quite awhile, so I just bought that TravelMate Pro set.  I like how small of a space the board takes as this is the smallest board they make.  I also got his Travelmate Basic which has the largest of the 3 boards and I will use in a booth at my local Panera Bread place.

So, I then realized that I owned all the sets he offers except the Wallet and the super-duper TravelMate set which is more than I want to spend.  I also do not have the small pieces to make the pocket sets 3D.

So, I emailed David and just ordered a Wallet set along with a couple of those small wood sets to use with either the Wallet, Ultima or even Slim Pocket sets.

Just stay away from the Wallet. I don’t know why anyone would still buy small ‘analysis’ sets when it’s so much faster with a phone or a tablet, plus countless possibilities of training, researching and building one’s repertoire.

I absolutely love my Travelmate Ultra set - especially the pieces.

Ron, I really like your idea of using these sets for analysis, which extends the utility of the products and furthers the value proposition. 

Dave's close attention to detail easily makes these the best sets available in this category.

That close attention to detail is a myth when two purchased sets ended up with severe corrosion after a couple of months with very little use.

I understand you had problems with the product.

The fact is that there are more than one person that is very satisfied with these sets.  So you cannot get away with your claims of Myth.

David does pay attention to detail.  The corrosion you mention is a problem with the material, not the detail.

I just pulled a collector action by making a final buy so I now own one of every set he sells.  Here is my honest and brutal opinion.

The latest wallet, which is the last thing I bought, is really nice.  I bet this is a different product than the ones that corroded.  The wallet is too big to easily fit in most pockets.  I like the Ultima with the sleeve for pocket use.  

The small, 3D pieces he sells to make the Ultima and Slim sets pro are also nice.  The Ultima does not sit as flat as the Slim on a flat surface, so if you want a small, pocket sized 3D set get the Slim pro.

Of the TravelMate sets, I like the Pro one the best.  The 3D pieces he uses with the Pro, Basic and Deluxe are really nice.  But the Basic square size is too big for this set.  I have switched the pieces from a set from a 10” magnetic set I bought on eBay and this is now just right.  The Deluxe board is just right with the square size but the board footprint is bigger due to the capture areas at the two ends of the board.  The Pro set in its case is just about the perfect, portable size.

The Ultra board is the biggest square size and nice.  I did not like the pieces I got though so I substituted a different set of pieces and it is a nice set, comparable to a 10.5” magnetic set you see elsewhere except the board is nice and flat making the whole setup nicer to carry around.

So, the wallet is great as a large pocket set that will fit in larger coat pockets.

The Ultima is the best as a pocket set to fit in a lot of pockets.  I would add the sleeve though.

The Slim Pocket is the one to get in the pro version with 3D pieces as the board lays flat on a table top.

In the TravelMate the Pro is the most versatile and has the best pieces.  If you want a nice table top set, the Deluxe works great with those same great pieces.

If you want a bit larger then the Basic and Ultra versions are good, but you will be happier with different pieces than the ones provided with those boards.

Now, I have to warn you that these sets are pricey.  I feel that they are all good values except the Ultra which I think is too much with the pieces included.

 That’s the only one I’m talking about, I don’t know about the rest. But the fact that when I tell him about the corrosion he sends me another one which behaved exactly like its predecessor, we are talking about negligence.

 The material is part of the detail, a very important detail of the whole thing. The problem is that he uses cheap imitation leather because of his beliefs as a vegan. But if you cannot make a durable wallet, then don’t. Don’t pretend it’s a good  material , this imitation leather, when it really isn’t : come up with something else, but until then don’t charge $109 for a degradable product, which shouldn’t even even be for sale.

I have the original Wallet in real leather as well as the imitation leather version and I must say the original is a lot nicer.  If you can find that version maybe on eBay, I would definitely go for it.  Smells nice too!

I was told it only comes in one version, imitation leather. Real leather would be a different story, I agree.

The real leather wallet was replaced by the current version years ago and was actually cheaper than the imitation version.  Both were sold for a short time together with the imitation version being called the “Ultra Wallet”.

The Ultima is not the Wallet.

The Ultima is simply a folding, magnetic chess set.  It is finished better than the Slim one but otherwise is the same.  A number of us have found it best to carry either of these folding sets in a case.

The Ultima is finished in an imitation Ostrich material while the Slim-Pocket is finished in a fake Alligator. material.

Now, the wallet is the folding board in its own, zippered case or wallet that looks to be a nice checkbook wallet that David modified to hold the folding Chess board.

I really got it that you received a wallet that had a defective imitation leather material.  And I also realize that the replacement he sent was of the same defective material.  I imagine he thought the problem with the first set was more of a one time problem than defective material.

It does not appear that he still uses the same, defective material as I have seen no further complaints like yours.

Nonetheless, I certainly understand why you would no longer want to do business with him. 

Bur, give us a break here.  The vast majority of the products people have bought from him have been of a very nice and high quality.

I just completed my last buy from him making it so that I currently own one of everything, Chess, that he sells.

The wallet, which I just received about a week and a half ago, is built the best of all the products he sells, in my opinion.  It looks as if this batch of imitation leather is a good one.

Now, my honest opinion is that his stuff is a bit expensive.  But so is the stuff from Noj, for Chess, and places like Bose for other stuff.

His stuff is very nice and of a high quality.

In your case, I would suggest you contact him to have him either fix the problem or get a refund, depending on how long ago this all happened.

Eyechess:  I have the Ultima and am very happy with it.  I was contemplating buying the Slim.   Is the Slim really that much thinner?  They look about the same thickness.  

cghori,

They are pretty close to the same thickness but the Slim is, well slimmer.

As I just pulled them out to compare them.  The Slim has one piece of the imitation leather for the backing that the board and capture area are glued to.  And that is it.  You can see the inside of the imitation leather between the board pieces and the capture area.

The Ultima has a second layer of the imitation leather wrapped over the capture area but still under the board pieces.  Between the board pieces and capture area you see the top of that second layer of imitation leather and you see the inside part nowhere.

What this does is to make the Ultima one layer of the imitation leather thicker.  The result is that the Ultima does not flop open completely but keeps a bit of memory in the material from the big fold.  This works great when you are holding the set in your hand.

The Slim has only the single layer of the imitation leather and the board flops open very completely.  This board lies flat on the table or counter completely, immediately and very easily.  This is why I said if you want the smallest 3D set for table use, which is what you would want with 3D pieces, then the Slim is the better one to get.

The 3D pieces are the same for both sets/boards.  And they are really quite nice with fine details.

So, if you plan on using the pocket set as a typical, handheld setup, the Ultima is beefier in feel and use.

If you want to use the 3D pieces on the board, which is most often on a counter or table top, then the Slim works the easiest for this.

Great-thanks for the detailed comparisons.

Eyechess:  I have an old ChessMate set I bet you don't have!  I bought this Boxed TravelMate years ago.  It was available for only a little while as I guess it wasn't popular.  The magnets on the beautiful wood pieces are quite strong.  The cover fits under the lower part when in use.  I use it all the time walking around the house, in bed, watching TV,etc.  It is very well made and the side capture/storage compartment is a nice feature.  You might want to ask David if he has any left lying around.  I think I paid $90.