Looking For A Durable Wood Set

I'm looking for a good durable wood Staunton set for everyday playing.  I like my various plastic sets but I love playing with wooden pieces.  I want something I can pair with a vinyl board and take with me to some of Toronto's chess haunts and not have to worry if it gets banged around a bit.  Obviously, I'm not looking to spend a fortune on a set like this - ideally I'd like to spend under $100 - but I will go higher if I need to so I can get a set that will last me.  

What do you all recommend?

Here's one I've been wanting since other members here first mentioned it.  If only I didn't already have too many sets...

http://www.chessbazaar.com/the-staunton-series-weighted-chess-pieces-in-dyed-wood-box-wood-3-8-king.html

I have found, what I think is a perfect set for what you are looking for, well actually 2 sets with one recently on Clearance:

1. The least expensive for the most set is currently the House of Staunton Liberty Series set in Rosewood, clearance priced at $59.50.  wiscmike agrees with me that this set is exceptional for the money.  I have used a Liberty Series Rosewood set from the House of Staunton for about 15 years for casual play and this set holds up wonderfully.  I have a friend that has one and uses it for about every kind of play, including tournaments and it works just fine for him:

http://www.houseofstaunton.com/the-liberty-series-chess-pieces-4-0-king.html

2. Once again the House of Staunton has what is arguably the nicest of the German Knights sets at not the most expensive price.  The Championship Series in Rosewood is a very nice set.  I think the Rosewood is the best because it seems harder and a very good color.  It retails for $89 but they always have a 10% discount available, Google10 discount code, which will bring the price down to just over $80.  I have one of these and a friend also has one.  It is patterned after the standard DGT set but is weighted, and it is weighted nicely.  Look at the tops of the bishops and pawns as well as the rest of the design.  I have researched this design set and while you can get less expensive ones at Chess Cafe, The Chess House, and a few others, you will find the weight of the House of Staunton set to be at the highest with The Chess Store model, but is less expensive than the Chess Store one.

http://www.houseofstaunton.com/the-championship-series-chess-pieces-3-75-king.html

Oh heck, I guess I'd better talk up my recommendation too.  Oh wait, I don't own it....OK, how about a review from a fellow member here who is also a high end collector?

Set of the year Review by Strngdrvnthng

Absolutely brilliant pieces, in my opinion second only to the same set in Boxwood/Sheesham. Definitely one of my favorite sets this year. (Posted on 12/8/2014)P

I like the Club Series the most, when it comes to cheap wooden sets: http://www.houseofstaunton.com/club-wooden-chess-pieces-3-75-king.html

     I just saw one today at Barnes & Noble, but it ain't cheap.  $180.00

The Fischer-Spassky set recommended by Luftwaffles is good value for money, but I don't think it qualifies for what the OP is asking for. A durable and affordable set to play anywhere. Both the rooks and kings have weak points that will not survive for long in a bag.

I agree with the assessment that higher price will not mean more durable pieces. In fact in most cases a high price probably means more brittle pieces.

Excellent, mostly heavily-weighted, simple durable designs at bargain prices. (A few at really remarkably low prices.)

http://shop.chesscafe.com/New-Classic-Series-Chessmen-Rosewood-4-queens-EQP1373.htm

http://shop.chesscafe.com/New-Classic-Series-Chessmen-Lacquered-Sheesham-w-4-queens-EQP1371.htm

http://shop.chesscafe.com/International-Series-Golden-Sheesham-EQP0904.htm

http://shop.chesscafe.com/International-Series-Ebonized-EQP0903.htm

http://www.houseofchess.com/wooden-tournament-chess-pieces-regal-staunton-3-3-4inch-rosewood-boxwood.html (weighs over 70 oz.!)

http://www.houseofchess.com/wooden-tournament-chess-pieces-regal-staunton-3-3-4inch-golden-rosewood-boxwood.html

http://www.chessbazaar.com/the-staunton-series-weighted-chess-pieces-in-dyed-wood-box-wood-3-8-king.html

http://www.chessbazaar.com/the-staunton-series-weighted-chess-pieces-in-sheesham-box-wood-3-8-king.html

http://www.houseofstaunton.com/the-liberty-series-chess-pieces-4-0-king.html

http://www.houseofstaunton.com/the-margate-series-chess-pieces-4-0-king.html (extra knights, as well as queens)

I quite agree with this, except that the "bucktooth" knights of the HoS "Fischer-Spassky" set look fragile to me, and the shesham one doesn't seem a particularly good value to me at $149 since I bought my Rosewood one from them for $130.

Thanks, everyone. I knew I'd get some great answers here. I think I'll try the Chess Bazaar first because the no shipping thing makes a big difference. I love the HOS sets but their shipping rates to Canada just don't make sense for cheaper sets.

At this time, the reduced price ChessCafe wooden sets are extraordinary bargains, priced from only $15.98 to $41.47, although I don't know how much their shipping charge to Canada would be.

Here's one more that I overlooked.

http://www.wholesalechess.com/shop/chess-pieces/wood-chess-pieces/french-chess-pieces-3-75-king

I can add another vote for the HoS Liberty set being both a beautiful set and able to take some loving abuse. However $15 for the cafechess set was too good for me to pass up. 

This set is tough as rocks   http://www.houseofstaunton.com/the-gambit-series-chess-set-4-0-king.html

It's a 4" set, here below on a 2.375" board(comes in ebonized or golden rosewood).  The rosewood set is currently 103$(really a steal, this set is big and mean, and looks GREAT on a vinyl board.

Love those boards, where did you get them?

Seriously, the $16 International series set from chesscafe linked above is great.  You don't need anything more expensive than these.  Look great, play great, very durable.

The International set is seen a lot in European Tournaments with about every GM from Carlsen on down using this fine set.

I'll have to check out the international series.  That HOS Gambit set looks great.  I do love the HOS sets - they're all so well done.

That set in particular(the HOS Gambit), is designed to be played with(toss em in a bag and go).  The rims of the bases are thicker and less likely to crack.  They'll make any chess set look like a little brother, especially that horribly cheap looking set above, that knight is about as cheap looking as it gets.

There isnt a set in the world that will compete with what you get, not for 100$.

Let's see ...

HoS Championship Series black stained - $79.00 -            http://www.houseofstaunton.com/chess-pieces/wooden-chess-pieces/the-championship-series-chess-pieces-3-75-king.html   Top heavy king, pinched bishop, tiny rook, so much like that awfully ugly DGT set that they use at all of those international events, except that the HoS bishop is even uglier and the rook is even smaller. HoS does, however, say that this set weighs 52 oz. as opposed to the ChessCafe's International Series set weighing only about 37 oz.,  but HoS also says that their Liberty set weighs 54 oz, whereas the one that I bought from them actually weighs only 41.4 oz for 32 chessmen, and that their Margate set weighs 72 oz., whereas the one that I purchased from them actually weighs only  54.9 oz. for 32 chessmen.                           

ChessCafe International Series black stained - $15.98 -   http://shop.chesscafe.com/International-Series-Ebonized-EQP0903.htm                                                                Nice gracefully tapered pieces, taller rooks, proportionally broader bases, all look like a considerable aesthetic and practical improvement to me. I own two of these in Rosewood, and they actually weigh 37.7 oz.. No extra queens, alas, but at this price, buying two of these sets will get you extra everything, in case you lose or break anything, still for less than half the price of a single one of the HoS set above, shipping aside.

HoS Gambit Series golden rosewood (shesham) - $129.00   http://www.houseofstaunton.com/chess-pieces/wooden-chess-pieces/the-gambit-series-chess-pieces-4-0-king.html

ChessCafe Olympian Series shesham - $35.99   http://shop.chesscafe.com/Olympian-3-7-8-Golden-Sheesham-Chessmen-4-queens-EQP1386.htm

Chess Cafe New Classic Series rosewood - $41.47        http://shop.chesscafe.com/New-Classic-Series-Chessmen-Rosewood-4-queens-EQP1373.htm   I have this set, and if you're unclear as to what it looks like from ChessCafe's small photograph, well it looks just like the ChessCafe Titan Series chess set, which their website has a better photograph of, and I also own, except that it's smaller. It also weighs 47 oz. for 32 chessmen without the extra queens.

Hmm, ...