Hi there!

Read about a go-set containing a bamboo board at shodanimports. I don't expect it to be a match against the traditional materials, but is there anybody out there who could share his "bamboo-experiences"?

The store describes it as an "ideal newcomer or club set", but how much to expect from such a 50 $ set?

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Yunzi makes the world go round, the world go round...

I love mine, but they will get damaged more easily than the other boards in my opinion. Here is where I bought mine and a picture of the top http://i.imgur.com/sN940.jpg.

Thanks, ZeroKun!

Doesn't look like serious damaging yet, how long have you played with it? Some scratching won't be a problem, but I would be disappointed if the whole thing breaks completely after a month ..

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Yunzi makes the world go round, the world go round...

Not too much, but I've dropped it a few times. The nicks you'll end up seeing are usually a lighter color, which is really offsetting, I've got some bent corners and some dings on the sides. I let it be used in a tournament and didn't get much damage.

The reason why I sided with easily damaged, normally Shin Kaya and most other wood boards are made up of 2-4 pieces of wood since they can be grown that large, but with bamboo it's not possible. I'd roughly guess about 40 or so pieces make up mine if not more, more parts more to break.

Technically I'm not sure which is the softer of the woods, I haven't noticed any dents from people placing stones, and some of the tournament players were slammers. For the price, when not including stones or bowls, it's the cheapest and best 2 1/4" board you'll find. I haven't had much experience with the thinner ones.

Good to know, maybe we could use it in our playing group

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Yunzi makes the world go round, the world go round...

I really like the bamboo board I got from YMI a few years ago.

One thing to keep in mind is that the bamboo strips are lacquered together which makes the surface of the board very hard and shiny. The sound you get when you play a stone on bamboo is a high "click" as opposed to the deep "thunk" of soft wood board.

In my experience the bamboo board is much less prone to damage. My bamboo board sits on the front room table, is played on often, gets bumped and banged by every package and book bag that comes in the house and has been taken on several trips. After four years it has some minor scratches, but nothing that would prevent me form using it.

A downside is that the board is big and heavy. It is heavier than a kaya board twice it's thickness and it is made for Chinese stones, so the board is wider than a Japanese or Korean made board.

If you don't mind the size, weight, and sound it is a very serviceable board, especially for the price. It looks great and will last for many years. It's also a nice "green" alternative to the rare wood used in other boards.

I bought a Chinese bamboo board a couple years ago and I'm quite fond of it. I prefer the darker colour and the texture over the other materials (kaya boards always look "too yellow" and bright to me), and it wasn't just a cheap alternative but exactly what I had in mind. I had bought Agate stones from China some time before and wanted a matching board. It's 5cm (about 2.5") thick, looks very similar to this, and in spite of being used regularly, doesn't show any damage so far. It stays in the house though and the climate here is pretty stable. As Redbeard said, it's comparatively heavy, but for me that's a plus, well, at least once you have paid for the shipping.

Thanks, redbeard and mivo

Even if the "green" alternative wasn't on my mind, I think it's a very good point! And it sounds very exciting to have a board that looks darker than kaya, but not as dark as katsura.

I don't care about the weight, it's meant to stay quite fixed once it's here. Have a travel set as well, so the old one will be with me climbing mountains and travelling

Well, I think I am as convinced as possible, just waiting for the next paycheck, hehe.

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Yunzi makes the world go round, the world go round...

I got one from YMI about a year ago (or more). My only problem with it is, it has warped alittle. I live in Georgia, so I figured with how humid it is down here it shouldn't warp, but I guess maybe the air in my house is not as humid or something? Dunno, but I would probably get shinkaya if I got another one. (though I haven't ever tried shinkaya).

I have played on a few, my only complaint is the glare off the board is sometimes annoying...a matte finished bamboo board might be a good idea ^^

Thank you, guys!

Anyone who knows about such a less disturbing finish, and the store, of course?

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Yunzi makes the world go round, the world go round...

I bought a chinese bamboo goban approx a year back.

one month after the purchase the board started bending, and is now seriously bent and cracks appeared on the surface. i guess they are not all of the same quality....

Package says its from : "Ningbo Mi Toys LTD"
I bought this through : http://www.jeudego.com/catalog/product_ ... cts_id=262

might add a pic later.

Yes, bamboo is "Green", it grows very fast.

Bamboo goban is very easily cracked, especially in the dry winter of North China, if you live in a dry area you may wipe it with wet cloth occasionally, and cover a (dry) cloth on it when you don't use it, it will be fine.

Before the first use, use a face tissue and one or two drops of oil to wipe it, then use a face tissue and fresh water wipe it, the color will be changed a little, it also helps to protect the bamboo. You may test this on the back side of the goban.

Hmm..I actually live in a cold, dry climate zone myself, so I did not decide anything yet.

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Yunzi makes the world go round, the world go round...

hmm. had kinda a bad experience with my bamboo board. i left mine in my car so i wouldn't forget it on the way to go club, and from the changing temps, it developed several large cracks.
I made my own go board for about 35 bucks, and that one is very durable.
if you don't mind putting in the time, talk to your hardware store about some lumber.
don't forget lacquer as well.

I live in a cold dry climate and my board is on 5+ years and still looks awesome. You have to take care of any board though, leaving in the car is very poor. Inside car temperatures are only less extreme than oven.

Mine got a huge crack in it this winter, but I take part of the blame because I think I left it standing too close to the radiator whenever I came home from go club.

I heard you should fill in the crack with candle wax. Has anyone tried this or have other ideas for damage control/repair?

I was concerned about the cracking issue since I live in a desert climate so I contacted YMI and asked them about it. They recommended light use of a furniture oil such as Murphy's Oil Soap or Old English to protect the board from drying out, particularly when it is being put into storage for any length of time.

Since I use Old English on my wood goban and it has survived being in storage for nearly 25 years I think this is probably sound advice.

I've had the 3/4" bamboo goban from YMI for most of a year at this point. The surface does have a kind of dark finish, and is a bit shiny, as others have said. I've seen others that have developed scratches in the surface, but I haven't had too many problems with that. I keep it in a felt sleeve that YMI had for around $5. The sound is also not spectacular, but for a cheap durable board, it's hard to beat.

I would be reluctant to get one that's much thicker, though, as bamboo is HEAVY.

The thicker ones aren't actually solid, they have hollow places inside. This makes it lighter than a solid board would be, and also gives you a much louder click playing on some parts of the board than others.