I'm trying to find a good goban that fits the lifestyle of a graduate student. I've been poring over different recommendations, but I'm still not sure.

I currently have a set of glass stones (JangStone #1; they're so uneven it drives me nuts), and a vinyl mat that is too small and misprinted. I had to abandon my old set of Ing stones and particle-board last time I moved across the country

Here's my criteria:
- Inexpensive (because unfortunately I like to eat)
- Not cheap (because I'm willing to pay for decent equipment)
- Able to withstand a non-airconditioned New York summer without warping or cracking.
- Reasonably mobile, e.g. if I want to move it between school and my apt. or relocate after graduation.
- Decent sound.

Slightly complicated caveat:
- I'm using Go in my thesis, so I'd like to be able to play/study at both home and school with as little fuss as possible. I'm also contemplating buying two boards & another set of stones so I can simply have a set in both places.

According to these criteria, I think I'm limited to the Yutopian catalogue, since they have the most reasonable shipping costs. Kaya boards are out of my price-range. The cheapest decent-seeming board is the Ing cypress board, though I have no idea about its durability. The defect agathis and shin-kaya boards are an attractive price, as well. Yutopian also has good combo-sets for particle/Ing boards + Ing/Glass stones.

Thoughts?

A thin board (anything less than about 2 inches thickness) will very likely warp over time in non-climate controlled conditions. And thicker boards will likely separate along their seams if they are multi-piece construction (I have a board that has separated in this way). Thus, your best bet IMO for durability and stability is a single-piece agathis board of at least 55mm thickness (usually called 2-sun or size #20). The best prices I've seen for these are around $100 + shipping, which can be expensive if it comes from Korea, which is where most of these seem to. The only things you won't get from an agathis board are the grain patterns and the signature snap that you only get from genuine kaya. But any other (cheaper) board you buy will not only lack that classic snap, it will also suffer in terms of durability, stability, and aesthetics. It is worth it, IMO, to save up a little money and spring for, at the very minimum, a single-piece 2-sun agathis board.

Though, now that I think of it, if you aren't concerned with traditional aesthetics, then a bamboo board might be a good alternative. They are supposedly very sturdy (even thin ones), and they tend to be quite reasonably priced. It's just that they don't look anything like traditional goban woods and they present a very hard surface, which creates a very sharp, jarring sound when stones are played with any vigor.

It's too bad you abandoned your ING stones -- I find the 10mm ING stones to be fantastic for their price (~US$20).
It took me 10+ years to (re-)discover them. I like them even better than the US$100+ Japanese 10mm glass stones!

+1

I really like the 10mm plastic ING stones too. Perfect for club play. And their slightly flattened surfaces are a touch of genius. If I played more, I'd probably get a second set just to have as a backup.