50 - 80 $ range sets

[AndrewB]

Right now, I'm using a magnetic travel set, and was thinking, of upgrading to a wood and (glass,Yunzi,etc..) set. But I'm not a good judge of Go equipment quality. And was wondering, if anyone could give their opinion, on sets within 50-80$ range?

http://www.go-gamestore.com/goequip/sets.htm

I thought these sets looked nice.

[Chew Terr]

Either the 65.00 from the link you posted, or a similar board and yunzi stones from ZenGoban (http://www.zengoban.com/) should work just fine for your purposes. Given the high shipping from your link, I think that zengoban turns out a bit cheaper. From what I've seen, their prices are really hard to beat, for bamboo and yunzi.

[palapiku]

I think yunzi are the best stones, it's a nice bonus that they're so cheap.

Bamboo is pretty cool too, it looks nice and it's indestructible. Especially if you get single-convex yunzi - their bottom edge will ruin any soft wood if you slam them down, but bamboo survives it fine.

(For this reason, do not get single convex stones and a spruce board!)

Bamboo+single convex yunzi is authentic, nice looking, practical and cheap - can't recommend it too highly.

[oren]

You have to go with what you like a bit. I'm not a fan of bamboo and yunzi.

Saying that, my recommendation is a folding board from Yutopian ($58 or $66 depending on wood) with 8mm glass stones and plastic bowls ($24). Slightly over the budget but they do have some other cheaper options.

If you have a Korean grocery near you, they often have good quality cheap sets. I got one for $25 I was happy with.

[Redbeard]

The Bamboo Marble Set at GoGame Store is very nice. I like playing with stones that are actually stone and the bamboo board is very sturdy. Also, the board at GoGame store has a 13x13 grid on the back while the one at Zen Goban has a Xiangqi board.

[AndrewB]

Could someone tell me, if this is true?

Kiseido says,

Another wood that is being used for go boards is spruce. It is marketed as shin-kaya, but it is a very inferior wood to be used for go boards. It is a soft wood and, after a short time, small dents will be made by stones striking the surface. The boards initially look very nice and the grain is almost always masame or tenchimasa, but the wood deteriorates rather quickly.

http://www.kiseido.com/go_equipment.htm

Or does this only apply to single convex Yunzi, like Palapiku said?

[palapiku]

No, spruce really is very soft. You can almost dent it by poking it with a finger. Single-convex stones are just especially bad, they carve ugly triangular dents in it, as I discovered within minutes of owning mine.

Mind you if you slam stones *really* hard even bamboo will dent.

[AndrewJB]

I think finaly decided, that I'm getting this one. It looks like a nice basic set, and it has free shipping.

http://www.chessngames.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=CNG&Product_Code=22822-07K&Category_Code=08010GOSETS

Thanks everyone, for all the advice.