Life In 19x19

zslane wrote:I ordered a set of 10mm plastic ING stones from Yutopia. I'm looking forward to giving them a try.

I’d like to know some more about these, so please let us know how you like ’em, and perhaps post a few photos, will ya?

Greetings, Tom

So I went and picked up the 10mm ING stones from Yutopia tonight. They are not glossy like white glass stones, but matte like black glass stones. They don't click and clack against each other in the same way glass stones do, and naturally the sound they make against the goban is softer and more like a "thunk" than a "clack". They seem like they will be pretty sturdy, though there is a good chance that the internal weights will shake loose a little over time and be audible inside like tiny rattles. Time will tell.

Overall I like them more than the 8mm glass stones I have, primarily because they are fatter and also because I don't have to be so gentle in handling them.

Here are a couple photos I took with my phone. I hope they are adequate.

zslane, thanks so much for the review and the photos! I think I'm going to get a set, too!
They look great for the coffee shop/bookstore scene!

zslane wrote:So I went and picked up the 10mm ING stones from Yutopia tonight.

Do you mean you physically went to their store in Los Angeles
and bought the set in person? What's their address and working hours?

The other thing to note is that they are slightly flattened, which for double convex greatly helps with rocking on the board.

Did you purchase the Ing bowls or the "plastic bowls"? Would you mind posting a picture of the bowls as well? The phone pics are great!

Thanks for the pix, zslane, they are very nice!

I think I must get such stones for carrying around when our Go club meets in that other place (our meetings alternate between two villages 25 km away).

It's been said, but thanks for the pictures, pretty nice!

The Ing stones are good for the money. Likes and dislikes are up to the individual user, of course. Some negative impressions I've had:

* The stones are too slippery in my fingers and are easily dropped on the board.

* The stones slide on the board surface too easily.

A cautionary story for Ing stone owners who use them as inexpensive sets to take to the club. I had a set which I kept in the trunk of my car for that purpose. After a relatively short time I discovered that stones were developing cracks and even splitting due, I assumed, to the metal cores expanding when heated.

The stones are very good for the money.

gowan wrote:...the metal cores expanding when heated.
The stones are very good for the money.

Thanks, gowan. Note to self: don't microwave ING stones, either.

I hope I don't miss anyone's questions (this forum doesn't seem to have the multi-quote feature, so I'm left to my questionable memory):

1) I live down the street from Yutopia's Santa Monica warehouse, and they agreed to let me pick up the stones there to save on needless shipping cost/time.

2255 29th Street, Suite #3
Santa Monica, CA 90405

2) I didn't need the ING bowls and wasn't interested in spending another $10 for them, so I just went with the plastic bowls. I put the ING stones in my Kitani bowls and put my old glass stones in the plastic bowls.

3) The surface of these stones is not slippery, especially compared to white glass stones. They are comparable in texture to matte black glass stones. I don't fear them slipping from my fingers when placing them, or them sliding around on a goban.

For $25 I think they are a good value, particularly if one takes at least a little care not to abuse them. I think they'll hold up pretty well under most club conditions, and honestly, I'm not sure what sort of stones would endure better under harsh conditions (aka kids).

gowan wrote:* The stones are too slippery in my fingers and are easily dropped on the board.

* The stones slide on the board surface too easily.

I've noticed that too, but it may not be true for everyone's fingers, and over time I've gotten used to them. For me, I think it was mostly the larger size I had to get used to, and had to learn to grip the stones harder.

As for the board, you may be recalling the painted Ing boards we've used in Go Congresses for many years. Yes, they are very slippery on those board surfaces. But not so bad on other more natural board surfaces (depending on the type of finish)

I also recently got a new 3cm 3 piece Shin-Kaya board and Korean 9mm glass stones for Christmas. They replace a 1cm plywood board and 7mm plastic stones. Although the old board was pretty mediocre (quite a bit of the lines have rubbed off) I actually liked the stones quite a bit. They didn't feel particularly plastic-like, but the new stones are in an entirely different league.

The heavy, stone-like quality, the smoothness and shine of the white stones, and the perceptibly different feel of the matte black stones and the sound of them clacking on the board make them a joy to play and study with.

A friend asked about the evenness of the stones, and I must say that there is some variance in their shape, and some of them don't lie quite flat, but it doesn't bother me. The old plastic stones actually came with a set of nice bowls. The plastic stones filled the bowls about half way, but with the new stones, about 170 of them fills them to the brim. I'm very happy with them.

daal, congrats. Photos?

EdLee wrote:daal, congrats. Photos?

Might be fun to start a thread dedicated to showing one's go equipment.

There is a whole section of the forum where you can show off your go equipment

There is this...

I'll post some pictures when the sun comes out again.