Desert Sands Ceramic Chips Opinions? (3 Viewers)

[bigD]

What do you guys think about the ceramic sands from Nevada Jack. One of my biggest hates about the skulls is how terrible the edge spots are! Brown on every chip! The sands gives colored edge spots and more attractive colors in my opinion.

Please let me know how you feel!

 

[KHarp1]

Desert Sands was my first "nice" chip purchase 20 years ago. I'm not sure if they've changed, but, back then they had a linen texture that made the graphics appear slightly or of focus/blurry. I loved the chips with that one exception. But there are so many other options now, not sure they would make my short list today.

 

[bigD]

Just out of curiosity young man, what WOULD make your short list?

 

[PhilLaFond]

Exactly what @KHarp1 said. Overall I really loved these chips back in the day and used them for a long time. They hold a special place in my heart as well because a transaction involving those chips was how I met my good friend @krafticus which led to so many other great friendships and many years of wonderful poker games. If the opportunity came along I would probably buy a small set of the "originals" just for sentimental reasons.

That said, I haven't played with the new version so I can't speak to their quality, however I have handled chips from BR Pro and have had no complaints at all as ceramics go.

 

[KHarp1]

What @PhilLaFond said. Everything from BR Pro is quality. If you can find a set from them in the classifieds then that's the best "mid level" chip. I'm assuming you're referring to cost when you say mid level, because BR chips are the highest level chips as far as quality of material and craftsmanship. A nice set of Tiki's just recently sold for about the same price as "Tina" chips.

 

[moose]

 

[bigD]

Wow thanks for the pic you guys are the best. Can anyone tell me how these sands compare to the Tina Taj mahals. I’m absolutely crazy about the look of those Taj chips.

I’m familiar with the quality of the sands style bro pro stuff since I own a set of NJ skulls that has never let me down.

I just wanna make sure I’m not making a mistake by jumping into the Tina Taj chips. It’s everything I’ve ever dreamed about in terms of the look. The edge spots connecting is the biggest thing for me!

 

[Nogbert]

Wow thanks for the pic you guys are the best. Can anyone tell me how these sands compare to the Tina Taj mahals. I’m absolutely crazy about the look of those Taj chips.

I’m familiar with the quality of the sands style bro pro stuff since I own a set of NJ skulls that has never let me down.

I just wanna make sure I’m not making a mistake by jumping into the Tina Taj chips. It’s everything I’ve ever dreamed about in terms of the look. The edge spots connecting is the biggest thing for me!

Just get a sample from apachepokerchips.com ~$10 or so

 

[moose]

I would judge Tina chips to be nicer than Desert Sands.

 

[Kensco]

I have Tina's

And BRPRO's Desert Sands (semi-custom)

I much prefer the BRPROs to the Tina's for feel. The Desert Sands feel like I expect a ceramic chip to feel. The Tina's feel more like I expect a plastic chip to feel.

The lesser expense of the Tina's make them an ideal option for a "fun" set or for a set a US vendor wouldn't make due to copyright issues.

 

[bigD]

Update: my Tina’s and desert sands arrived today. I ordered hundreds of each and had time to play around with all of them, even played some heads up with my girlfriend to try and get a true play test.

Kensco is spot on… the desert sands are the more quality chip. You can feel the difference in quality, even hear it in the sound. The rough face makes for a nicer player experience and great feel in hand.

That’s not to say the Tina’s aren’t nice chips. They’re vibrant and beautiful to the eye. However I did get a few defects in my batch of 400 and absolutely none in the desert sands.

The sands are the better chip for sure, but I’ll save the money for now and stick with the much better looking Tina’s. The look of those chips is just stunning, everything I’ve ever wanted in a cash set for my home game.

Unfortunately, I’m settling for quality, but only a little. The Tina’s will do just fine for non chip nerds.

 

[mconn116]

Update: my Tina’s and desert sands arrived today. I ordered hundreds of each and had time to play around with all of them, even played some heads up with my girlfriend to try and get a true play test.

Kensco is spot on… the desert sands are the more quality chip. You can feel the difference in quality, even hear it in the sound. The rough face makes for a nicer player experience and great feel in hand.

That’s not to say the Tina’s aren’t nice chips. They’re vibrant and beautiful to the eye. However I did get a few defects in my batch of 400 and absolutely none in the desert sands.

The sands are the better chip for sure, but I’ll save the money for now and stick with the much better looking Tina’s. The look of those chips is just stunning, everything I’ve ever wanted in a cash set for my home game.

Unfortunately, I’m settling for quality, but only a little. The Tina’s will do just fine for non chip nerds.

Overall I’d agree with your findings, I’ve gotten to compare brpro ceramics side by side with my cards mold chips and the brpro do have a slight edge over the tinas in feel. But for the price difference the tinas still win out for me due to the price difference (it helps I get mine used a SUPER deep discount).

 

[PlaidDragon]

View attachment 1274261

I like the bright colors on these, plus the marbled rolling edge pattern looks very cool; however, I think the denomination is a bit hard to see. If I were to make a set of those, I'd have the inlay area changed.

 

[bigD]

A million thanks to all who provided input while I made this decision!

At the end of the day, the Tina’s win for a bunch of different reasons. First, the look simply can’t be beat. The colors are so bright and beautiful that they pop from across the poker room. Side by side it’s no contest as the Taj Mahals just catch the eye with how vibrant their colors are.

Next, the edge spots connect (they don’t on the sands) this is huge for me as it really completes the look and adds to the realism.

Finally, the progression of the “inlay” over the set of denominations has got to be the coolest freaking thing ever. Each value chips on the Tina’s has a different pattern on the inlay setting it apart from the others. The edge spots also progress to distinguish one from the other. This is a truly wonderful chipset that will add so much eye candy to the game. Where as the sands are all identical chips with different values and colors, lacking the same immersive experience provided by the Tina set.

Sure, side by side the Tina’s feel cheaper and when scrutinizing them you can totally see the difference in quality. however, take the sands off the table and play a while with the Tina’s and you almost forget about it.

Thanks again, and here’s to our first game at BigDs with the new set tomorrow night!