Milano comparison w Desert Heat (1 Viewer)

[RamRanch18]

New here from central Georgia - hi everyone!

Looking to upgrade from dice chips and don’t want to do it in baby steps - so I’m not keen on ANY slugged plastic chips. I’ve got my eyes on 2 sets in particular - Milanos and Desert Heat, both of which I believe are made by Claysmith (correct me if wrong please).

I’ve heard plenty of great things about Milanos being a good China Clay and I’m about to order a sample of them but I would love to get info/opinion on Desert Heats from somebody who’s handled them. I REALLY like the design of the D Heats over Milanos, and the price point is much more accessible but it makes me think they’re probably not made as well as Milanos.

So are the Desert Heats just a slugged plastic or are they China Clay? I believe they’re a Greek Key Mold so I’d guess they’re same quality as any other Claysmith Greek Key Mold.

Looking forward to hearing from you all! Worst case scenario I’ll just buy a sample of Desert Heat lol

 

[BSteck]

The Desert Heats are very heavy (13.5g I think) slugged plastic chips and have a definite metal clank to them. Even though they are both made by Claysmith, the Milanos are completely different material - 8.5?’ish g China Clays.

I think most here would consider the Milanos as the higher quality chip. But they are also higher priced so only you can decide if they’re worth it for you.

 

[RamRanch18]

@BSteck Thank you for explaining! With that knowledge I will definitely will skip over the Desert Heat set (heartbreaking - they’re beautiful) and go on to the Milanos as my first “real” set of chips.

 

[BonScot]

I used to have a set of Milanos and didn’t like them. The quality was all over the place with some of the chips badly faded compared to others. The burnt plastic smell from them wasn’t great either.

Have you thought about getting a set of ceramics? The quality is far better than China clay and you’re almost unlimited in your design options.

The cards mold group buys on here would be a great starting point.

 

[Eriks]

I used to have a set of Milanos and didn’t like them. The quality was all over the place with some of the chips badly faded compared to others. The burnt plastic smell from them wasn’t great either.

Have you thought about getting a set of ceramics? The quality is far better than China clay and you’re almost unlimited in your design options.

The cards mold group buys on here would be a great starting point.

I agree, ceramics is a better option. But you should get samples to decide for yourself what you like. Metal slugs, china clay and ceramics are all very different from each other.

 

[RamRanch18]

I used to have a set of Milanos and didn’t like them. The quality was all over the place with some of the chips badly faded compared to others. The burnt plastic smell from them wasn’t great either.

Have you thought about getting a set of ceramics? The quality is far better than China clay and you’re almost unlimited in your design options.

The cards mold group buys on here would be a great starting point.

I have looked at ceramics, Tiki Kings seem to be a very popular entry level ceramic around here but I love the look of the ceramic EPT replica chips.
They’re just a little beyond my budget at the moment - not looking to spend $350+ as I’m not able to organize games very often and mostly playing micros. I’m guessing cards mold GBs would still have me looking north of $350-400 for a 500chip set?

 

[OfficerLovejoy]

I agree, ceramics is a better option. But you should get samples to decide for yourself what you like. Metal slugs, china clay and ceramics are all very different from each other.

This guy chips.

Agree 100%. Get samples to make sure.

Personally I think right now the best bang for your buck are the cards mold ceramics.
The colors and available designs are spectacular, they don't smell, weight is pretty much the same as china clays and they are even a bit cheaper.
Another great option if you have a small budget are used Paulson RHC clays. You can usually get those at .50-$1 each on the classifieds or one of the chip room sales.

 

[BSteck]

Totally agree that the card molds are great bang for the buck right now. Another option to throw in the mix are the Apache Majestics (and Royals).

 

[LeLe]

If your choice is desert or Milano, I will go with Milano.

They are good starter set that will not burn a hole in your wallet.

I used to own Milano as my main poker set before I found PCF, they had serve me well for over 2 years but I had since grown past China Clay

 

[tabletalker7]

If budget is an issue have you thought about relabeling the roulette chips that show up here every so often?

 

[podunkeric]

I have the Desert Heats, and yes...they are heavy. But great quality and uniformity as well. I actually WAY over-bought my set an could give you a great deal on brand new, still wrapped chips. Set would be good for an 8 person.25/.50 up to 1/2 game. Lmk if you're interested.

 

[PARADOX]

I have looked at ceramics, Tiki Kings seem to be a very popular entry level ceramic around here but I love the look of the ceramic EPT replica chips.
They’re just a little beyond my budget at the moment - not looking to spend $350+ as I’m not able to organize games very often and mostly playing micros. I’m guessing cards mold GBs would still have me looking north of $350-400 for a 500chip set?

I'll send you a PM with an option I may have for you.

 

[jonnytsa]

I sold my desert heat chips a when i upgraded to Majestics by Apache. The desert heat (atleast the ones i got) were so uneven they couldn't stack 20 high without spinning or falling over. So disappointing, functionally they were awful. I couldn't even push a stack in one direction or another without them falling/or almost tipping over due to how uneven they were. When i actually separated them apart, the uneven chips accounted for 20 percent of the chips which is really bad. I won't get any metal slug chips again. I have an older set of monte carlo metal slug chips that didn't have the same issue i think mainly because the outer rim of the chip stood higher than the inlay surface where as the desert heat on side profile has the inlay and the outer rim almost flush so any imperfection causes the middle of the chip to sit uneven. I tried to ignore and live with it, since like some said above they are nicely designed, but man i couldn't even use them..... I want to try some Milanos next.