Great suggestion! I had seen your favorable comments about JimAndsonWoods in another thread. I browsed his shop but did not see the magnetic split option somehow. Thanks!
Opinions on Tempest boards (and pieces)? Other foldable options?
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Hey @natteh - a bit late to reply, but yes, i have the Tempest MagSplit board and their London 2013 set and absolutely positively love them both. Although i boutght mine directly from https://tempestclock.com vs amazon, just because there is a discount code there and i prefer to support the small company directly (they are chess players themselves and product designers in Portland, OR -- ex Nike and Apple designers from what I understood from a brief support call i had with them).
Funny you mentioned the colorado stacked board, because i actually had that first and wound up getting rid of it. It weighs about twice as much as the Tempest board, for no discernable reason (the tempest board has a solid walnut frame but is about 1/2 to 3/4 as thick as the colorado wood worker one). I also found no benefit to having a quartered up board. it's needlessly fussy to assemble, adds twice the seams, and travels in a 'weird' shape (more like a lunch box than a messenger bag shape), plus i don't love seeing exposed magnets as it looks kind of home made. i like how tempest hides the magnets.
this brings me to the tempest chess bag (i forget what they call it, but it's brilliant). just a cool messenger bag (i think this is an ex Nike designer that founded tempest, if so this makes a lot of sense as it's actually a cool equipment bag, not a dorky canvas 'flute bag' which is what i had before. it has a kind of military look with pockets for the clock, pieces and of course the board. i don't think they make a big enough deal about how good the included bag is. it has just enough room for my laptop too. i really love the bag as well.
I don't think you can go wrong if you haven't already bought one... let me know if there's any dimensions you want or any questions but i can highly recommend it.
Dec 16, 2024
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#4
Thanks so much for the detailed reply, @brickbuilt! It sounds like we are pretty well aligned with our preferences!
The 'geometry' of the Tower/Stack style boards was of concern for me as well (I'd prefer to carry something relatively 'book shaped' in my backpack, rather than 'brick shaped'! breaking down into 4 rather than 2 pieces seems like a net negative).
I ended up finding a good deal on a World Chess Studio board, which I am pretty happy with; rather than being magnetic, it simply 'hinges' on a thick felt backing. I'm not sure about long-term durability if I carry it around a lot, but it's totally fine for now. Ultimately I found it to be a bit heavy to keep in the bag all the time - so I ended up custom-ordering a mousepad style board from Chess House with 1.75" squares, which has been fantastic!
So now my portable setups are a mix and match option between the Studio board, the mousepad board, some Chavet #2 pieces, and some 'Marshall' pieces from Chess House. (These are great, btw - I was after a 'smaller', 'lighter' set than the Bobby Fischer 'Ultimates' to use with a 1.75" board, and these fit the bill perfectly).
Based on your recommendation, I will likely keep an eye out for sales from Tempest, and look for an excuse to try it out as well :-) But for the moment, I think I'm all set!
@brickbuilt - Thank you for the excellent information. It appears as if the Tempest board, bag, and scorebooks are in my future (dislike the pieces).
Feb 20, 2025
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#7
Hi all, a bit late to the discussion, but I just got mine delivered today and just wanted to give my 2 cents. It’s a really nice and portable set, I ended up adding my own Staunton pieces in the bag with the board (3,75 sized king) - I absolutely love the whole idea, I was just a little bit surprised at the magnets that don’t seem to have such a strong pull to them, anyone else had the same feeling? Got mine from Amazon (I’m in Belgium so ordering from tempest website would’ve cost a ton in shipping and import tax)
Aug 19, 2025
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#8
@chrismassiv
Also from Belgium here. Do you still like the set and is it the real thing. Because it looks like another vender ?
Also could you use the bag for other folded boards?
Kind regards
Stef
Aug 22, 2025
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#9
Hi, I can't imagine any folded board not fitting in the bag, it's rather big. Mine is full with the pieces, a chess clock + the booklet that comes with the bag and board and it still got plenty of space inside to easily fit the board or any other board, as long as it's folded (or split in half).
As you can tell from the picture, the "Modern Chess Openings" book could fit twice in it, and it's a hefty book.
The Tempest MagSplit board is light, sleek, and the magnets are cleverly hidden. I recently tried it with the London set, and I'm in love. Compared to quartered options like the Tower board, it is far more backpack-friendly. Additionally, the messenger-style bag that comes with it is surprisingly adaptable and fits my laptop as well. Strongly advised!
Apr 22, 2026
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#11
I Had the worst experience posible!! I bought it from Amazon, the product cam to me unfinished, the board was terrible......
How long ago was this? I thought that they have been sold out for a while now.
Apr 24, 2026
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#13
: I came across this product recently and it really caught my attention. I’ve been searching for something similar for a while, especially something practical and easy to carry around. What I’m mainly looking for is a compact solution that doesn’t take up too much space, but still feels solid and well-built. Ideally, it would be something that can fold or split in a simple way, without too many parts, so it fits easily in a backpack. The one I found seems promising, but I’m still a bit hesitant. The price is not cheap, and I don’t have much information about the quality or the manufacturer. I’ve seen a few alternatives, but none of them really match what I’m looking for in terms of design and functionality. Has anyone here tried this product or something similar? I’d really appreciate any feedback or recommendations, especially if there are better options out there that I might have missed.
I stumbled across this board last night:
https://www.amazon.com/Tempest-MagSplitTM-Full-Sized-Weatherproof-Equipment/dp/B0C6YC8SKB
which was exciting, since I have been looking for something exactly like this (although ideally in a smaller size). Specifically, I was looking for a board that either folded or split in two (not four) to make it fit easily in a backpack with a laptop; had no interior storage (to minimize volume as well as for strength). This and the World Chess Studio Travel Board are the only ones I've found so far that fit that bill.
At $250 I'm reluctant to just take the plunge and try it out, without knowing more about the product or manufacturer.
At $350 it is also sold in a bundle with pieces that look pretty nice:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CLJM34FS/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0
(These 'London' pieces to me look like a more refined take on some of the ideas behind the World Chess pieces - more detail on the knights, but a similar overall shape; bishops look quite similar with their ultra-fine mitre cut. There is also a bundle with "Zagreb" pieces, which I am less interested in personally but also look nicely done).
Anyone have experience with Tempest products, other than the clock?
Are there other foldable options that I haven't come across yet? I am familiar with the JLP "Stack" and Colorado Woodworker "Tower" boards, which also look great, but I think I would prefer something that halves rather than quarters, since it would make a more natural shape to fit in my bags.
thanks!