Apache Rack Review (2 Viewers)

[GianThaMan]

I get it man, all you got to do is find somebody else who stole and then you are ok to steal. It’s how the world works man. Feel good about yourself, it’s all about how you justify it anyway, not what’s legal or right.

It's completely legal, Matsui doesn't have a patent on it, as it's just an interlocking plastic box. The design is in no way unique, it's just a few tubes connected by plastic. Continue paying extra for worse racks that have a brand name, that's your choice.

 

[ekricket]

It's completely legal, Matsui doesn't have a patent on it, as it's just an interlocking plastic box. The design is in no way unique, it's just a few tubes connected by plastic. Continue paying extra for worse racks that have a brand name, that's your choice.

Dude, people like you are why we worry about the security of our chips in our games. “It’s just a round disc with printing in it, completely legal. Who cares if it looks just like yours or was modeled off of yours.”

 

[BearMetal]

Dude, people like you are why we worry about the security of our chips in our games. “It’s just a round disc with printing in it, completely legal. Who cares if it looks just like yours or was modeled off of yours.”

I think there's a big difference between duplicating chips in order to steal money directly from an organization and copying a non-patented design, improving on it, and offering it in a market where you can't obtain the original design.

Yes, the Chinese manufacturers will most likely copy anything (Transformer toys are a great example of this), but in this case, I don't think that there's any thieving here.

 

[JoeyMack]

@JoeyMack -- can you please measure the footprint on the Apache racks? (width x length)

I'm looking to compare the size needed in my plucked-foam carriers (which are already plucked for 39mm Chipco/PGI racks). Thanks!

No worries! Measurements in pictures for accuracy. Included height to be thorough.

Length

Width

Height

 

[Venturalvn]

Excellent review! I normally wouldn't have interest in this style, but this might be exactly the right buck for my GN cards mold since that'll serve as a travel set as well.

I'm also linking to your review in this thread https://www.pokerchipforum.com/threads/the-definitive-poker-chip-rack-thread.65035/#post-1291058.

 

[JoeyMack]

And yes...they do fit in birdcages (at least they did fit in the one I bought from Apache).

 

[sfsant18]

Thanks for the review

 

[TwoHomie]

How much wiggle room (technical term) is there with 20 chips in each barrel? My cheap amazon racks fit comfortably 21 chips in each, which annoys me way too much.

 

[allforcharity]

How much wiggle room (technical term) is there with 20 chips in each barrel? My cheap amazon racks fit comfortably 21 chips in each, which annoys me way too much.

Depends on the condition of the chips and the size of the rack. I've had up to 23 well used clay chips fit into a cheap rack along the length of one barrel.

 

[JoeyMack]

How much wiggle room (technical term) is there with 20 chips in each barrel? My cheap amazon racks fit comfortably 21 chips in each, which annoys me way too much.

There definitely is a little wiggle room in the racks, but not enough for 21 chips. That being said I am using new, unfelted Paulsons. The story would definitely change if you are storing worn chips or a different chip brands. I tried fitting my TRK exc/casino used s/u Nevada Lodge $1s and they could fit snugly with 2 spacers. Mint NL $25s would only fit 1 spacer, but with a bit of extra space. Since a picture is worth 1000 words, here ya go:

20 chips only

Adding a plastic spacer (side view)

Adding a plastic spacer (front view)

Adding a 21st chip (side view)

Adding a 21st chip (front view)

TRK casino used s/u snugly with 2 spacers

TRK mint with 1 spacer

 

[TwoHomie]

There definitely is a little wiggle room in the racks, but not enough for 21 chips. That being said I am using new, unfelted Paulsons. The story would definitely change if you are storing worn chips or a different chip brands. I tried fitting my TRK exc/casino used s/u Nevada Lodge $1s and they could fit snugly with 2 spacers. Mint NL $25s would only fit 1 spacer, but with a bit of extra space. Since a picture is worth 1000 words, here ya go:

20 chips only
View attachment 575338

Adding a plastic spacer (side view)
View attachment 575339

Adding a plastic spacer (front view)
View attachment 575340

Adding a 21st chip (side view)
View attachment 575342

Adding a 21st chip (front view)
View attachment 575343

TRK casino used s/u snugly with 2 spacers
View attachment 575348

TRK mint with 1 spacer
View attachment 575349

Ahhhh thank you so much for posting these. Exactly what i was looking for.

 

[redeagle]

@JoeyMack Great post. Thanks for the results and pics.

I can validate the same results. I have a little wiggle room in the racks, but not enough for 21 chips. I have used a mix of ceramic and various samples (Dunes, Majestics, Royals). Great for storage and I like how both the 39mm and 43mm chips fit well. I would probably not want to transport chips in these without a small spacer.

 

[coolguy101]

I got some of these racks. My Paulsons don’t fit well. It holds 21 chips per row. If I only put 20, they’re is a large gap and they move around a lot.

 

[BearMetal]

I got some of these racks. My Paulsons don’t fit well. It holds 21 chips per row. If I only put 20, they’re is a large gap and they move around a lot.

They "don't fit well" compared to Matsuis, or they "don't fit well" and you haven't tried them in Matsuis...

There is always going to be extra room since they can hold 39mm and 43mm. For my mint to slightly used Paulsons, I can only get 20 in them. If you're able to fit 21, you must have much more worn chips. Can you post a picture?

 

[FordPickup92]

@toynoob

 

[coolguy101]

They "don't fit well" compared to Matsuis, or they "don't fit well" and you haven't tried them in Matsuis...

There is always going to be extra room since they can hold 39mm and 43mm. For my mint to slightly used Paulsons, I can only get 20 in them. If you're able to fit 21, you must have much more worn chips. Can you post a picture?

 

[BearMetal]

View attachment 580201

Hmmm - my guess is that you can only fit an extra chip easily in rows 2 and 3 since those are quite a bit shorter than the other barrels. The point of these racks is for vertical storage, not for transportation, so the slight bit of movement you get shouldn't be a problem.

However, yes, it does suck that some rows can fit 21, but that's a cost of used chips, right?

 

[coolguy101]

I can fit 21 easily in all rows. I don’t want to, though, because I don’t have extra chips to fill those gaps. I have 1,000 chips, and 10 racks. Nor do I want to have to buy 50 more chips to make them fit right. The cover does eliminate the problem of stacking the racks, though. Without it it would be almost unusable. It’s super wobbly when I stack them on top of each other without the covers.

 

[BearMetal]

I can fit 21 easily in all rows. I don’t want to, though, because I don’t have extra chips to fill those gaps. I have 1,000 chips, and 10 racks. Nor do I want to have to buy 50 more chips to make them fit right. The cover does eliminate the problem of stacking the racks, though. Without it it would be almost unusable. It’s super wobbly when I stack them on top of each other without the covers.

Yes, these racks are specifically meant to be used with the tops; they interlock and prevent and weight from being placed on the chip. When you place these racks inside of bird cages, you can easily transport them short distances without any worry about the movement of the chips. Clear spacers could always be used in the event you want to hold them tight against the front/back.

 

[allforcharity]

I can fit 21 easily in all rows. I don’t want to, though, because I don’t have extra chips to fill those gaps. I have 1,000 chips, and 10 racks. Nor do I want to have to buy 50 more chips to make them fit right. The cover does eliminate the problem of stacking the racks, though. Without it it would be almost unusable. It’s super wobbly when I stack them on top of each other without the covers.

Foam spacers? Or even those felt pads that go under furniture feet?

 

[ChipFinderSK]

Appreciate the review, plus your responses to people asking for pictures, measurements, etc.

As someone who doesn’t have racks of 43 mm chips, would you recommend these for 39 mm chips? The extra space is a little concerning.

(The racks I do have fit mint Paulsons perfectly, but I still might be interested in getting some of these covered racks)

 

[BearMetal]

Foam spacers? Or even those felt pads that go under furniture feet?

I was thinking something like this: https://spinettisgaming.com/collections/chip-dealer-trays/products/chip-spacer

But, sure, I guess anything foam would work. I just wouldn't want anything sticky or that could break down over time and stick to the chips. Of course, this is unnecessary really since the rack tops take all pressure off the chips. It's only if the space really tilts @coolguy101 ...

Edit: you could also order like 20 blank ceramic chips from BRPro to use as spaces as well...

 

[BearMetal]

Appreciate the review, plus your responses to people asking for pictures, measurements, etc.

As someone who doesn’t have racks of 43 mm chips, would you recommend these for 39 mm chips? The extra space is a little concerning.

(The racks I do have fit mint Paulsons perfectly, but I still might be interested in getting some of these covered racks)

100% recommend them! I had a thread a while back that asked about people storing chips long-term stacked 500 high in normal chipco racks. Most people said there were no problems, but some showed signs of chip damage from weight where the rack touched the chips.

These racks completely eliminate the problem by having the weight distributed across the plastic top. However, there is some movement b/c they can accommodate 43mm chips as well. This isn't a problem and shouldn't be any issue. These racks are fantastic for storing chips; transporting, no. I might be OK putting my birdcage in the car, buckling it in, and driving like 20 minutes.

 

[JoeyMack]

Appreciate the review, plus your responses to people asking for pictures, measurements, etc.

As someone who doesn’t have racks of 43 mm chips, would you recommend these for 39 mm chips? The extra space is a little concerning.

(The racks I do have fit mint Paulsons perfectly, but I still might be interested in getting some of these covered racks)

Yes! Everything that @BearMetal said. It’s a great rack for storage and display, not for transport. I would even upgrade if I only had 39mm as it gives you the flexibility if you do end up getting 43mm in the future.

 

[JoeyMack]

View attachment 580201

That’s a bummer. But with worn chips you are going to have that same problem with a Matsui, Paulson, or Chipco racks. Are use the plastic spacers like the one from Spinetti‘s (although got them on Amazon for cheap) and they work but they’re not perfect. I know @One Eyed Dollar was making spacers for the Matsuis...Maybe he will make some for the Apaches?

 

[coolguy101]

Here is with 21 chips inserted

 

[coolguy101]

That’s a bummer. But with worn chips you are going to have that same problem with a Matsui, Paulson, or Chipco racks. Are use the plastic spacers like the one from Spinetti‘s (although got them on Amazon for cheap) and they work but they’re not perfect. I know @One Eyed Dollar was making spacers for the Matsuis...Maybe he will make some for the Apaches?

I guess....but when I’ve played poker at casinos, the chips never fit in the racks like that. They always fit nice and tight, and both the racks and chips were well used and worn.

 

[BearMetal]

I found a few used barrels where I can fit 21. in this image the barrel on the left is a new barrel and the 21st chip does not fit in. The barrel on the right is a used barrel and it does fit 21 as pictured.

However, I'm also able to put a ceramic chip in there to hold it in place. So I don't think that the fact that used barrels could fit 21 should deter you from these racks. You can get either the plastic spacers or a bunch of blank BR pro ceramics.

I took these same two barrels and I placed them into a chipco rack. These racks I found are the snuggest especially for Paulson RHC. The barrel on the left was rock solid and did not move. The barrel on the right, although it could not actually fit a 21st chip, had back and forth sway. Frankly if I was going to put another rack directly on top, even that sway in the chipco rack would concern me. However in the matsui / Apache racks it does not since there's zero weight on the chip.

 

[BearMetal]

I would even upgrade if I only had 39mm as it gives you the flexibility if you do end up getting 43mm in the future.

There's a reason that I bought a hundred of these suckers. It's because they are so versatile and prevent damage to the chips. Here's an image of exactly that: this is a standard bird cage and the bottom rack is a mixture of 39mm $100 and 43mm IHC $1k/$5k.

 

[JoeyMack]

Yep. Same here. 60 racks and counting!