Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Like many others, I purchased this because of ATK. It had been on my wish list for quite a while and I decided to treat myself. First mistake is on me: this thing is enormous. Up until this point, I've been using the old ATK winner, the Totally Bamboo Congo (it's starting to show a little wear after several years of almost daily use). Right out of the package, this thing reeked! I couldn't get that stain smell out of my nose. Others had mentioned the staining - just on a first wash before storing, it leached stain all over my towels used to dry it. And then there were the splinters. I don't know if this is supposed to be an accepted thing, but I want my board to plug and play. I'm willing to do maintenance, that's how my current board has made it this far, but I don't think I should have to sand a $100 board. Now I'm lost in the sea of reviews looking for something decent in the size range of my old Congo. I might have to eek out a couple more years from it until ATK revamps this review because it was clearly based on an older version of this product.