I've not heard that. In fact, it is coming from an eco flooring place. I doubt they would sell anything that had any type of off-gassing. She specifically mentioned their products not having any off-gassing. Maybe some types do, but I'm sure this type doesn't. She has this flooring in her own house with children, so I'm guessing it is decent stuff. We did receive a sample and it seems quite durable (we hit it with a hammer, put it underwater, etc...) and the finish was durable as well (I was worried about that, but I tried scratching it with various things), otherwise we wouldn't be getting it. I did lots of research on flooring. We wanted wood, and we wanted eco, BUT we couldn't spend $7-10 per sf on it! Hopefully, we are pleased. We aren't getting it because it is cheap (we could certainly get cheaper wood, but it wouldn't be eco-friendly), just cheaper than FSC certified wood or reclaimed wood. I think pretty much all bamboo comes from China, so there is no way around that. I think we will be just fine.

I got some strand woven samples from various companies, and it was pretty nice. I liked it more than the regular bamboo. Only down side is that this stuff is very heavy compared to the regular bamboo from what I rememeber.

What's wrong with heavy? I think that is better. I mean, we're putting it down on a concrete subfloor downstairs. Upstairs, it should be fine as well. Our house is only 10 years old. Of course it is heavier -- it is more dense because of the process of compressing it. We wouldn't even consider regular bamboo because it is just too soft. Our strand woven bamboo is 5/8" thick, so yes, it is thick and heavy, just what we want.

Oh, I did a little research on the off-gassing, and reputable companies minimize that, so it shouldn't be a problem for us.

There's nothing wrong with heavy, it's just a characteristic of strand woven.
I think a lot of that has to do with the compressing like you said, and there might be a good deal of glue used in this product as well.

I was just really surprised how heavy it was when I got a sample. Even more so that brazillian cherry / walnut, and other heavier exotic woods that had multiple plys.

Interesting. I'll let you know how we like it once we get it down. We're putting down 2300 sf, plus stairs, so it will take us a while. We're doing the downstairs this summer, then we'll do one room at a time upstairs.

Im always amused when people think they're being "eco" because they use bamboo. The stuff is full of glue, much of the labor is virtual slave labor and possibly children. The fact that it can be harvested in 8 years is one thing, but its not like the forests in the US are being pillaged, in fact there is more oak growing today than since the 1800s and that oak floor will last a whole lot longer saving iuntold amounts of energy in manufacturing and transport. Just saying there is more to being "eco" than meets the eye, *especially* with the stranded product. You do know that it is probably half glue? I always envision an old man standing over a big black pot of hot glue stirring strands of bamboo. Yea, thats ecolgically correct....