Something I did was to get a 4' x 8' board of something called either "shower board", "melamine board", or "hardboard" (depends on the store you're in). Here it is at Lowe's: http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=16605-46498-3.... It's around $13. They're not as nice or durable as "real" whiteboards, but they work surprisingly well, considering their low cost.
In a Lowe's or a Home Depot, you can have them cut the board to a custom size, usually for $0.25 a cut (or free if you're polite). So I had them cut the board into three panels, each 48" x 32". (Also makes it easier to transport than a single 4' x 8' board.) And then I got some "mirror clips" (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001KAKT1O/) for $2 or so (for a four-pack).
So for less than $20, you can have three mounted boards, each one being a pretty good size. And, actually, I only got one four-pack of clips, and kept the other two boards mobile, for moving around from one room to another.
So $15 for a mounted whiteboard and two mobile whiteboards. It's hard to beat that. (But I do think the bamboo boards look awfully nice.)
We use shower boards at the startup where I work, and we not only mount them on walls but also cut them into smaller whiteboards that we can carry around in "decks." We might take a blank deck into a conference room, work out a design on several mini-whiteboards, and then carry them back to our offices to refer to when coding.
In a Lowe's or a Home Depot, you can have them cut the board to a custom size, usually for $0.25 a cut (or free if you're polite). So I had them cut the board into three panels, each 48" x 32". (Also makes it easier to transport than a single 4' x 8' board.) And then I got some "mirror clips" (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001KAKT1O/) for $2 or so (for a four-pack).
So for less than $20, you can have three mounted boards, each one being a pretty good size. And, actually, I only got one four-pack of clips, and kept the other two boards mobile, for moving around from one room to another.
So $15 for a mounted whiteboard and two mobile whiteboards. It's hard to beat that. (But I do think the bamboo boards look awfully nice.)