I don't know anything about the products, but if its the scratching you're concerned about, can you see what happens if you intentionally scratch the tiny sample you have - use a nail or something like that?

I'm also looking for a stone look on a laminate budget. I don't have any experience with Wilsonart, but just wanted to share what our contractor told us. He isn't a fan of HD laminate because he has received some complaints about them, but he also says there's plenty of folks who haven't had any issues. As far as Formica goes, he says anything with a finish code of 56 or 58 (matte) is going to be more durable than something with a code of a 42 or 46 (HD and more shiny). I read the thread about the Formica basalt slate and I see that it's only available in a crystal finish which is a code 42. This is probably the type of thing my contractor was telling me about, so I decided to play it safe and go with a matte laminate, code 58. Hope that helps!

Have you looked at the Formica 180FX?

Here is a link that might be useful: 180FX

I could scratch it, but I'm not so much worried about that as the overall look. Though scratching would be annoying, for sure...

LCaroline12, do you mind if I ask which one specifically you ended up going with? The finish code is super helpful! Thanks! It's weird the Basalt Slate is a 42, because the sample I have is a "honed" finish, which looks really matte. I don't know where to find the finish code, though... I'll check the website.

I did see the 180FX -- they're gorgeous! I'm guessing even more expensive though... I was supposed to have a few samples of those coming as well, but Formica totally dropped the ball on my order.