What are the stiffest card protectors available?

[ptbob]

I am looking for card protectors that are not primarily "sleeves" for tournament play, but could still be used to play a game of magic with. Are there any hard protectors that are not exclusively used for display purposes that fit Magic cards?

[honestabe]

Not that i know of.  You can buy small sleeves to double sleeve with...

[ptbob]

Nobody has tried any of the different ultra pro products?

[forests failed you]

I work at RIW Hobbies so I have had a chance to sample or test out pretty much everything Magic supplies related.  The best sleeves I am yet to encounter are actually the Magic the Gathering brand ones.  ( I know, right?).  Not only are they the stiffest out of the major brands, but they did a really good job to not have any of the annoying imperfections on the sides where the clear and the backing come together.  Which, means that they are the easiest to shuffle--this becomes increasingly important if you are playing a format with more than 60 cards such as EDH or Peasant Highlander.  In addition to this they last longer than any of the other major sleeves, and i should know because I'm a very aggressive shuffler.  with Dragonshileds or Ultra Pros I can usually only get 1-2 tournaments out of a set of sleeves before they start to split, scratch or become ineffective.  With the MTG brand I can easily get 5-6 tournaments before they need to be replaced and that is only because they get gross and dirty from being handled for hours on end--not actually because they break.  So normal wear and tear stuff.  The only downside is they come in packs of 80 which is annoying for sleeving an EDH deck.  but 80 is fine for a constructed 60 card deck with sideboard.  I strongly recommend these sleeves.

[ReAnimator]

I've had nothing but bad experiences with the Magic brand sleeves. I've had a lot of them split or peel, or have imperfections where the clear part is too big for the back so they wobble and are totally marked. The Nicol bolas ones i bought out of the 80 i'm down to 64, which is really lame as if i lose many more i can't even sleeve a deck.

I've had the best results thickness wise with dragon shields and i've never had them split. That being said they are pretty thick and sometimes curve a lot. Also in the 100 count boxes usually 50 are one size and the other 50 are a different size, which is irritating but manageable.

So my experiences are totally opposite to FFY's.

I suggest just buying a couple different types and seeing what you like.

[GrandpaBelcher]

That's strange as I was actually going to back up FFY on the Magic-brand sleeves recommendation.  I have used several of the patterns (five mana symbols, Magic cardback, Squee, and Black Lotus) and all have held up well through the shuffling of testing and tournaments.  I also tend to be harsh on my sleeves and have lost only a few to splitting.  Plus, as Jerry Yang points out, using the Magic-cardback patterned sleeves lets you feel like you're playing actual Magic with actual cards.

[Webster]

This is the best choice by a mile (and is what I believe FFY was refering to). They last a very long time.

[Zombie Shakespeare]

How do they stack up to the old Yanoman 100ct. sleeves?

I've been burned a number of times by crappy sleeves from Ultra Pro that I've just avoided their brand entirely.

[ReAnimator]

Maybe it's just the batches in my city but every set of those sleeves (regardless of picture) have been super terrible just like all other ultra pro products i've tried since 1998.

i guess YMMV.

[Webster]

How do they stack up to the old Yanoman 100ct. sleeves?

I've been burned a number of times by crappy sleeves from Ultra Pro that I've just avoided their brand entirely.

Yanoman don't even compare those the ones in the picture. The problem with Yanoman is that the corners are too soft.

Maybe it's just the batches in my city but every set of those sleeves (regardless of picture) have been super terrible just like all other ultra pro products i've tried since 1998.

You can't lump up the sleeves shown above with the other Ultra Pro sleeves. They are different.




I've used everything. The magic-back sleeves are the best product I've come across. Despite what your previous experiences with Ultra Pro brand sleeves have been, I strongly recommend giving them a try.

[MEATROCKET]

I've used everything. The magic-back sleeves are the best product I've come across. Despite what your previous experiences with Ultra Pro brand sleeves have been, I strongly recommend giving them a try.

I can't stand these sleeves.  They feel cheap and break often.  They're also very annoying to shuffle - I can't really describe the feel, it's just awful for me.

KMC 100ct. packs, however, have been nothing short of amazing for me.  They're the most consistent I've used, quality-wise, and they last long enough.
If you get a good pack of Dragonshields, though, they are IMO the best sleeves period.  It's too bad most of the time the sleeves are horribly miscut or have awfully frayed edges, making them pretty much unplayable.

I never split KMC 100ct. (don't get me started on 80ct. packs) or Dragonshields.  I don't know what you guys are doing that makes these things split.  The Magic ones split because they're just low quality - consistently, in my experience.

As for stiffest sleeves, I have yet to try The Hardest Sleeves, or whatever they are called.  I think nikofromtokyo sells them..?

[MirariKnight]

As for stiffest sleeves, I have yet to try The Hardest Sleeves, or whatever they are called.  I think nikofromtokyo sells them..?

I've seen these before. They're insanely thick, not like a toploader or anything but as thick as if you made a 2-ply sleeve out of Dragonshields. I was going to try them but it's impossible to get Perfect Fits inside because they're so thick. Definitely the stiffest non-toploader option I've ever seen though.