Discussion Sleeve Discussion Thread

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Professor_jplap

Aspiring Trainer
Member
1). What kind of sleeves do you use?
2).What sleeves have you tried?
3). which have worked?
4). How much do you keep handy at a tournament?

Talk about sleeves :).
 
I double sleeve all my cards worth keeping and my decks with KMC Perfects, and then put those inside Ultra Pro black matte sleeves. Once you compress the air out of the sleeves, you can hardly notice that the KMCs are there. On top of that, I've found that this helps the longevity of the Ultra Pros- I mostly mash shuffle and have only had around 10 sleeves get bent corners.

I've tried using the ETB sleeves, but I'm not a big fan of glossy sleeves, they don't shuffle nearly as smoothly as mattes. They're gorgeous, but... They stick to eachother a little too well, so mash shuffling them needs a bit of force. I imagine the other sleeves you get on the Pokemon Center site are the same.

As far as character sleeves go, while not legal for official play, I have a couple sets of these really nice Yume Nikki sleeves that I adore:

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Unfortunately, I've used most of them to the point where the corners are nicked or the sleeves are too worn, so I just keep them in my sleeve collection. I have a few other character sleeves I've ordered from Japan, and most of them are incredibly high quality and worth the ~15 dollars for a set of 60. Again, though, they're not legal for PTCG official play, so I mostly keep them for my sleeve collection or hold onto them in case I get back into Weiss Schwarz.
 
I just use the standard Ultra Pro sleeves (i.e the cheapest ones I could find). I've tried some elite trainer box sleeves that my brother has, and honestly those were pretty bad (though i don't think that's a big secret). Ultra Pro sleeves are the only ones I've really played with for long periods of time, and they do a fine job. I keep the sleeves from the XY collection box sitting in my room, and I'm probably never going to use them, partly for sentimental value, partly because who knows, they could be valuable some day, but mostly just because I know they'd get really bade really quickly. Overall, Ultra Pro has worked the best for me. If I ever have some spare money, though, I might consider getting some pricier sleeves.

I don't go to tournaments, so I can't answer the fourth question.
 
I have tried Ultra Pros and Dragon shields, and so far I really like the Dragon shields because they last a while and feel nice while shuffling, and I usually keep at least 70 sleeves so you have 10 extra in case your sleeves break, Hope you find this helpful. :)
 
I use the Goomy sleeves from Pokémon Center .com.
I have tried those and some Ultra Pro.
I prefer Ultra Pro because they're easier to shuffle, but I can't give away my Goomy!
I love on the edge and don't keep any handy. I should keep one or two, because I don't rip sleeves much.
 
I use KMC sleeves. They are smooth, easy to shuffle with and have good longevity to protect the cards I'm playing with. I usually keep a back up of KMC sleeves with me in case a sleeve or 2 split during tournament, but it's never happened. I still keep it around for peace of mind lol.

I've tried the pokemon sleeves from the trainer boxes, pokemon sleeves from pokemon centres in Japan, ultra pro sleeves and dragon shields.

Yeah as Shfinx mentioned above ^ pokemon sleeves aren't exactly the best around. If you've got the ETB and got no other sleeves, they'll do the job, but be warned they won't protect the cards as long as other brands out there. So I use them to send cards off.
The pokemon sleeves from Japan, however, are a bit better in comparison. They are much smoother, easier to shuffle, look better in design and plus they have much more in variety to choose from. I usually use them to play against friends, so I can reserve my KMC sleeves for tournaments.
Ultra pro sleeves are decent, plus they are a great way to start off in protecting your cards. Pretty much average all round. If I didn't have KMC available to me, I'd go back to ultra pro and use them in tournaments.
Dragon shields I found didn't last as long as KMC, but lasted longer than ultra pros. Smoother than KMC, bit too much for my liking.

End of the day, it's up to users in the card game which sleeves they'd want, whether it be for playing or collection. My advice is to research; KMC, ultra pro and dragon shield - they are usually the big ones out there. If you can, ask some people around to see if you can get a feel of the sleeves and then make your choice of purchase.
 
Currently Im using Dragon shields mattes. And they shuffle quite nice. So Im definitely happy with these, they last reasonably long (for me) and theyre well priced for their quality.

I have tried ultra pro eclipse in the past but even though they shuffle like the best honestly, they dirt up very fast and also bent easily. I noticed for myself i bend sleeves quite often (And i have no idea how others dont lol) though thats just me, I heard its not just me for who eclipse have a very short durability. Though if you dont care about spending a lot on sleeves then eclipse are pretty good.
I also tried KMC hypermattes though those were just a flop for me. Allthough their perfect fits are great for double sleeving I wouldnt use their hypermattes.
Lastly I tried the elite trainer box sleeves but those aren't the best either. They stick together, break easily, get marked easily. So I wouldnt yse those for play, but theyre fine for storage/collection.

At the moment Im the biggest fan of dragonshields mattes for regular sleeves, and kmc perfect fits as perfect fits for play. For storage most sleeves will do.

I usually try to keep another 60+ spare sleeves but like I mentioned I break sleeves quite easily. Though you can never have enough extras!
 
Double sleeve with dragon shield matte.
I have those for six months now and they are like new. I play only on weekends, but still...
 
I'm a big fan of the Dragonshield Matte sleeves. The old forula for KMC Hypermattes is really good too however thier quality as since tanked very hard since the company changed ownership.

Another popular set of sleeves is the Ultra Pro Eclipse however I've had bad luck with them. Out of the package they have such an amazing shuffle feel though they're highly susceptible to warmer temps. I made the mistake of leaving my backpack in the car for like an hour and the sleeves went from a wonderful shuffle to this gross-feeling clumping disaster. On the flip side, the Dragonshields I had in the backpack as well couldn't of cared less.

If you're ever wondering what the best options are for sleeves, deck boxes, and binders I would suggest checking out the Professor.

 
I usually go Ultra Pro and/or Dragon Shield. we are always trying out new colors.
for tournaments. me and my kids always have a few spares.
and we usually have another full set of 60+2 ish sleeves.
i don't overly worry about it, at most tournaments, whether its a convention center or store. getting another set of sleeves isn't difficult.
like all, the graphic sleeves are pretty, but they don't last long and easily delaminate.
 
biffthepotato said:
I have tried Ultra Pros and Dragon shields, and so far I really like the Dragon shields because they last a while and feel nice while shuffling, and I usually keep at least 70 sleeves so you have 10 extra in case your sleeves break, Hope you find this helpful. :)
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My dragon shield sleeves I was given from a card shop I go to have lasted me a long time lol so I definitely trust in shields.
 
Vulpixy said:
I'm a big fan of the Dragonshield Matte sleeves. The old forula for KMC Hypermattes is really good too however thier quality as since tanked very hard since the company changed ownership.

Another popular set of sleeves is the Ultra Pro Eclipse however I've had bad luck with them. Out of the package they have such an amazing shuffle feel though they're highly susceptible to warmer temps. I made the mistake of leaving my backpack in the car for like an hour and the sleeves went from a wonderful shuffle to this gross-feeling clumping disaster. On the flip side, the Dragonshields I had in the backpack as well couldn't of cared less.

If you're ever wondering what the best options are for sleeves, deck boxes, and binders I would suggest checking out the Professor.

Click to expand...
I didn't know they changed ownership :O
Now I know why I stopped buying them lol.
 
Does anyone happen to know the quality of the Japanese pokemon store sleeves? Thinking about grabbing a pack from ebay, but if they're crap quality I don't wanna spend the money.
 
FoolMeNever2 said:
Does anyone happen to know the quality of the Japanese pokemon store sleeves? Thinking about grabbing a pack from ebay, but if they're crap quality I don't wanna spend the money.
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I haven't played with them, personally, but I wouldn't expect anything spectacular. If they're ones with designs, they probably don't last very long.
 
FoolMeNever2 said:
Does anyone happen to know the quality of the Japanese pokemon store sleeves? Thinking about grabbing a pack from ebay, but if they're crap quality I don't wanna spend the money.
Click to expand...
Which do you mean? If you mean matte they are pretty good, but the etb/gloss ones break with a bit of shuffling. You can get the gloss ones, but sleeve over them for sure ( I know some TOs don't allow this)
 
Dragon Shield Mattes or bust for me. Unfortunately, I have what's known as focal hyperhidrosis (basically sweaty hands), which is brought on by even mildly stressful situations, so at tournaments the moisture will actually cause non-matte sleeves to stick together and become next to impossible to shuffle properly. Mattes don't have that problem and the Dragon Shields are absolutely the highest quality matte I've tried; I used to go through Ultra Pros like it was nothing and would usually break 1 or 2 a week whereas I think I've literally only had one single Dragon Shield actually break in over a year and a half of playing exclusively with them.

I primarily use dark blue but am also partial to the apple greens.
 
pikachuuuu101 said:
Which do you mean? If you mean matte they are pretty good, but the etb/gloss ones break with a bit of shuffling. You can get the gloss ones, but sleeve over them for sure ( I know some TOs don't allow this)
Click to expand...

A general rule of thumb is card sleeves with art on the back of them are easily damaged from shuffling because they often have an art layer on the back of the sleeve that pulls off so people who use them play over sleeve to protect them but you'll be using a double sleeved deck, which aren't the easiest to shuffle. I have had the chance to play with them and they do feel nice but I always fear I will damage them. For me, they are just eye candy and should be protected if you use them.

I have heard from people the Ultra Pro Eclipse are really good and sturdy with some saying they are now better than KMC sleeve since they changed their formula. I do love Dragon Shield sleeve but for me, they get dirtier a hell of a lot faster than KMC does and for the price of the sleeves being similar, I tend to go with KMC even with the now lower quality. I have yet to test with Ultra Pro Eclipse and this is due to the fact it's Ultra Pro but I was given a demo pair to use and they did feel nice. My only issue is I couldn't double sleeve with them, which was a huge knock against them because I double sleeve to better protect my cards.

All in all, it ultimately comes down to player preference. With the lower quality in KMC sleeves now, I have yet to experience them ripping or becoming damage but my friend has. My friend also has been using the same Dragon Shield sleeves for over three years that he places on every deck but I find myself replacing them often because of how quickly they become gunky but Dragon Shield sleeve aren't completely opaque. A MtG player was given a match loss because his sleeves weren't completely solid, which is why I avoid a lot of the colors, which defeats the purpose of colored sleeves so this may be a problem in higher level tournaments.

What you can do is test around with them though. If you choose to get art backed sleeves, invest in some KMC character guard over sleeves to pretect them. They are pretty expensive though. They are about 10ish bucks bucks and can be as much as 16 bucks simply because most card stores don't carry them.
 
My local store recently started carrying Dex sleeves. I bought 2 sets and so far they are holding up even better than my Dragon Shields. No rippling along the open edge or limp corners. They're also about $1.00 cheaper than Dragon Shields.
 
I still use those Garchomp sleeves from the Supreme Victors pre-release
 
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