Choosing the best trading card sleeves is similar to picking your first starting Pokemon; it’s either a good or awful decision. We have been collecting trading cards for well over two decades, and we’ve seen our fair share of awful as well as wonderful trading card sleeves.
The majority of them are based on personal choice, but you’ll notice that the occasional recognizable name keeps coming up since, in some cases, quality trumps price, especially when it comes to sleeving your rare Pokemon or sports cards.
We’ll also go through the different sorts of sleeves in this post if you need to sleeve and protect your trading cards with another piece of trading card equipment. Nobody said it was going to be a cheap hobby, okay?
We’re even enticed by the new Collectors Cabinets, which store your PSA graded cards in a museum-quality container that deters thieves. These card protectors and accessories are really popular right now and for a good reason!
So, without further ado, here are some of the greatest trading cards sleeves money can buy in 2021. You might also be interested in the finest trading card binders, as they go hand in hand!
Titan Shield Pocket Protectors
Trading card sleeves come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and sleeving all of your cards by hand may be a chore in and of itself, especially if they aren’t considered “unique” or “collectible.”
So, to keep our common and uncommon cards in quantity, we utilize the Titan Shield 9-pocket protector in a binder. These are 120mc thick sheets with great clarity that can contain sleeved or non-sleeved cards in your binders.
These often last longer than regular pages; you’ll find yourself using them for longer periods of time, and the content used is quite clear. They won’t fade with time, and ripping the edges will be difficult if you carry your collection around with you.
We noted that the edges have a strong welding structure, which means cuts in between the slots are unusual. This is something we used to see with cheap page protectors, but not with these!
Dragon Shield
Dragon Shield has been around for a while, but many trading card collectors have only had positive things to say about these amazing sleeves during the last several years. Its creators are committed to developing the greatest trading card sleeves for collectors and gamers who use their cards daily.
When utilizing cards for the game on a daily basis, wear and tear is a major consideration; you don’t want your sleeves to rip or become slick since this might result in trading card damage. Dragon Shield has designed a sleeve similar to its rivals, but it is a long-lasting, sturdy sleeve with a brand that includes many fearsome dragons as its “color code.”
It’s also good that their sleeves come in a compact box, making it easy to get in and out of a sleeve whether you’re opening a lot of packs or making YouTube videos. Dragon Shield is a new trading card sleeve company that competes with Ultra Pro.
Top Loaders
Some could argue that top loaders aren’t trading card sleeves, but we disagree. Ultra Pro top-loaders are thicker, more protective sleeves that house your cards in a way that prevents them from being damaged while being kept.
These top loaders can also hold sleeved cards, which is the recommended method of use. Traditionally, you would sleeve your cards in penny sleeves and place them in a top loader for maximum protection.
We use them to store all of our rare non-graded cards, which are subsequently placed in a protective box. You can buy top loaders in a variety of shapes, sizes, and toppers, but the originals are by far the finest.
We’ve even seen top loaders with little supports on the rear, allowing them to be displayed if desired, though top loaders are primarily used for protected storage.
The main disadvantage of top loaders is that your cards might move around significantly inside them on occasion, especially if they are not sleeved appropriately. Because penny sleeves tend to wander about a lot in top loaders, we recommend using pro-matte or thicker sleeves.
These are the greatest method to store your cards comfortably and efficiently. They are inexpensive, protective, and the greatest method to keep your cards comfortably and efficiently.
Ultra Pro Pro-Matte Sleeves
The Ultra Pro non-glare Pro-Matte sleeves are our second favorite trading card sleeves. Because of the non-glare and non-reflective material, these are usually targeted at individuals who actively play the trading card game.
This merely aids in examining the card in poor light and allowing other players to see the card well. That is, however, why we enjoy sleeving our collection in them. To be able to view the cards as clearly as possible.
Because we run a YouTube channel devoted to Pokemon Cards called Break The Seal, having sleeves that decrease our studio lights and eliminate reflection helps us make our cards more apparent in our video material.
These sleeves are also acid-free and do not include any PVC, extending the life of your card and preventing any harm if you use them for a long period. They also come in a variety of colors, allowing you to match your sets. Maybe you want your rare Pokemon Topps cards to be a different color than the TCG?
Ultra Pro Penny Sleeves
Penny sleeves are the first and finest investment you can make for your trading card collection. Many firms no longer refer to them as penny sleeves since they no longer cost a cent due to inflation and increased demand.
However, many people in the trading card world still refer to it by that name. These sleeves are the cheapest of the bunch, yet they come in handy in a variety of situations.
They’re usually the most adaptable, secure, and cost-effective solution to sleeve your cards. They’re recognized for not scratching your cards while sleeving them, for being completely transparent, and for being highly flexible, allowing for minimal strain or movement while moving your deck about.
These are also utilized when sending your cards to PSA or Beckett for grading. Before mailing, these firms ask that you sleeve them in penny sleeves to protect them in the mail and make it easier for the grading staff to remove them.
This is why they’re so popular: they’re simple, and larger card collectors who like grading prefer them over resleeved cards when purchasing cards on eBay.
The fewer cards that are touched, the better. For every existing or aspiring trading card collector, they are a must-have item.
