What Are The Best Sleeves For Pokémon Cards?

Different Kinds Of Sleeves

You’ve probably already discovered this, but there are many different kinds of sleeves to choose from. In this section of the post, I’ll compare and contrast the kinds you’ll find in retail stores or on Amazon.

Penny Sleeves

The penny sleeve earned its name due to its insignificant cost. Times are a little different now, but you used to be able to buy one hundred penny sleeves for $1.

A penny sleeve is a simple clear plastic sleeve. It’s basically just two pieces of plastic seamed together. You would typically buy them in packs of 100, 500, or 1,000.

Are these sleeves ok to use? Yep, they’re just fine. As long as you’re buying brand names, then you can trust them. You’ll find the cheap knock-off ones on websites like Wish or Aliexpress. Here are some brand names that we trust:

• Ultra Pro
• Dragon Shield
• Titan Shield
• Vault X
• Homthy
• BCW
• Ultimate Guard

Clear vs. Matte Sleeves

When choosing sleeves you have the option of clear or matte. This will refer to both sides, just the back, or sometimes just the face. 

The benefit of a clear sleeve is that it’s transparent. This allows the user to see the face of the Pokémon card without any hindrance. 

The benefit of a matte sleeve is that they slide easier when shuffling your deck. Many players of the TCG prefer matte sleeves for this reason.

Perfect-Fit Sleeves

Also known as ‘slim-fit’, or ‘pro-fit’ sleeves, perfect-fit just means that the sleeve is the same size as the card. A standard-size sleeve is slightly bigger, in comparison.

This is also what is referred to as an inner sleeve. Lots of trainers will double-sleeve their cards. This is when a card is inserted into an inner sleeve, then an outer sleeve. 

Resealable Sleeves

This is a specialty type of sleeve only made by the brand Dragon Shield, but worth mentioning. They’ve come up with a way to sleeve your card and seal it from all four sides. The design is unique and quite genius.

These double as inner sleeves since they are perfect-fit. If you have any concerns about your cards falling or absorbing moisture, these sleeves should rest your worries.

Side-Loading Sleeves

Side-loading sleeves are sleeves that have an opening on the side, as opposed to the top. In most cases, a top-loading sleeve will be better since the top and bottom edges are an inch shorter and expose less of the card.

But in some cases, a side-loading sleeve may make sense. Other than that, it’s all personal preference. However, side-loading sleeves aren’t as easy to find as top-loading. Most trainers prefer top-loading sleeves.

Elite Trainer Box Sleeves

One of the hottest Pokémon TCG products is the Elite Trainer Box. These come with booster packs, a booklet, accessories for the TCG, and sleeves. Actually, an ETB comes with 65 card sleeves featuring unique artwork on the back.

So, if sleeves are included in a Pokémon TCG product, you’d expect that they’re the best sleeves for Pokémon cards, right?

Well, this is a controversial subject. 

Many consider ETB sleeves to be low quality, but fine to use, while others claim they cause damage. The truth is that they do not cause damage if used correctly and carefully. When inserting or removing a card from a sleeve, never apply pressure to the card’s face, otherwise, you’ll risk scratching the surface of the card.

I did a whole in-depth look at ETB sleeves causing damage. The results are surprising (they can cause damage!).

If mishandling cards or improperly using accessories, almost all sleeves will be capable of causing damage.

However, ETB sleeves do seem to be of lower quality. And recently they’ve all been changed to matte from clear. The reason for this is that the matte sleeves make shuffling a deck easier, and when playing at an official event, your deck is required to have sleeves. After all, it is a TCG product.

Truthfully, if you like ETB sleeves, then use them! Who cares what others think? If you’re worried about damage, then use an inner sleeve first. 

Top Loaders And Card Savers

It’s worth mentioning semi-rigid and rigid sleeves. These are a little bit different but ultimately belong to the same family of card protection. Both are to be used with a card that has already been sleeved, otherwise, damage could occur.

Card Savers (Semi-rigid)]

These are typically used for shipping cards because they hold the card snugly, not allowing for any movement. The two panes of flexible plastic hug your card, which can lead to damage if you’re not careful.

Many collectors choose to attach a small sticky note to their sleeves card before inserting it into a card saver. This creates a pull tab for removing the card safely. Just squeeze the edges of the card saver and pull the card out safely. 

Top Loaders

Top loaders are like hard sleeves. They also can be found as side-loading, but 99% of the products you find will be top-loaded.

These are sometimes used for shipping but are more often used for personal collections. A top loader is good for card storage and fits nicely in ETB boxes.

The Best Sleeves For Pokémon Cards

As we mentioned in the introduction, it depends on what you’re doing with your cards. We’ve split it up into two different categories:

Best Sleeves For Playing The Pokémon TCG

Our top pick: ETB sleeves.

• We believe that the official ETB sleeves are the best for playing the TCG. ETB sleeves just make the most sense logically, plus they are compatible with inner sleeves.
• You get 65 each time you buy an ETB (Frequent supply depending on how often you purchase ETBs)
• Considered collector’s items by some
• Unique artwork that represents the latest set
• Matte finish

Best Sleeves For Collecting Cards

For collections, we recommend a perfect-fit sleeve and a top loader with a pull tab, unless you’re using a binder, in which case just a perfect-fit sleeve will do.

We highly recommend the Dragon Shield resealable sleeves for this.

For an outer sleeve, I recommend Ultra Pro standard-size sleeves, and for top loaders, we recommend either Ultra Pro.

If you have some very special cards, you should consider an inner sleeve, outer sleeve, and top loader or binder. This is three layers of protection from dust and dirt particles, moisture, and UV rays.

Conclusion

With such a wide array of products, it’s hard to crown a king. Each product seems to have its own strength that will pair with an individual collector or player. The key to is connect with other people and gather opinions, slowly forming your own preference in the process.