Gemloader Binder Review

If you have high-value cards, you’ll want a premium product to store them in. I recently picked up my first Gemloader binder and I’m happy to report good things. Overall, this is an ultra-high-quality product, and worth the purchase. However, I do have some criticism. Buckle up for my in-depth review of the Gemloader top loader binder.

First Impressions

If you’re a reader of our blog, then you’ll know that I’ve reviewed a bunch of binders by now, and I can honestly say that this one had me the most shocked upon opening the package.

When I think of how far binders have come over the years, Gemloader is at the cutting edge with soft supple leather and perfectly stitched pages. It even smells good. 

From a high level, I can say that my first impressions were very good. It is incredibly exciting to open up a premium product like this and dive into some good old card organization.

Exterior

Aesthetic Design

The first thing you’ll notice when checking out a Gemloader binder is the unique cover. These binders stand apart due to their leather material and selection of colors. 

Sitting on a bookshelf, they look sophisticated, giving off a powerful presence.

The color selection is interesting, sticking to river tones. My personal choice was black, to match the rest of my binders, but the others look amazing.

The Gemloader logo is embossed on the front of the cover. It’s subtle and not too loud.

Materials

The covers are made from splash-resistant vegan leather, that feels amazing to the touch. This isn’t the cheap leather you find on other products, but it instead feels authentic and has a familiar feel to it, like a worn belt or fine leather shoe. 

The leather covers are probably the most important characteristic of Gemloader’s mission to provide a premium product, and they nail it.

The zipper is smooth and fluid with no indication that it will ever snag or fall apart. It has a little silicon cover on it with the Gemloader logo so you can easily grip it.

Interior

Pages and Pockets

Remember the clear plastic card pages we used when we were kids? They were top-loaded pockets that collected dust and dirt over time, and of course, clicked into a 3-ring binder. 

These pages are the opposite of that.

Gemloader uses ultra-clear side-loading pockets sonically welded to a black page, in a 3×3 layout. This provides a modern and sleek presentation when viewing your cards. 

After flipping through the binder multiple times and inserting/removing many top loaders, I didn’t see any signs of the welds or ‘stitching’ coming loose anywhere. 

Materials

If you’ve read my other binder reviews then you’ll know that my pet peeve is the inside cover of a binder being scratchy!

I’m proud to report that Gemloader uses an ultra-soft suede on its inside covers. There is actually a very important practical purpose for this since the inside cover will rub against the front page over time. A soft suede material will ensure that the front page does not become scratched and marred over long-term use. 

Another area I want to comment on is the clarity of the pockets. All binder manufacturers boat “crystal-clear” plastic, but in this case, Gemloader’s pockets really are perfectly clear. 

Price

Okay, let’s talk about the price. 

This is a premium product, which means that Gemloader has developed a solution to card storage using premium materials, and therefore it’s going to cost more than your regular binder.

You can check binder prices here, on their official website.

The exact binder I’m reviewing today (Premium 3”X4” toploader fit collector’s binder [216 pockets 3X3]) currently sells for $75 CAD or about $55 USD. 

This places the Gemloader binders at a cost of almost 2X a regular no-name binder you can find on Amazon.

Let’s compare Gemloader to some other top loader binders available on Amazon.