Putting your Pokemon in card sleeves is a definite must. Card sleeves will help keep your valuable cards in mint condition for later grading by the PSA. If you don’t ever plan on getting your cards graded, penny sleeves are still a great way to help your card hold the most value by keeping them protected.
Penny sleeves come in wide variety of sizes, and brands. Standard sized penny sleeves are the best fitment for Pokemon cards, however it may be difficult to choose the best ones with sheer amount of options available. We sifted through the competition to bring you the best penny sleeves available for your Pokemon collection.
In our comprehensive guide to the best penny sleeves for Pokemon cards, we’ll show you the best sleeves on the market for the money and give you some advice when it comes time to choose. Let’s get started.
IN A HURRY? HERE’S OUR TOP PICKS…
| Name | Our Rating | Price |
|---|---|---|
Ultra PRO Clear Card Sleeves | 5/5 | Click for Price |
| TitanShield Clear Standard Size Card Sleeves | 4.5/5 | Click for Price |
| Vault X Soft Trading Card Sleeves | 4/5 | Click for Price |
1- Ultra PRO Clear Card Sleeves
Our top pick for the best penny sleeve for your Pokemon cards is the Ultra PRO penny sleeves. We decided to place Ultra PRO at the top as they have high quality sleeves along with the best accessibility of almost any card sleeve on the market. What we mean by this is that you can find these sleeves in almost every national retailer in your area from Target to Walmart.
Their sleeves offer overall great protection for single cards and are made out of a high quality polypropylene material and are both acid and pvc free. On top of being high quality, they also come in a variety of bundle packs at a great price. This particular bundle comes with a whopping 500 card sleeves which is enough to sleeve a large collection.
Not only does Ultra PRO strive to bring high quality products to the table, but they are the most easily available as they can be found in almost any retail or hobby card store. This bundle comes with 5 packs of 100 sleeves and are also able to fit into top loaded card holders.
What we like
- High quality
- 500 card sleeve bundle
- Good Priced
What we don’t like
- May feel cheap/lose
Check Price and Reviews on Amazon
2- TitanShield Clear Standard Size Card Sleeves
The runner up penny sleeves on our list are the clear TitanShield card sleeves. This awesome value pack comes with 150 card sleeves. This is mostly enough to sleeve most play decks or games. A pretty unique feature that these penny sleeves have over other brands are that they come dual textured and with anti-slip properties.
Standard penny sleeves are very known for feeling loose and slippery, but these will be able to be handled a lot more easily which allows for great shuffle ability as well as excellent protection for only being labeled as penny sleeves.
On top of that, these sleeves are made out of a high quality polypropylene material, and are both acid and pvc free. At 100 microns thick, these card sleeves are specifically designed to fit trading cards like Pokemon and Magic the Gathering.
What we like
- Great Price
- Dual textured and anti-slip
- High quality
What we don’t like
- Wear out fast and will have to be replaced often
Check Price and Reviews on Amazon
3- Vault X Soft Trading Card Sleeves
The next penny sleeve on our list by Vault X. Vault X is a fairly new company but has been innovating the industry ever since they started releasing products. Their unique penny sleeves prove to be just that and have made our list as one of the best for your Pokemon cards.
These card sleeves are roughly 40 microns thick which make them perfect for protecting your cards before sending them in to be graded by the PSA, BGW, etc. They are high quality, vividly clear, and made from archival-safe, acid-free, and PVC free material.
If you are looking for something different from Ultra PRO or TitanShield, then these are a great choice. These sleeves are durable, come at a great price, and will get the job done. However, they due lack a little bit in the quality/durability department solely due to have a lower micron/thickness rating.
Their thickness does allow them to be placed very easily into card binders which can offer your cards another form of support. In fact, these penny sleeves were designed to fit perfectly with the Vault X rigid and semi-rigid card holders for additional protection.
What we like
- Crystal clear appearance
- Low priced
- Very good quality
What we don’t like
- Lower thickness than most on the market
Check Price and Reviews on Amazon
4- Dragon Shield Arcane Tinman Clear Sleeves
Dragon Shield is one of the most well known brands in the industry. However, they are mostly known for their DS100 Classic card sleeve lineup which are indeed some of the best high quality card sleeves available on the market for your cards.
These card sleeves are from their perfect fit lineup with is pretty much just their version of a penny sleeve. These card sleeves were designed to actually fit into their standard sized card sleeves for double sleeved protection.
There are many mixed reviews about using these as regular penny sleeves. Both positive and negative reviews from various users. Although these sleeves are high quality, their quality control for these sleeves seem to be severely lacking. There are many complaints that the sizes of these sleeves are incorrect.
All complaints aside, if you are given the correct size of these sleeves, they offer a clear front and back, and have high quality split resistant corners.
What we like
- High quality
- Split resistant
What we don’t like
- Poor quality control
Check Price and Reviews on Amazon
5- Pro Support Premium Ultra Clear Sleeves
The last penny sleeves on our list is the Pro Support Premium Ultra Clear Sleeves. These penny sleeves fit standard sized cards are each pack comes with a total of 200 sleeves. The main use for these sleeves for for double sleeving as they don’t have the greatest quality when being used as a standard sleeve.
One of the main complaints about this sleeve is that they seem to easily rip at the sides/seams. Splitting at the seams is a common occurrence among lower quality sleeves and is also known as splitting.
What we like
- Good price
- Great for double sleeving
- Come in bulk
What we don’t like
- Prone to splitting
Check Price and Reviews on Amazon
What to Look for in a Penny Sleeve for Pokemon Cards
To find the best Penny Sleeve for your needs, consider the following major aspects before finalizing a purchase.
Size
The first requirement you need to look for in a penny sleeve is the size. Pokemon cards fit in standard sized card sleeves. 35 pt is the thickness that describes standard sized for Pokemon cards.
Material
The next important factor to consider when you are looking for penny sleeves are the quality/material. The quality of the plastic used is important as this will determine how easily scratches will show on the sleeves as well as accidental rips and tears of the sides.
We recommend only looking for a penny sleeve that is labeled as being acid free, non pvc, and made out of a high quality polypropylene material.
Quantity
Once you have figured out that you have both a high quality card sleeve as well as the right fit, the last trait you should be looking at is the quantity. When purchasing penny sleeves, they will usually come in very large amounts of 50 and over due to them being a cheaper sleeve.
Best Penny Sleeve Brands
Ultra PRO
Ultra PRO is one of the original brands when it comes to supplies for your gaming collectible accessories. They have been around since the 50’s,a nd you can find their products in just about every retail store in the United States. Ultra PRO is family owned and is located near Los Angeles, CA.
Their brand is mostly known for their high quality and affordable accessories for collectible cards like penny sleeves, card binders, binder pagers, and much much more. Having over 100 distributors in North America, Europe, and Asia, you can expect their product to be in just about every retail, hobby, and toy store in your city.
BCW
BCW has been becoming widely popular in the past years as trading cards like Pokemon and Magic the Gathering have been on the rise in popularity. BCW was founded back in the 1980’s and have been striving to manufacture high quality, cost effective products that are specifically designed to store, display, and protect collectibles.
Their 78,000 square foot facility houses over $3 million dollars in inventory to ensure ample supply for the hundreds and thousands of customers they have across all seven continents.
FAQs
Do Pokemon Cards Fit in Penny Sleeves?
Pokemon cards are considered to be standard sized trading cards and will definitely fit into a majority of the penny sleeves on the market. To even be more specific, Pokemon cards use a 35 pt thickness when it comes to card sleeves, which is also considered to be standard sized.
What Sleeves Should You Use for Pokemon Cards?
We recommend penny sleeves for most of your low value cards, top loaders for your very expensive and rare cards, and then a high quality card sleeve like the Arcane Tinman for your actual play decks.
Final Thoughts
Our top pick for the best overall penny sleeves are the Ultra PRO Clear Card Sleeves. Ultra PRO strives for the best quality to cost ratio and they definitely deliver with their penny sleeves. Not only are they well priced, but they are very high quality and will protect your cards very well. They are also very easy to find as you can go to just about any retail store and find them.
The runner up penny sleeves on our list is the TitanShield Clear Standard Size Card Sleeves. These are another great pick as their value pack comes with 150 sleeves! This is a ton of sleeves at a great price. Their sleeves are also high quality that feature both a dual texture surface as well as anti-slip properties. These double down great for basic card storage as well as for actual play.
Whichever penny sleeves you choose for your Pokemon cards, we hope this guide has been helpful in your purchasing decision. Thanks for reading!