When I was 14 years old I separated my shiny Pokémon cards from the rest of the cards in my collection. It seemed like a good idea at the time, I mean, one day they may be worth money, and I didn’t play with the rest anymore. I hadn’t done in years, so I only needed to keep my holo cards and a few of my favourites, right?

What an idiot I was. When I was 18 my parents moved house whilst I was at university. They did tell me, I mean, I didn’t just turn up to a sign on the door saying “Soz son, we’ve migrated”. What that meant though was everything was packed into boxes. For the next couple of years they moved around, so everything remained in boxes. Recently, I managed to get into a few and found my old Pokémon card collection. All the memories flooded back, only, yes you guessed it, no shiny cards. My Charizard, Blastoise, and Venasaur are lost to the sands of time, maybe one day turning up in a box, but most likely gone. In the words of Roy Batty from Blade Runner – “All those Pokémon cards will be lost, in time, like tears in rain.”.

I, er, may have adapted the speech a bit.

Continuing on the story, I vowed to rebuild my collection to the glory it once was – not because I ever want to play it again, but purely for sentimental reasons. Those were some of the best times I can remember growing up and I want to preserve them.

So, I took to Amazon and bought a card binder. These have come a long way since when I was a kid. Now they are all snazzy like, with real pockets, compared to what I used to have which was, effectively, a plastic wallet of slightly smaller plastic wallets. This here is where the review comes in.

What is it?

The VaultX Card Binder is a booklet designed for storing collectible cards from games like the Pokémon CCG, Star Wars: Destiny, Magic the Gathering, and the Game of Thrones LCG. It comes in different sizes, but not knowing how many cards I had I went for the folder that stored 360 individual cards. These come in 20 pages, with 9 slots for cards on either side. These are in a 3 x 3 formation. This, for the record, was way more than needed. I still have 8 pages untouched.

The empty binder.

Each page is made of black cloth, with the plastic pockets sealed on (presumably by using increased heat around the edges). These pockets are accessed from the side, rather than the top, which gives a far superior ease of use.

On each page, the pocket entrances face away from the seam on the innermost and middle columns. The outer column has the pocket entrance facing inwards so that the cards don’t fall out when the folder is lifted.

The front and back covers are plastic, with an elasticated ribbon holding the covers together.

Several cards fit in each pocket.

Each pocket, on the inside, can hold as many as eleven cards (potentially more but I didn’t want to push it) meaning each page could, in theory, hold 99 cards. If more than around five cards are put in a pocket, however, it does make it difficult for cards to be put in the other side.

What is the Verdict for the Vault X Card Binder?

Writing reviews for gaming accessories is far easier than writing them of games because it tends to come down to a very simple “yes” or “no” at the end. Would I recommend this product?

The answer is yes.

An example of the folder filled with cards.

The Vault X Card Binder is a superb way to store cards and I am so glad I got it. Not only does it mean the cards are no longer strewn in a box in the bottom of a chest of drawers, but it also means that I can relive my childhood at any moment. The pockets are well thought through and incredibly easy to access, yet firm and stable enough that nothing will accidentally fall out.

It is not the cheapest card binder on the market, but it is certainly sturdy enough that it feels like it is protecting the cards. The plastic covers keep it secure and safe. It’s a good thick plastic, which is pretty hefty and protects the inner binder from harm. I’ve even done some reading around and the inner cloth has been designed to give the cards a soft back and protect them even further. It’s very well thought through.

This binder does everything you need of it. It protects, it collects, and it displays. It can easily be sealed, bound, and everything on the inside can kept safe. Alternatively, when the time comes, everything can be easily accessed as well. What more do you need from a card binder?

SIMILAR ARTICLE: The Memoirs of a Pokémon Card Addict (and Why Pokémon Cards Were So Clever)

Published by Luke

Board game nerd, comic book geek, Rubik's Cube solver, Splendor player, and Blogger. View all posts by Luke