Cardboard Review:BCW LaserWeld 9-Pocket Pages

I had thought about posting some new Giants cards I have in drafts today, but after last night's embarrassing game topped off with the entire start of this season, I said, nah. Let's go to something else.

Instead, let's do a product review instead.

BCW announced not too long ago, that they had created a new 9-Pocket Page that is supposed to be top notch among all other pages.

And I tend to agree.

The pages are done by laser welding, which helps strengthen the page and keep if flat without bending. The heavy gauge polypropylene helps with that as well.

Upon first glance, the page is crystal clear and when you pick it up you can definitely tell the difference in thickness of the page.

Here are the pages side by side, the laserweld on the left and the regular on the right. I think you can see the difference in the pages immediately.

  

And when you add cards, the clarity stands out first. But what you guys can't see is how easy the cards slide in and it's not something I can show you, so you will have to take my word for.

Sometimes it's a struggle with some pages I have found to slide the cards in without causing some corner damage.

I know this is a short review as it's really hard to show much more when it comes to pages.

So, I thought I would include this video by BCW about these pages. Watch it here,

https://youtu.be/K9fxvvdNd10

Overall, I really like this upgrade to the pages. Not just for the storage of cards, but I really think these will upgrade my PWE shipping as well because of the thickness.

Cardboard Review:2022 Topps Archives Baseball

Baseball cards don't always have to be the next best thing, they can be a visit from the past.

That's what you get when you break into a box of Topps Archives. This year's edition is no different, so let's take a look and see what it has to offer.

Every hobby box of 2022 Topps Archives baseball comes with 24 packs of 8 cards. Boxes come with 24 packs of 8 cards and 2 autographs.

There is also a box topper, post card, that greets you immediately on top.

A closer look at it. Not a bad kick off to this box.

Let's see the rest.

BASE:

  

This years base card set pays tribute to 1963, 1978 and 1987. There are legends,

veterans,

And rookies.

 

(1:6 packs)

  

(1:6 packs)

 

2005 (1:24 packs) and 1992 (1:6 packs)

Along with a couple short-printed subsets as well that makes up the 380-card base set.

PARALLELS:

You can find the following parallels in Archives,

Rainbow Foil /150, Green /125, Silver /99, Red /75, Red Hot Foil /50, Blue Foil /25, Orange Hot Foil /15 (Hobby), and FoilFractor 1/1.

Rainbow Foil /150

Silver /99

Red Hot Foil /50 (nice card and parallel)

INSERTS:

Only three inserts to find, this is the main one.

Post Cards has 15 cards that falls 1:8 packs.

HITS:

Adam Frazier autograph

Luke Williams Autograph

I guess the positive spin on these pulls...they are on-card.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I really like the layout of Archives, but as always the value is a toughie for me. I have yet to pull a big-name autograph from this product since I started opening it. I think for me anyways, I take a shot at retail for this product. Yeah, you may not get an autograph, but there is a chance. But, you do get the taste of the product and land some of your favorite players in a classic design.

I was happy to finally land a Bobby Witt Jr and Julio Rodriguez rookie for my PC.

I would say looking at this break, the Ohtani was by far the headlining pull.

Thoughts on my break and the product welcomed in comments.

CARDBOARD REVIEW:2021 Panini Illusions Football

Every year I know specific products it seems that Panini sticks my Super Collection player in. Rodney Hampton has appeared in Select, Mosaic and today's product, Illusions multiple times. 

With this years Hampton cards being a little different than past releases, they are not autographs nor really focus on Rodney Hampton, my chase has been different. I actually almost opted not to bother but when you want the biggest,best collection around, I fell in. Speaking of this, if you want to see those Hamptons and other Hampton posts, they have been moved to Big Blue Cardboard. Follow that blog for more!

Enough with the Hampton talk, let's move onto today's review.

Each box of 2021 Illusions football comes with 10 packs of 5 cards each. Each box should have 3 autographs and 2 memorabilia cards. Boxes currently are $670 or so.

BASE:

There are 100 cards in the base set. Keep in mind there is a retail and hobby version to the base set. I believe the only difference is the cardstock used as the hobby is thicker.

The design for this years Illusions sticks to its foil board player focus with a colored player in the front and a foiled one in the back. The only real difference is the font and writing on the card.

I chose to show off this Tebow card as I don't think I saw any other football products this year include Tebow or show off the fact he tried out for TE. This will make a cool card for my Tebow side PC.

Here are the card backs. No stats.

Rookie cards look like this.

PARALLELS:

Just like every product, Illusions comes with parallels. You can find the following options,

Diamond, Dots, Emerald, Galaxy, Hyper, Orange, Sapphire, Starlight, Sunburst, Bronze /499, Pink /399, Yellow Diamond /249, Teal /175, Light Blue /149, Yellow /149, Ruby /125, Red /99, Blue /75, Black Ice /50, Platinum /35, Gold /25, Green /10, and Purple 1/1.

Pink /399

Bronze /499

Light Blue /149

Blue /75

Yellow Diamond /249 (stunning card by the way)

INSERTS:

Inserts can feature the following parallels,

Emerald, Mosaic, Orange, Rainbow, Sapphire, Sparkle, Stardust, Pink /399, Light Blue /299, Red /149, Black /50, Gold /25, Green /10, and Purple 1/1.

The inserts are printed on acetate so it takes away from all of that foil board.

Clear Shots has 20 cards to collect.

Illusionists has 20 cards to collect

Mystique has 20 cards of the top rookies

Shining Stars has also has 20 cards to collect

 

There are 20 cards in the King Of Cards set. This was my favorite insert from Illusions.

 

I also pulled three parallel cards. The Murray is a Light Blue /299, Taylor is a red /149 and Burrow is a black /50

HITS:

Okay...does this one count as the worst autograph ever??!! Let me know in comments. Can you imagine paying that price for this autograph?

My boy KT!

Solid dual relic of Lawrence and Peyton. It's also a nice looking card too.

Zach Wilson jumbo relic of Instant Impact. I still want the Toney like this.

And my final autograph is a Superlatives Chris Johnson. This autograph set has some guys you don't see signing every day like CJ2K.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

My box wasn't too bad. I am not sure if the return value was there, but I will say the fun value is. I like the acetate inserts, the hits were decent and the base card parallels were sharp. Would be a fun rainbow chase. If any of you have any Giants parallels from this set, hit me up!

Your thoughts are welcomed in comments!

Cardboard Review: 2021 Playoff Football (Top 5 Pick Autograph!)

I miss football already, glad there is at least new football card releases rolling out until actual new releases come out. Though it does feel weird opening up a product called playoff after the playoffs.

Yes, so today's rip will be of 2021 Playoff football. Let's see if it goes as great as the 2021 Playoffs did.

Each box of 2021 Playoff football has 12 packs of 8 cards each. There will be three hits (2 autographs and one memorabilia) in each box and each box costs roughly just under $400.

A little steep like most products nowadays.

BASE:

There are 300 cards to collect in the base set of Playoff.

200 of those cards are veterans and each team has a legend.

And there are also 100 rookies. Which I like because it covers more ground and not just the top picks.

PARALELLS:

You can find the following base card parallels in Playoff,

Goal Line, Kickoff, Red Zone, 1st Down /100, 2nd Down /50, 3rd Down /35, 4th Down /25, No Huddle /10, and Touchdown 1/1.

I like the names of these parallels as it covers what football is.

1st Down /100

2nd Down /50

3rd Down /35

4th Down /25

Along with the base set, there is also a chromed silver base called Playoff Plus. I didn't know about this part until I researched the product. I love the playoff even more done this way. There are 100 cards in this set and features some cards from the actual base set checklist.

There are also parallels to this set including, 

Blue /50, Red /25, Gold /10, and Black 1/1.

Amari Rodgers was a red /25

INSERTS:

One thing I love but also find odd in this product is the inserts Usually chromed inserts are in a chromed product. Not in this case. A paper base product with chromed inserts is odd but I love the inserts so much, it doesn't bother me as much as it should.

Each insert has the following parallels, 

Silver, Blue, Die-Cut, Pink, Purple, Red, Silver, Gold /10, and Touchdown 1/1.

Call To Arms has 20 cards to collect and feature the QB's.

Thunder and Lighting...sorry Thunder and Lightning. These combine two of the best players on 20 teams.

Behind The Numbers has 30 cards to collect.

And my favorite insert of them all....

Rookie Wave. Check out these babies!! Absolutely love the design and reminds me of a 90's insert.

HITS:

Turning Pro relic of the top pick Trevor Lawrence

Speaking of a top pick autograph, Kyle Pitts was the 4th pick in the draft. I believe this is the third autograph of his I have pulled this year and the first two I gave away. What should I do with this one.....

And my other autograph is of Christian Barmore.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I love the product, I just wished the price point wasn't so steep. If this was back in the old days for $125-$150 range, its an absolute want.

The inserts to me still stand out above all else in this product and I am chasing all of the Rookie Waves I can so if you are reading this and have any, send em my way!

Thoughts on this product welcomed in comments and stay tuned for a contest coming up as well!