Drop into just about any card shop here in the United States and you’ll find the same set of resources for protecting your cards lined up behind the counter. Brands like Dragon Shield, Upper Deck, and Gamegenic are the most common in my experience, but by and large they offer very similar solutions — especially when it comes to sleeving cards. The gang at Heavy Play does things a little differently, providing excellent quality with a more refined fit and finish.I bumped into the Heavy Play team at this year’s MagicCon Chicago, and the first thing that jumped out at me were their playmats. Most fans of tabletop games will be familiar with rollable neoprene mats. These will often be printed with illustrations from the cards for games like Magic: The Gathering or Star Wars: Unlimited, but over time they tend to get a little ratty. Heavy Gear’s playmats are solid, three-piece affairs that fold up for travel. They fit well inside the laptop compartment of your backpack, and after using one regularly for a few months I’m happy to say it pretty much looks like new. It’s an interesting adaptation, and if you can get past the subtle seams that divide the three pieces, it’s an excellent, rugged solution for playing on the go.Look a little deeper at their product line, however, and you’ll soon find lots of other interesting features. The Heavy Play card sleeves have rounded corners at the bottom. It’s a unique feature shared by both the colorful outer sleeves and the tightly fitting inner sleeves as well. When shuffling, I find that they’re much gentler on the hands than Dragonsleeves and other brands with more pointy corners. The asymmetry also helps me keep my cards all facing in the right direction when I shuffle. Loading and reloading cards into your deck can be a bit finicky mind you, as the rounded corners make them more prone to tearing in my experience. But in motion I actually prefer the feel of these sleeves to all the others I’ve tried in the past.Finally, many different products in the Heavy Play line — from deck boxes, to accessory boxes, to the aforementioned playmats above — are all magnetized. That means you can fold up your playmat, snap your deck box and your dice box directly to it, and then load the entire assembly directly into your bag. Their deckbox carriers take that to the next level, allowing you to carry multiple Heavy Gear boxes internally with a playmat — or a traditional neoprene mat rolled up inside their magnetized case — as a single unit.Bear in mind, however, that all of this does come at a bit of a premium price. You’re absolutely going to spend more on Heavy Play gear than on comparable kit from other brands. The sleeves are also a bit more delicate. For that reason, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend turning over your entire card storage system. But if your every-day assortment of sleeves, boxes, and mats is looking a bit ratty it might be time to look into some new kit made by Heavy Play to see if it works for you.Heavy Play gear is available online and at select retail stores. The equipment was reviewed using retail product provided by Heavy Play. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships, but not with Heavy Play. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. You can find additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.See More: