Air Cushion Decks
Hey everyone!
What decks with different back designs have an air cushion finish like Bicycle decks? I'm looking for something identical or similar enough that laypeople won't notice a difference by feel 😜 And I need the same face card designs (aside from the Ace of Spades and Jokers, which I've seen always vary).
I know about Tally-Ho (Fan and Circle), Phoenix, and Bee decks, but I've never actually handled any of them. I think Copag decks have a slightly different face card design. I'm not counting Bicycle Mandolin or Maiden Backs since they're too similar to Rider Backs.
My goal is to see if there's enough variety to pick up one of each and create some effects with "fantasy backs." Because, if I'm not mistaken, those decks haven't been produced for years. And for the ones I have found, I think it's more cost-effective to buy several complete decks, so I can use them for more routines.
Thanks a million!
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@fr_lorenzo:
Basically, all of them.
Both all Bicycle decks and many other brands (and that's the end of it 😂, period)
And this is coming from someone who owns around 300 different decks.
Let's break it down:
Right off the bat, you have the two classic types of finishes: smooth or rough (Smooth Finish and Rough Finish). Within each, we can summarize two main groups.
For the smooth finishes (Smooth Finish), you'd have the Linoid Finish (supposedly Tally Ho cards, because that's no longer true...see note at the end) and the Plastic Coated (an example is Fournier 505s).
On the other hand, for the rough finishes (Rough Finish), you'll find Air Cushion (the aforementioned) and Cambric finish (for example, Bee cards, and this finish is basically a copy of Air Cushion).
To sum it up, generally speaking, ANY DECK YOU BUY will be Air Cushion, or a copy.
NOTE: Years ago, Tally-Ho decks were indeed manufactured with a different finish which gave them certain advantages and disadvantages compared to classic Bicycles, but when the USPCC (United States Playing Card Company), the company responsible for manufacturing both models, moved its facilities from Ohio to Kentucky back in 2009, everything changed, and now both are produced with the same material: that of Bicycle cards (i.e., Air Cushion finish).
So even if the box says Linoid Finish, it's actually false that they have that finish.
@Zeta
Awesome! What a great lesson, haha! I didn't know this, but I found it really interesting and I'm sure it'll be useful.
Anyway, I was asking because a while ago I bought some Aviators, and they don't have the same finish as Bicycle cards; they're harder to spread. Is that what you mean by 'smooth finish'?
So if I'm understanding this right, the current Tally-Ho, Bee, and Phoenix decks have that Air-Cushion finish or feel similar to the touch, right? And they also have the same face designs, which I don't think is the case with Copag cards.
Thanks a lot!
All the other Bicycle backs are the same, like the Maiden and Mandolin decks...
I think the Aladdin 1001s also have the same design and quality, and at the Magia y Cardistry shop, almost all the standard decks are the same.