Best Card Games Case for Camping and Hunting

If you’re weird like me, perhaps you too enjoy the time inside the tent just about as much as the time outside the tent. You’re surrounded by your closest friends and family far from the distractions of technology and social media. My favorite thing to do in the tent (well, apart from swap stories) is to play games. I enjoy them all: Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, Cards Against Humanity, Apples to Apples, Magic the Gathering, etc. But a cardboard box full of cardboard cards isn’t exactly ideal for the outdoors…

If you want to skip the article and my journey to find the perfect case, here’s the answer: Go with CardKingPro – details below!

CaseMatix 320o Review

So, I decided I needed something better to keep my cards in, and I wanted something good and strong, so I ordered the CaseMatix 320o card holder. At $60 I assumed I was getting a solid product. And it was kind of good, I guess – it could hold a lot of cards, it was very protective of the cards with lots of foam and a thick case, but I HATED it. I sent it right back. For starters, the thing was a beast at about 3x the thickness of the cards themselves. Then, the dividers for the different rows were made of a flimsy foam. It got the job done fine but it was way too bulky and and the inside’s foam material seemed to betray the outside’s firm appearance, not to mention it didn’t feel good to the touch. It was like if someone said, “Hey, do you want me to wrap up your stuff in a foam mattress and then lock it in a suitcase? Yuck.

Everything less than $60 either didn’t hold enough cards (I have a bajillion Magic cards and about half a bajillion Cards Against Humanity cards) or were made out of a soft case rather than a hard case. The reviews weren’t particularly great for these products either.

LCAION 2500 Review

That said, I’m always looking to save a buck, so I wasn’t immediately deterred. I went ahead and tried the LCAION 2500 card case. It’s not bad. The outer case is flexible, so if you’re throwing it in the back of your truck along with all your gear, your games could get crushed. Plus, the row dividers for the cards are made out of a soft material again. This time it’s a fabric. The nice thing is that you can move fabric dividers around so if you have different games with different sizes of cards, you can move the dividers to match. BUT the dividers aren’t exactly firm so there’s a lot of wiggle room even after you position them with the Velcro. I just can’t see everything staying in its place if the case were to get jostled much. I give this case a solid OK for light non-camping use. I kept it but decided to give it away to my 8-year-old son for his battered Pokémon cards while I went in search of something more substantial.

UPDATE: The zipper kept going crazy, so I had to return it!

CardKingPro Big Black Metal Box 

And then I finally found it! Yes, the perfect card game case for all occasions: The CardKingPro’s Big Black Metal Box (BBB edition). It was a few bucks more at $89 but the value was immediately obvious upon opening it up. There are so many things I love about this case, I’m gonna have to use bullet points here:

  • The case is made of metal and hard plastic instead of something flexible.
  • The size is perfect; despite holding a ton of cards, it’s not any bigger than it needs to be. It’s actually pretty small!
  • The divider rows are firm and fixed so you don’t have to deal with jostling cards. Everything will stay perfectly organized
  • The inside feels professional –  firm but covered in a thin velvet-like material
  • It’s got resting feet for putting it down horizontally or vertically.

CardKingPro KingMega

Ok, folks, I think have a problem. The BBB is pretty amazing, but I have a TON of cards, and I really wanted to be able to pack in more for a trip… So I picked up the KingMega as well.

Honestly, I was just expecting more space for cards and was pleasantly surprised to see this is a completely different beast. It is MUCH stronger than the BBB – we’re talking “throw-it-in-the-back-of-your-truck-and-then-put-your-gear-on-top” kind of strong. Every single piece is stronger – the bigger, metal feet (instead of rubber), the metal latches (with places for a lock), the sides are thicker and firmer, etc. It doesn’t look the same. It doesn’t feel the same. It’s just a beast. It is heavy, though, so be prepared for that!

Note that while smaller paper MTG starter deck boxes will fit, your standard plastic UltraPro deck boxes will not fit in the KingMega because the rows are slightly narrower.

Anyway, “the best case” really depends on the activity, the intended use, and how much you want to bring. If you’re just going to someone else’s house to play or only plan on bringing light gear, I’d grab the BBB. But if you need something truly rugged or have a lot of cards and don’t need deck boxes, go with the KingMega edition.

I am extremely satisfied with both of these cases and think either could be great for camping. That said, I have run into two small issues with the KingMega:

  • First, there’s about a 1.5 inch space between the top of the cards and the inside top of the lid, and no matter how firmly I placed the foam dividers (which are awesome!) I couldn’t prevent the cards from moving up and down within that 1.5inch space. I don’t see cards being damaged with this kind of movement but the sound made me a little uneasy, so I put a little cushion in the lid (seen in the picture as the orange rectangle).
  • Second, there’s a pouch on the inside of the lid, which is cool, but it’s not very strong. I tried putting a D&D manual in there to fill up the extra space above the cards and the corner of the pouch pulled away from the casing and ripped a little. My recommendation would be that you not put anything heavy in the pouch.

Anyway, there you have it. I’ve done all the annoying research and returning of items for you! If you’re looking for the perfect card case to be able to take your games out on your next camping or hunting trip, go with CardKingPro’s BBB or KingMega.