I never really intended to ever start "collecting" different deck brands and such - not only am I not really the crazy collector type I used to be when I was younger, but I was always pretty content with having just my pair of Bicycle and pair of Bee decks (and, yeah sure, I'm still holding onto that old, cheap, dollar store quality Cartamundi Classic deck). But I don't know, as of this year, I've felt compelled to get other decks for the sake of collecting: as I've mentioned previously, my newest additions this year have so far been a (Canadian) Streamline deck (blue), an Ace Authentic deck (limited edition red), and an Aviator deck (blue) (I plan on also picking up a blue Hoyle deck - do they come in paper, or just plastic?).
But this review is mainly for my Ace and Aviator decks, but they are interestingly both similar and distinct from each other at the same time.
As I said before, I picked up an Ace Authentic Limited Edition deck at Barnes & Noble back in the spring - based mainly on what I have seen of it, I wanted to grab the deck mainly for looks, as I really like how the two-color back design just pops, as opposed to the plain (no pun intended) one-color back design of the standard Ace decks you find at the dollar store. As I also mentioned, the Ace deck I picked up for looks is essentially only good for just that: looks. Cartamundi seems to pride itself on durability for their cards and claim that theirs are prefered by both novice players and "the most discriminating handlers," which just makes me laugh, because my Ace deck is anything but that: the stock they used is so thin and flimsy, they clearly wouldn't hold up in the long run . . . even when I first opened the deck, one of the cards was already warped (then again, I'm certain this was a used deck, as it wasn't shrink-wrapped, the seal had already been torn, and the cards were already shuffled). The finish is very similar to Bee's Cambric Finish, but feels even rougher and coarser to the touch. I will say that the face designs and the pips are a slight improvement over the Classic Cartamundi cards I have (which are plastic). And as Don and I both have mentioned, the Limited Edition Aces come in a really nice box - very eye-catching. So, in conclusion, as I said, this deck I got mainly for looks (I also really like biplanes, too) - it definitely wouldn't survive any kind of card games.
Now, as for the Aviator deck I recently got, even though it's similar to Ace with its airplane theme, everything about it is virtually the exact opposite of the Ace deck. Now, just for starters, I'm clearly reviewing an older Aviator deck: when I got it, the box was covered in dust (who knows how long it's been on the shelf), and the box also notes the Cincinnati address, rather than Erlanger. Aviator isn't exactly an attractive, eye-catching deck: the box design almost looks more like an off-brand deck rather than USPC (it doesn't even print any kind of information about the deck on the back of the box), the back design is nothing too special, and the pips and face design are USPC standard like Bikes and Bees (that I don't mind, because I'm fond of their standard designs) . . . but the way they feel and handle is quite a different story. Clearly Aviator isn't exactly an upper tier USPC deck - it doesn't have a nice, dimpled finish as Bicycle or Bee, but this so-called "slick" finish it does have gives it a really great feel and handle: the stock is thin and flimsy, but the slick finish gives the cards a nice slippery, almost laminated feel to them that makes them fun to handle - of all the cards I have, I find that my Aviator deck is the best at faro shuffling and riffle shuffle; I've never exactly been the best shuffler, but with practice, I can do passable riffles with just about any of my decks (well, except my plastic Cartamundi and Streamlike deck), though I've never been able to faro until I got this Aviator deck.
In closing, as I said, Ace and Aviator are certainly similar in their plane themes, but they're polar opposites in all other departments: Ace Authentic Limited Edition is good for looks, but not for handling; Aviator is not much on looks, but handles great.
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