I am no expert, so I can only write my personal impression of those few brands I have handled for what it's worth (talking about fully plastic cards, of course).
Best in feel and endurance were the old KEMs, a beautiful Seville set of 2 decks which started collapsing (literally) only after 20 years, and otherwise looking as new!
I have no opinion about current KEMs, i.e, whether they justify their price or not. The old ones did!
On the European continent, Modianos seem to be the cheapest if not the safest bet, at just $3 for a fully plastic deck (I 've read horror stories in this forum about the company, but I never faced a serious problem personally). They are Ok at this price, not having to cross the Atlantic and have duties etc imposed on them.
Dal Negros are better and my preference in that price range.
Fourniers are excellent, but the last Titanium-series single deck I found here was priced $17 - maybe not the producing company's fault - I don't know.
Copags are somewhat pricey in Europe (around 8-10) , for a product which may not be top, but otherwise they feel fine to me - I can't understand the hatred against them.
I forgot to mention that once I went 4-index I never looked back, and I 'm afraid this is going to happen again now, with going 4-color.
Coincidentally, Copags were the only 4-index 4-color ones that I found available locally, so my last purchase were these. I am not a fan of their colors, especially the 'blue", but, on the other hand, I didn't pay a KEM or Fournier price.
Best in feel and endurance were the old KEMs, a beautiful Seville set of 2 decks which started collapsing (literally) only after 20 years, and otherwise looking as new!
I have no opinion about current KEMs, i.e, whether they justify their price or not. The old ones did!
On the European continent, Modianos seem to be the cheapest if not the safest bet, at just $3 for a fully plastic deck (I 've read horror stories in this forum about the company, but I never faced a serious problem personally). They are Ok at this price, not having to cross the Atlantic and have duties etc imposed on them.
Dal Negros are better and my preference in that price range.
Fourniers are excellent, but the last Titanium-series single deck I found here was priced $17 - maybe not the producing company's fault - I don't know.
Copags are somewhat pricey in Europe (around 8-10) , for a product which may not be top, but otherwise they feel fine to me - I can't understand the hatred against them.
I forgot to mention that once I went 4-index I never looked back, and I 'm afraid this is going to happen again now, with going 4-color.
Coincidentally, Copags were the only 4-index 4-color ones that I found available locally, so my last purchase were these. I am not a fan of their colors, especially the 'blue", but, on the other hand, I didn't pay a KEM or Fournier price.