Good: great card design, perfect amount of cards per box, refractors, high quality hits, great value, quality rookie checklist, quality veteran checklist, die-cut atomic refractors, exciting to open
Bad: back of the card stats are too brief, autographs are sticker drops embedded into card, atomic refractors aren't numbered, easy to smudge & hard to get a quality scan
The Bottom Line:
I'm starting to think that the Finest delivery format strikes the perfect balance between too many cards and too few cards. Each box contains two 6-pack mini boxes, which delivers 2 high quality hits and plenty of intriguing refractors. With all too many products nowadays, you end up feeling like a box gave you far too many base cards or far too few base cards, Finest delivers a total of 60 cards in all, which feels like just the right amount. Finest is a finer version of the recently released Topps Platinum and is one of the most enjoyable Football products currently available. I highly recommend collectors with an interest in football cards give 2010 Finest Football a try, as it's one of the most polished products around.
Design: 4.25/5
Per usual, the craftsmanship put into Finest is fantastic. From the base cards to the refractors, relics, and auto's, you'd be hard pressed to find an ugly card. The refractors look great, especially the die-cut atomic rookie refractors. The base card design is among the best in the business and certainly one of the best uses of Topps' patented chrome stock. The only area that could use improvement is the quality of some of the relics used, but for a $100 product, it's unfair to expect a hearty, multi-color patch embedded in every hit.
Checklist: 4/5
Finest's checklist doesn't dabble in retired players in legends, which is refreshing and gives it the type of continuity needed for set builders. The Rookie checklist is extremely solid, the only glaring omission is Cardinals rookie starting QB Max Hall. Another nice thing about opening a box that only contains 60 cards is that you don't get overwhelmed by junky inserts. I'll take a refractor over an insert any day of the week.
Value: 4.25/5
Two high-quality hits per box, a pair of die-cut Rookie Atomic Refractors, and a slew of additional rookie cards and various refractors add up to a great value. This is one of those products where regardless of who you're hits were, you still feel like you got your money's worth.
Enjoyability: 4.5/5
I love the Finest 2-mini box format, it's fun to feel like your opening 2-boxes in one. Very few $100 per box products offer the level of craftsmanship, continuity, and overall excitement as Finest does. I could have got better hits, but I still thoroughly enjoyed ripping a box and recommend that anyone with an interest in football cards give it a shot.
Box Break
The highlights of my box break:
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