Texas vs California - which is easier to use?

Agreed ^ TX is a solid choice. Just make sure you get one with the right perfs

Honestly, I totally get what you're saying about CA being way overdone. It's like every other person at a college party pulls out a Cali and you can almost spot 'em from across the room — the template is so common that bouncers have pretty much memorized the flaws by now. I went with TX myself a while back and haven't had any issues, especially since I live in the Midwest. People just aren't as familiar with the fine details of a Texas ID out here, so it flies under the radar way easier.

On the technical side, the microprint on a good Texas fake is usually sharper than the average California one. The Lone Star cards have that tiny repeating "LONE STAR" text along the edges and inside the state outline — on the better versions it's crisp even under a loupe, whereas a lot of CA fakes I've seen have the microprint blur together or just look like a dotted line. Then there's UV. Texas has that big state outline with "TEXAS" inside that glows bright yellow-green under UV. It's pretty distinct, and if the brightness is right it passes the light test. Cali's UV is more subtle with the bear and stars, but a lot of budget versions have it too dim or the wrong shade of blue. As for OVI, the Texas 21+ area has a gold-to-green color shift that actually looks smooth on the decent fakes, while CA's gold bear OVI tends to either not shift properly or look like printed glitter instead of real color-changing ink. Material feel matters too — Texas cards use a polycarbonate blend that's stiffer with a slight glossy finish, while Cali is more of a teslin style with a matte laminate. Most good TX fakes nail that rigid feel, but CA fakes often feel too flexible or plasticky.

So overall, if I had to score them based on what I've handled, Texas gets a solid 8/10 for usability in less populated areas, while California gets a 6/10 — mainly because it's so overexposed and the common tells get noticed. Honestly, stick with TX if you're not on either coast and you'll be fine.