Intro (optional): This has been my primary ID for a year even though it says I'm 22 on it. Never been questioned and I had compared it when I got it to a friends u21, but just recently went back and think it's 1) time for a review and 2) I noticed a lot more flaws I never noticed before. nCA is one of their more popular states and I've previously compared a o21 nCA from OIS to a real and it was impressive, like getting up to ISP (maybe not that good yet but easily any state outside of CA).

Uncertainty factor: High, compared side by side with a real one.

Cost: Got as a review copy and got lazy and forgot to do the review and then a bunch of time passed, and everyone forgot but now I feel bad about skipping it. It was 120 when I got it, but I think it's down to 100, same as o21. I think o21 is better for the money but hey you decide.

Shipping: Don't remember tbh but I've never had an OIS package take longer than 3 weeks (average 2 weeks). Used domestic but not worth it, same time frame.

Photoshop: Cropped differently, but my picture was taken at a closer angle so not much the vendor can do. Shadows behind the ear are way heavier on the real but that depends slightly on the DMV. Photo also looks way more washed out, but that's probably a result of the texture (which I'll get to in the Look and Feel section).

Template: Basically, I’m just going to be describing the pictures so if you want a fat TLDR just skip this paragraph and look at the imgur link. Colorwise, everything is a lot darker and feels like there’s more contrast/saturation. For example, the California text at the top, the bars, the real ID bear. The fonts are also slightly placed differently. See above the picture, driver license is more to the left on the real and is a bit darker. At the bottom, the address and personal description info are a much darker, crisper black (it’s censored but take my word for it) on the real while on the fake it’s a more faded grey. The ghost image is probably the most directly noticeable. The picture is much darker and more sepia as compared to the greyscale on the fake. On to the positive side, all the raised fonts are raised where they should be. The actual blank template looks detailed despite the texture difference. Moving on to the back, it’s much better. The fake is just slightly darker in color and the font is just slightly italicized and thinner on the fake compared to the real.

Look and Feel: Ok so here is where the ID goes from pretty fucking good to “eh might as well get o21”. In California, under 21 IDs are made of a glossy, thicker material, while the over 21 is the thinner, matte Teslin material. I’m assuming OIS is using the same cards for both, so therefore it makes it a bit more unrealistic. If you aren’t in state, it is not a noticeable thing because most states don’t do this so they wouldn’t even think about it on the chance they’ve seen an o21. But I’m just comparing to the original here.

Hologram/OVI/UV: I didn’t get any UV pics with the real but it’s missing a few small details. I don’t remember exactly so I’m gonna check after I post this. UV is a lot less vibrant than the other, along with the OVI on the front. That’s probably just due to the real being pulled out of a wallet more often as I keep mine at home in a drawer a good amount. Size and placement on everything is good, just like o21. Also, there’s embossed text over the photo and the font is slightly too thin and shifted a bit farther left.

Signature: Looks identical to the one I submitted. Real one is very slightly thicker but that depends on the real signature too so it’s fine for me. Shouldn’t ever be a problem.

Scanning: Never had a problem, I’m gonna stop including this section in later reviews unless there’s actually a problem because every ID above 20 bucks should scan.

Conclusion: Damn. They were so close to greatness. I love this ID still, and I don’t think I’ve ever had a bouncer question why I have a vertical. In a college town it might be more realistic because the 21-year-olds aren’t going to bother going home/having it shipped just to get the horizontal ID when the vertical works fine. There’s some pros and cons, but I don’t recommend use in state – otherwise nobody really is going to know. Their o21 that I have from a few months before is phenomenal compared to the real one I’ve seen, so I honestly think if you’re going for the better ID then there’s that.

Pics: https://imgur.com/a/mBSbZNS