Welcome to Ripped — where we crack open the hobby’s biggest new releases and show you exactly what’s inside.
We covered 2025 Bowman Chrome in Wax Watch back in September. At the time, we were skeptical about ripping Hobby Boxes for the price, but it looked like retail was a good rip.
It took us a while to find some Mega Boxes out in the wild at MSRP. So when we finally did, we grabbed four of them.
Base Cards
As usual, the design mirrors the other two main Bowman releases of the year — Bowman Flagship and Bowman Draft. Some commons came out a little curved (typical for chrome stock), but that usually won’t impact grading.
The rookies and veterans look great in the chrome finish — that is, when they’re actually centered.
At least in these Mega Boxes, centering was brutal. Some cards looked fine, but others — like the Marcelo Mayer rookie we pulled — were so off-center they bordered on 80/20. Every box had the same QC issue, so it wasn’t a one-off problem.
Verdict: C — Solid design, but poor quality control sinks it.
Inserts
Inserts are pretty rare in Bowman Mega Boxes — odds are about one in three packs, at best. We were able to hit two in our four-box rip.
Meteoric Rise is the most common insert in the product. The other two, Ascension and GPK, are much shorter prints. The Mojo pattern with the rainbow finish really pops without overpowering the design, and the QC was flawless.
Verdict: A+ — Fantastic visuals and zero print issues.
Parallels
Aside from the Laser Parallels and the Red RC Logo rookies, most parallels come out of the two exclusive Mega Box packs. The standard Mojo Parallels always look great, and when you add color, they really shine.
We were lucky enough to pull one Purple Mojo Parallel /250, but the numbering stamp location looks to be inconsistent. Most we’ve seen are in the bottom left, closer to center — ours nearly ran off the edge.
Verdict: A− — Great look overall; minor QC quirks don’t ruin the experience.
Final Thoughts
Back in September, we called 2025 Bowman Chrome Rippable in Retail and Stashable in Hobby. After getting hands-on with both formats, we’re making a slight update: Retail is still rippable, but Hobby has grown on us more than expected.
The parallels and inserts you can pull out of a Mega Box — the only retail format — are limited. No true color parallels, and less than half the insert variety.
With that in mind, we’re upgrading our stance on Hobby to “Rippable at MSRP.”
The catch? MSRP is impossible to find right now.
At a current average price of $413 per box (about $6.89 per card), it’s still a tough rip to justify. If you’re going to open a Hobby Box, we’d wait until February at the earliest for the hype to cool so you can grab one at a more reasonable price.
Bring on the Hits!
Check out some of what we pulled below — and let us know your best hits in the comments.
Disclaimer: The content in The Hobby Wire is for informational and entertainment purposes only. Commentary, analysis, and opinions on sports cards, rookies, and the hobby are not financial, investment, or professional advice. Collectors should always do their own research before buying, selling, or trading cards. Market values are volatile and can change rapidly—past performance is not a guarantee of future results.
Unless specified, all pricing references are based on the Prizm/Refractor parallels of an athlete’s Chrome rookie card, with prices from alt.xyz & 130pt.com.
Any odds mentioned were derived from DraftKings Sportsbook.
Great review of this product! The QC does seem to be an issue, especially with the price but love some bowman! Great stuff