The preparation of catalyst-coated membranes (CCMs) with two anodic catalyst layers (60% PtRu/C as catalyst) using a decal technique and their characterization by pseudo-half-cell measurements using both sides of the CCMs by simply turning the test cell around, allows the characterization of quasi-identical CCMs with a much smaller experimental uncertainty than observed for the classical direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) testing of membrane electrode assemblies under similar working conditions (5 mV vs. 12 mV at a current density of 140 mA cm(-2)). With this new sensitive tool, we study the influence of the dispersing technology and the Nafion content on the performance of DMFC anodes. While the ionomer content shows a broad optimum between 20 and 40%, the dispersing technology does not have a strong impact on the fuel cell performance under the experimental conditions of this study, but influences strongly the stability of the catalyst slurries and the homogeneity of the electrode coatings.