Long-Term Review: Bellroy Card Sleeve
A year ago, I finally found the perfect wallet. What happened before?
Wallets are a very personal thing. And everybody has different needs what to carry in a wallet. There is so much stuff that goes in there like banknotes, coins, credit cards, loyality cards, any other card you may think of, notes, photos, bills, … The big question is: do you really need to carry all this stuff?
As a man — since I don’t carry handbags — I always had to struggle with the wallet taking all the precious room in my trouser pockets. And there is still the need to carry my keys and my phone. So I started to think what I really need to carry in my wallet and what I can leave out. During this time, I stumbled upon the MNMLIST, a guy that constantly improved his way of having less, living with a minimal set of things he needs. This was like an a-ha moment for me.
But after some time, I wondered about my wallet itself. I did not need that much room for cards anymore, I did not neet all the extra pockets and the heavy padding and closures and zippers. So I went out to the nearest department store, which was a big disappointment. All the wallets were displayed in a crammed container where I had to rake for the different wallet. I did not buy anything. Instead, I went to the good Internet.
At first, I found the Daniel wallet from Status Anxiety which was pretty slim and had a nice leather finish:
But soon I realized I need more space for cards and the coin department was small and not really useful (I had to fumble a lot to get my coins out). Yes, sadly, in Germany you still need coins.
My next purchase was the slimmest wallet ever, the Supr Good Slim Wallet. This thing is crazy thin and holds up to 1–7 (or more) cards:
I had difficulties with the coins, but as many others, I finally started to just put them in my trouser pockets and I never went back to a coin wallet. Then, after some time, I thought that the Slim Wallet is nice, but it lacks some understatement and I had a problem to get my frequently used cards out quickly. So my next purchase was the Americana Deluxe from TGT (or Thight) wallets:
After some time, I also discovered some flaws: the card compartment is open at the bottom, so the cards can move (they do) and the compartment for the banknotes is very small, so you have to fumble a lot. Finally, I also ditched that for the Bellroy Card Sleeve:
This wallet finally offered the style and functionality I needed:
- Nice quality leather which is also thin
- Main card compartment with a pull-tab to get things out easily
- Card compartment for most-used card
- Other compartment for banknotes that is easily accessible (yes, you need to fold them)
Of course, over time, the leather looks used, but I like this look a lot since it tells others how much time I’ve spent with this thing. And it is sturdy. Nothing broken, no stich came loose or anything else:
I can highly recommend this wallet to all those folks that want to carry their things minimal, but with style and quality. There is a huge amount of slim wallets out there now — let’s say it has become a trend — but I’m still very convinced of this little guy.
If you enjoyed this review, please recommend below. And if you have any questions, please let me know.
I am an independent person. I will clearly state if I receive a product from a company. Otherwise, I’ve purchased it on my own. I will only write about those products that I like. I will never write about pricing, especially with Rapha, because good stuff is good stuff, period.
