To hell with bulky wallets. I’ve never liked them. When I was a teenager, I couldn’t get over how irritating it was to sit down on a bulky wallet jammed in my back pocket. Who in the world decided that this would be normal?
Bellroy sells a few versions of slim, leather (and leather-free) card sleeves that hold credit cards, IDs, and small amounts of cash. My choice is their simply named, straightforward Card Sleeve. I’ve been using it for two years, and frankly, I love it.
It tucks cards and cash into a svelte package that fits easily in a front pocket. So easily that it barely even makes a bulge. I’ve been trying to convert people away from the tyranny of the bulky wallet for years, and in my argument it’s always Exhibit A.
sleeves over wallets
For $55, the Card Sleeve’s leather is beautiful. It’s available in eight colors, including two different versions of black. As long as you don’t mind restricting yourself to black and paying $69, you can also get it in an animal-free, plant-based leather substitute called Mirum.
Bellroy advertises the Card Sleeve as being able to hold up to eight cards. Don’t forget that it includes any ID you normally carry around, such as a driver’s license. I keep seven cards in my Card Sleeve, and it doesn’t seem strained or stuffed at all. One more card seems like the limit, though. I couldn’t envision jamming in more than that.
There are slits on both sides of the Card Sleeve for placing folded cash, business cards, or another card. Even with seven cards in my sleeve, I can carry up to 10 individual notes in each slit without making the sleeve feel like it’s about to burst.
There’s a limit to how much cash you can cram into the slits, though. If you regularly carry around a lot of bills, as in more than 20, you might want to rethink this and, as much as I hate to say it, consider a billfold.
To help pop out cards partway to make them easier to grab, there’s a leather tab that you can pull. I had durability concerns when I first got my Bellroy Card Sleeve two years ago, but they’ve turned out to be unfounded. The tab is made of the same durable leather as the rest of the sleeve, and it shows no signs at all of wear.
Two years after daily use, mine still looks new. There’s been no bleeding of the black leather dye, no fraying of the edges, no popped stitches. The leather quality beats most of the leather-clad accessories I’m used to, from iPhone cases to iPad covers.
People may balk at paying $55, even though that’s what you’d expect to pay (at least) for a decent leather wallet. I’ve heard people say, “You paid $55 for that? But there’s hardly any material there!”
“Yeah, man. Exactly,” I usually respond. “That’s the point.”
The post I Hate Bulky Wallets, So I Keep a Bellroy Leather Card Sleeve in My Front Pocket appeared first on VICE.
