I usually just buy a leather wallet at some store and it starts to get grungy after a year or so. Any recommendations? Thanks.
Bought one from German producer Feuerwear**, who make then out of old fire fighter’s hose. Had mine for 2+ years and it just doesn’t scratch/ruin. A friend has had theirs for 5+ years and it’s is only slightly faded but otherwise still in perfect condition (incl. zips etc.)
https://www.feuerwear.de/portemonnaies-aus-feuerwehrschlauch/
That seems like a great idea, I didn’t know anyone made something like this, thank you!
They do the same in France (https://saintlazare.fr/48-porte-cartes-made-in-france) but the German ones are more pretty, I may buy one.
Came here to say this. Have a Feuerwear (your autocorrect fucked up there btw) wallet for several years. Has been the longest lasting one and still looks like on the first day, apart from the grime.
Ha! Thanks for noticing!
Honestly it depends on what you want your wallet to hold. I use a Ridge wallet (I had a knockoff for a while but treated myself to a forged carbon Ridge with blue inclusions that I really like the look of).
I only carry 4-5 cards though, and a couple folded bills in the cash strap. It goes in my front pocket because that’s just more comfortable and is a somewhat more secure place to keep a wallet (not perfect, but marginally harder to pickpocket than a butt pocket and less likely to just slip out while going about your day). It’s made of metal, carbon fiber, and some replaceable elastic bands. It protects against RFID skimming, and is overall about the size of a trifold wallet. I consider it a BIFL wallet because it fits my needs in a wallet, that style may not work for you though.
I’ve had a ridge for years and it’s held up very well. I recommend blue loctite on the screws, with that it’s been pretty much invincible
Adrian Kliss makes Bison leather wallets. Not quite bifl, but my my last one lasted 22 years of daily use.
Nylon wallet. They wear out after a while but they don’t get as funky as leather ones. There is no BIFL wallet as far as I know, but maybe Kevlar or something would work if you don’t mind it scratching up your pants.
Based on a previous BIFL thread I picked up a Flipside V4 wallet a few years back, it’s great. Apparently there is a V5 now which I don’t have so I can’t recommend one way or another, but the V4 is solid.
I have the V4 too. Those V5s look nice, but my V4 looks almost brand new after a couple of years. I’ll look into the V9 when the V4 finally kicks the bucket. I bought a bag of silicon rubber bands to replace the OEM one, but that’s the only thing that’s shown any wear.
I’ve had the same one of these for almost a decade now, and it still looks brand new: MyWalit
Low profile, fantastic stitching, and great leather.
For solid recommendations you’ll probably need to give some additional details about what kind of wallet you prefer, how many cards and such you carry in it, and which pocket you carry it in.
Bifold vs trifold vs zipper vs money clip etc, front or back pocket, etc.
In general, if you’re looking for leather goods, try to avoid “genuine leather” that’s basically the lowest grade, and about the only nice thing that can be said about it is that it’s not fake.
Basically all leather goods benefit from a bit of care now and then, like cleaning with some saddle soap and some sort of leather conditioner. Over time all leather goods will tend to develop some creases and wear. In some cases that just adds to the character, in other cases it might look kind of grungy, and that’s kind of up to personal taste.
Personally I’m a back pocket wallet guy, and after using thicker leather wallets for most of my life that started to give me a little bit of back pain from sitting on it, so I switched to a thinner nylon wallet (I use a Chums surf short wall for my EDC) and that’s held up probably as well as any leather wallet I’ve personally used (not that I bought particularly great leather wallets) and a simple metal money clip for dressier occasions
But I also don’t carry very much with me. ID, a couple cards, and maybe a little bit of cash.
Interesting about genuine leather. I decided to check the wallet I’ve had with me for going on 20 years now the only mark I see on it says “genuine leather”. I never do any kind of care to it, it’s gone through all manner of weather from tropical rain to -30c, zero signs of damage. It’s perhaps the longest lasting most reliable thing I’ve ever owned and it sees daily abuse
I will admit that I’m simplifying leather quality terminology quite a lot with that.
Really that’s only part of the grading. There’s different layers to leather like there is to our skin
Full grain leather is basically what you probably think leather is- a slab of animal hide with flesh removed that’s been tanned
Top grain leather has basically had the very top layer sanded down to remove any imperfections.
Split gain leather has had ever more of the top layers removed (suede is a type of split grain) to
And genuine leather has had even more layers removed and usually needs a lot of processing done to it to make it look decent
The topmost layers are the most durable, and so genuine leather tends to not hold up as well as other grades, but it does have some valid uses, full grain leather can be stiff, and genuine leather tends to be pretty soft and flexible, and the other layers in between have their own properties that may or may not be desirable to preserve depending on the intended use.
And within those categories there are still other ways of grading quality- the quality of the hide you started with, different types of treatments and processing, etc. so there is genuine leather out there that is pretty nice, and trash full grain leather.
But as a genuine rule of thumb, if you’re looking for a sturdy leather thing, genuine leather usually isn’t the way to go
And then a step down you have stuff like bonded leather which is basically shredded up leather that’s been mixed with rubber and such and formed into a sheet.
Top grain leather has basically had the very top layer sanded down to remove any imperfections.
Thats actually nubuck or “corrected grain”. “Top grain” without any modifiers on it shouldn’t have anything taken off the top.
I had no idea there was so much to it! Makes sense though it’s been around forever of course there are a lot of specifics in how it gets processed
“Genuine leather” isnt technically bad, it’s just a very broad and not useful term.
It literally just means exactly what it says, that it’s not fake leather. You could take full thickness of a hide and label that genuine leather (though “full grain” would be a better descriptor). You could also take a bunch of suede scraps, glue them together, and coat it in polyurethane to look like a full grain, and label that “genuine leather”.
You might have an actually decent leather. Nowadays, since people are more savvy to the meaninglessness of the term, reputable leather goods are typically not marked “genuine leather” since it has a negative connotation, but maybe not when you bought your wallet.
Flowfold - made from recycled sailcloth
What does grungy mean to you? Is it patina on full grain leather? Is it the thinnest leather stitched by a machine that as started to fray and tear? Is it paint starting to rub off?
Better quality wallets are saddle stitched by hand using full grain veg-tan leather or other leathers from reputable tanneries. The edges are usually burnished and not painted. They will patina nicely but will have to be cleaned and oiled at least once a year.
Was going to ask this too. My leather wallet has lasted for years. It has some marks from being in my pocket with keys all the time, but that’s about it. It’s in a front pocket, so maybe that gets less wear than in a back pocket. Also it’s a Slimmy, a minimalist wallet that doesn’t fold. If you have a George Costanza bursting-at-the-seams wallet that could factor in.
I have never cleaned a wallet, and keep it my front pocket. Things start to stick together and have a smell.
It doesn’t need go be a very thorough cleaning unless its very dirty.
Simply water and leather soap. Then some conditioner after.
I got a wallet from Hanks Belts a few years back and it’s still going strong with minimal wear. Hoping it’ll be the last wallet I own
I bought a Trayvax Contour about 6-8 years ago, I’m not even sure but it’s been a while. It’s still perfect and I use it every day. I bought a second one five years ago maybe and gave it as a gift. That person still uses theirs too every day.
It satisfies all my wallet requirements and I Never have that “itch” to see what could be better. It’s invisible in my life in the best way.
The Contour is sourced and Made in the USA and comes backed by the Trayvax 65-Year Heirloom Warranty
I’ve been rocking a leather wallet from Open Sea Leather. They have some interesting designs that work really well for me and the leather patinas nicely.
As others have mentioned, the Flowfold is a good option, in particular their model made from upcycled sail cloth (not all models are).
There’s also Couch Guitar Straps, who make some of their wallets out of upcycled vintage NOS 70’s car upholstery, which is extremely hard wearing, and very thin.
For leather, I’ve been a big fan of Popov Leather from BC, Canada. They have the absolute best leather I’ve ever seen. I own a wallet, half a dozen belts, coasters, bags, and more from them and they’re fantastic.
A wallet made of Ballistic Cordura. It’s heavily durable, washable and will last for decades. The thing that will fail first on these are the zippers or velcro that may be part of the design. Sorry I don’t have name brands to recommend.
Ballistic Cordura is just a brand name for heavy-duty nylon manufactured by Koch Industries, which has spent millions of dollars on climate change denialism, the Tea Party, anti-vaxx-related campaigns, etc: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_activities_of_the_Koch_brothers
So, you might want to look for wallets made of generic heavy duty nylon rather than Cordura-branded nylon. The fabric will be functionally similar, without bankrolling Charles Koch.
Well, time to stop using cordura on my projects, lol. There are many fabrics that perform better and weigh less now, anyway.
Let’s hope the Avient corporation (dyneema) and Bainbridge international (challenge sailcloth) are better than Koch (it would be hard to be worse).
Dyneema (by Avient) is the same as Spectra (by Honeywell) btw. Choose your patron megacorporation wisely.
I never see fabrics (at least where I shop) being marketed as made with Spectra. I guess you’re never buying straight dyneema, either, but dyneema composite fabric.
