(if you want to see all the features and how many cards and cash it can hold, please watch the video)
Today we are going to do a comparison between the Bellroy Slim Sleeves. There are more than one. There is the regular Slim Sleeve and the Designer Edition. There are some differences between them even though they have the same name. The Slim Sleeve bi folds, have the same name and roughly the same design but they are a little different in the layout in the interior. They try to be as slim as possible but there are differences in the materials.
As we look at the regular Bellroy Slim Sleeve, we’ll see that they still function where we have a card slot on both sides as well as a cash or card slot on the interior, as well as the right pull tab for additional cards. The difference with the Designer Edition, is that we still have the card strap or the card slots on both sides, but they’re laid out a little different. Despite the small change in the layout design, they hold the same number of cards. The company says they can hold between four to twelve cards plus cash each. I put in six which I think is about the perfect number for both of these before you start stretching out the leather.
Three slips of cash is great and you can fold that over once for US, Canadian, and Australian currency. Once you get into foreign currencies like Yen and Euro, you really have to fold it twice because it begins to interfere with the spine when you’re trying to close it. For trivia sake, the name Bellroy came from marrying the names Bells Beach and Fitzroy in Australia where the company has offices.
Let’s get down to the material differences between these products. As for material, they both have top-grain leather and are both veg tanned. The Designer Edition in this particular case is nubuck, which is kind of suede, but it’s still a top-grain leather, both are very soft to the touch. With the Designer it has an imprinted embossing on it, which is of particular noteworthy and visually interesting.
One significant difference between these two wallets is in the corner treatment. If we look at the regular Bellroy Slim Sleeve, we notice that the leather is wrapped over and sewn. That provides a leather edge, but of course provides opportunity that if this wears out over time, these two leather pieces will separate and thus it destroys the integrity of the wallet. On the Designer Edition; however, they don’t have leather wrap. They actually have a painted edge which provides greater durability over time, which you would expect from a product of this caliber. It is still sewn across, but of course it’s sewn on both sides and then it’s painted on the edge, which is a really nice touch.
If we look at these size differences between them, they are exactly the same except the Designer is 0.4” thick. This is very easy to see when you put them up close to each other. And the fact that there is more leather involved, it does lend itself to then be thicker. Both of the designs are roughly the same and I’ve had personal experience in carrying the Slim Sleeve for a period of time and I think they’re excellent in all aspects with each other including capacity, size, access from your pocket and the contents within the wallets and they will sit in your pocket in a very thin low-profile that makes it very nice.
Let’s review the final ratings of both these wallets from their individual reviews. The quality is roughly the same on both of them. Having carried the regular Slim Sleeve, I would probably rate its quality a little higher if I was to review it again. For price, you would expect the design would probably be a one, but due to the quality of construction, the materials and so forth, it’s very, very close. It really could fall into a one if it went any higher than this. And of course for features, usability and perception. They’re all about the same. I think the feature should match up the same between the two and I think the Bellroy Slim Sleeve regular would probably be re-rated around a 3.4 but the Slim Sleeve Designer of course, is as it stands is a 3.6.
And there you go, that’s a quick comparison of the original Bellroy Slim Sleeve and the new Designer Edition. If you’ve got the money and you have the inclination, this really is a great wallet and I’d encourage you to take a look.
One of Bellroy's best selling wallet, it brings the perfect balance between cards and cash with easy access while being thin and light.
