As the only hard case wallet in the Bellroy line, there were high hopes for the Bellroy Flip Case, but after using it for just a short time, it became disappointing.
(if you want to see all the features and how many cards and cash it can hold, please watch the video)
The newly released Flip Case from Bellroy is currently their only hard-sided wallet. The wallet is of a good size, the color of this one is Toffee, and from a close look at the construction, it has no apparent sewing, which is obvious, as it is a plastic mold, with some leather applied, pretty simple in its functionality.
The Bellroy Flip Case wallet features are very simple in nature, it is a very small wallet with no exterior features. When opened, on one side there is a quick access card slot area, the other side has an interesting little divider that can provide a separation for cash or additional other kinds of cards. It has a magnetic closure that snaps on both sides. After only short usage, It is a little cumbersome and fiddly.
The card and cash insertion test was performed with five cards and two slips of cash folded in thirds or fourths. All currencies work if folded. Three is minimal card accommodation, while five is probably reasonable. The company states that the wallet can hold up to eight cards with no cash, or six cards with some cash. However, it does not seem practical to insert more than two notes and still allow it to be usable as it starts to get too tight. The need to include cash should probably be limited to storing emergency cash, as it cannot be considered equal to the cards.
From a quality perspective, this is designed in Australia and made in India. It is a slim molded hard shell design, with dual magnetic doors on both sides and has RFID protection. It is made from a premium eco-tanned leather on the exterior and recycled plastic bottles for the interior plastic piece.
Regarding the usability, immediately after pulling the wallet out of the box, I faced a usability problem, which was rather unpleasant. The dual pivot, from both sides, opens up from straight across using the same thumb access. The cards can be pulled out quickly on one side, and on the other side, the cash or the cards are also easily accessed. What makes it super fiddly resides in its opening mechanism, it does open with one hand using the thumb, however, after opening, attempting to access the adjacent side requires using your second hand. Therefore, unless it is a quick access, handling this wallet entails using both hands. To make this easier, it needs to have some kind of offset for leverage for the thumb, lower on the axis where the access holes are as the other thumb is used to open up the side you want. This wallet does not offer the simple usability that should be expected. The slanted door is the best method for quick access cards, requiring getting the finger and thumb in there to pull them out, which is rather usable.
The footprint is really attractive, the wallet is not very thick but pretty consistent because it is molded plastic and fits inside the pocket, or actually slides in easily. Its measurements are 4 x 2.76 x 0.4” and its weight is 59 grams.
Bellroy seems to be always trying new wallet designs, which is insightful and shows their innovative nature as they are always tinkering with matters related to wallets, trying to find new one’s that work.
For the final score, the Bellroy Flip Case wallet scores 3 for the quality since it is molded plastic, and with plastic hinges the durability is a real matter of incertitude. The price scores a 2 because, for the same price or cheaper, better Bellroy made wallets can be purchased. Features score a 3 and usability gets a 2 as the opening is a little fiddly and could be improved significantly. With 4 for the perception, the wallet gets a total score of 2.7 out of 5.
As the only hard case wallet in the Bellroy line, there were high hopes for the Bellroy Flip Case, but after using it for just a short time, it became disappointing.
