Bellroy has been introducing more woven models like the Bellroy Slim Sleeve Woven, but the new Bellroy Note Sleeve Woven brings the feature rich wallet to a more casual pocket
(if you want to see all the features and how many cards and cash it can hold, please watch the video)
The journey of uncovering Bellroy’s woven wallets continues with the Bellroy Note Sleeve. They have added a multi-colors interior, which looks nice and provides good texture and variety. It has a pull strap that works really well. Just like in the Leather Note Sleeve.
Diving deeper into the features, the wallet has no appreciable features on the exterior, nothing to interfere with its nice and clean look. On the interior, there are three quick access card slots, in addition to an access point for cards on the rear of the left-hand side, and a pull strap to store archive cards. On the interior, there is, of course, the billfold pocket and with it comes some fun. On the backside there is a flap in which another slot is found, this slot is for coins, and that is why the flap is there. Of course, it can be used to place another card if preferred. Moreover, opposite of it, there is another card slot that can accommodate one or two cards.
From a capacity perspective, minimalist carry would be four cards, with reasonable being nine. With cash, a stack of 11 notes was used in the cash insertion test and it fit without issue, Company states that it can hold four to 11 cards, and with eight cards, it seems to work just fine.
This wallet is designed in Australia, and made in either India or the Philippines, depending on which manufacturing facility they use. It is a durable, water-resistant fabric that is made from 100% recycled nylon. That is most likely the reason why it offers only two color options. The material is a Baida nylon, which consists of a heat treatment on yarn which creates the crinkle finish, it provides a great texture, nice to the touch and feel.
All Bellroy products have a characterizing aspect which is the double stitching in all the right places. It can be seen at the top and at the bottom, because this particular wallet has a roll over edge, and so, the double stitching ensures that certain areas are not going to tear apart. That is really important at the top especially when the billfold and the cash pocket area are constantly and unceasingly opened up, the reinforcement on both sides becomes susceptible to tearing up. The poll strap is similarly strongly connected, it is reinforced like with other wallets. Made with a quite durable, looking like a bridge, it is hardly imagined that this is going to tear away unless it is handled very abusively, it is very secured on the top of the front pocket piece.
Aesthetically, Bellroy continues to present different visual and tactile embellishments, such as the accent, like previously mentioned in the color, in addition to the pull strap’s color, which provides some texture that is different in color from the main wallet.
The wallet says it is RFID protected, which is unfortunate as that must be in between the fabric somewhere. But regardless, what that means is well perceived. This wallet is less expensive than the original Note Sleeve leather version by about $10.
From a usability perspective, the placement of the features makes it an easy wallet to navigate. The billfold height accommodates all global currencies, albeit maybe a little tight but they still fit, and it does not feel like it crams the currency. The pull strap is quite nice and the quick-card access slot features allow a great convenience of usage. This is a tight wallet, that makes getting access to cards, cash and coins easy, moreover, the little hidden slot is a nice addition. Moreover, to think that the design problem that existed with the prior or the existing Note Sleeve on leather, where the cards would catch on the little pull strap bridge as they are pushed in, was not experienced with this wallet, the Bellroy Note Sleeve Woven Wallet gets a plus. It measures 3.5 X 4 X 0.3”, and weighs 44 grams, with a three-year warranty. This new material offering is very appealing, and hopefully it will be kept around for some time.
The final score of the Bellroy Note Sleeve Woven Wallet is 4 for the quality, 3 for the price, 5 for the features, as it offers quite a bit of details in such a small footprint. Usability and perception score a 4 each. That gives a great total score of 3.9 out of 5.
Non-leather woven material makes the latest Note Sleeve a great addition to popular line of wallets.
