(if you want to see all the features and how many cards and cash it can hold, please watch the video)
They have been around since 2004 and have a strong following of happy customers. What makes this reasonable wallet offering so attractive to customers? Well, it is the Big Skinny, and their Hybrid wallet is the topic of this review.
This wallet comes in very simple, easy to ship packaging. Wrapped in tissue paper, this wallet has a leather exterior, while the interior is nylon microfiber. I got it in the leather color and it comes with a stamp down on it.
It is a trifold with no exterior features, whereas the interior has six internal card slots with a capacity of one to two cards each. It has an ID card slot with a plastic see-through thumb push, and the billfold area has two billfolds, one in the front with a divider and another in the back that is good for currency, receipts, separation of different currencies if you have that, it offers a convenient better organization. It measures 4.2 x 3.2 x 0.3 and weighs 45 grams or 1.6 ounces. Big Skinny has always prided itself on providing a well-built easy-to-use, and nicely priced wallet. They have expanded into other products like purses, cross-body bags, money clips, and more.
This wallet needs to be broken in a little bit because when you lay it flat, it opens up. The company makes no recommendations on the number of cards, but if you are a trifold user, you are likely going to carry a lot of things. Since this wallet is thin enough to start with, you should feel good about being able to stuff it. I got seven cards, including the ID, as well as 10 slips of cash, which was actually quite a bit. You can surely put additional cards, and the rear slot goes deeper, which could be for other cards, non-credit types, such as insurance cards, business cards, and the like. The cards stage themselves and are staggered on both sides.
This is designed in the United States and made in China from a top-grain cowhide, as is expressed on the wallet. There exist four grades of leather before you get into bonded, which is the lowest. The top of those is full-grain, followed by top-grain, which is a leather quality higher than genuine. So this wallet’s leather is not full-grain and that is okay, and besides, it is only for the exterior since this is a hybrid wallet with a microfiber nylon interior that contributes to its thinness, especially since it is a trifold.
When we think of nylon, we usually think of RFID, but this wallet does not have RFID, although Big Skinny does sell specific RFID wallets. I think we are all fine without RFID. Still, plastic is always a downer for me, because it tends to be the first thing that goes bad, gets yellow, cracks, etc, therefore, it is not really something I prefer. This wallet is priced very reasonable, and Big Skinny is known for producing good products for a reasonable price. I have heard from many owners who love their wallets that they have lasted them for years, which is a great return on value. The wallet has a pleasant feel due to the leather on the exterior, and the nylon on the interior makes moving around easier. Big Skinny likes to promote this tooth, or this non-slip nature of nylon. It is pretty slippery to me, but it sounds good.
In addition to the rearmost slot which has more depth, there is a wider slot, which, if you push down to the bottom, has a gap that provides the ability to accommodate non-credit card size items as well. One advantage of this wallet, and being trifold in particular, especially if cards are facing to the interior, which most of them do, when you close it, you have security. The cards are not going to fall out of this particular wallet. The height of this wallet provides greater height for the interior, therefore, all the currencies fit with no issues whatsoever, including the yen and the euro. There are always great-value wallets out there, and the big skinny offerings are no different.
The final score of the Big Skinny Hybrid wallet is three for quality being a fine wallet, four for the price, and another four for features as you could get quite a bit in there, including the extra billfold pocket, which I think is what contributes to it. Usability scores four, because it is very easy to use, and finally, perception scores another four. Big Skinny is a great little company that knows its market and who it is selling to. This gives this wallet a final score of 37 out of 50.
