(if you want to see all the features and how many cards and cash it can hold, please watch the video)
Today we will be reviewing the Alloy wallet from Carved. It is beautiful and one of a kind. This wallet is fantastic. They always ship their products in a wonderful cotton bag that has topographic information on it. This particular wallet is called the LouAnn. They name all their different color variants with people names. There is not another wallet like this. Each of the inlays are unique, so these truly are one of a kind. There is aluminum on the back, as well as a strap. To achieve the beautiful look, they use a Burl wood along with other color resins.
Of everything in this wallet, the inlay is really what you want to look at. Between the Burl wood and other colored resins they have, it’s just amazing to look at, and the conversation that can be had around this is great. If we turn it over, the functionality is on the other side, which provides space for card and cash carry. There is a metal plate under which you insert your cards. Holding it all together is a split strap. Therefore, you insert the cards under the plate and place cash over the top under the strap. This is where it provides the security for what you’re putting inside. Another nice item is it has connection rails on both sides where the strap is connected. If the elastic breaks, it’s easy to get a replacement for repair. You just slip it on the rails and you’re good to go again.
I was able to get four slips of cash and five cards inside. This is a five card carry and thus it fits right up to the depth level of the wallet. You could probably insert more, but they’re not going to have any security of a backstop, at which point your cards could slip around.
All of Carved’s products are designed and made in the United States, Indiana to be specific, by John Webber and his crafty team. Carved used to also produce a wooden wallet, I mean really, a wallet made of wood, which we’ve reviewed in the past.
All of their products incorporate Burl wood, with colorful resin mixed in and then smoothed to a one of a kind product. Burl wood has gnarly growths or deformities that provide a hard and also exotic look when cut and shaped. Buckeye and Maple Burls are responsibly sourced by the company and primarily used. It is embedded in a single block of aluminum CNCed anodized black aluminum which is where we get this beautiful look.
It is very easy to use and the cards slip in and out with ease. The simplicity is good and you’re forced to keep the cards low because that’s all it can support as part of the backstop. Any shortfall you might find is immediately addressed due to the beauty of the wallet itself if you think it’s lacking.
The measurements are 3.4 x 2.3 x 0.2” and weighs 42 grams. That’s the density of the aluminum and the wood and the resin that’s used there. Anytime a maker can find a way to produce a product in large numbers, allowing them to all be unique is a real achievement. They make cell phone covers as well, just like this, all over the back of a cell phone, chargers the same way, using the same methods they have here.
For the final score, quality is a 4, price a 3, features a 3, usability a 3 and perception a 5. That gives us a final score of 3.6 out of 5.
The Alloy Wallet by Carved is a slim, hard wallet that stands out from the crowd. Securely holds up to 5 cards, plus cash.
