(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 Carved wood bi-fold wallet. It came in a wonderful textured cotton bag. It’s got great character to it. Information is included in the packaging as well as a sticker with some background information. This wallet is made from real walnut married to cork. It has some very strong stitching which helps pull this together.
Here is the feature review of the flexible wood wallet, from Carved. With this product, it is a bi-fold because it opens up. There are no features on the outside. Some of their wallets do, but this one doesn’t. Because it’s made from wood, it doesn’t have a natural bend to it. If we go to the interior, we see that on the right we have a card slot. This slot does not have its own back. It’s just an opening that goes into the back. There is also a card on the left side. I think each card slot will only hold one card but we’ll see when we get to the test. Behind the card slots is a bill fold pocket. I like wallets that open up completely in a wing formation. It gives quick access to the cash.
Now, to the card and cash insertion test. The company doesn’t indicate how many cards it can actually fit. I was able to get 5 cards and 5 slips of cash in here. The insertion of the cash was not as easy as I would have expected, and you need to do it a little differently than you would with other wallets. This is due to it not having a lot of flexibility due to the wood portion. I felt like if I tried to force it even a little bit, it would tear, especially right around the card area. If you think this is a ginger piece of art that can’t take abuse, well, the wallet is made to take some abuse. But like all things, if you push it too far it will break.
It is made in the USA in Indiana. It does combine a cork interior to the wood on the exterior which makes the wood more flexible like leather, but durable and strong enough to survive it’s life in a wallet. You can smell the walnut in this. It is hand stitched and has a natural finish. I am quite sure that as a patina develops on this wood it’s really going to look kind of cool. It’s a little expensive for what you’re getting by way of its capacity and the return on the value of the usage, but it is a cool talking piece and something you just don’t see very often. I wouldn’t expect this wallet to last for years, but depending on how you use it and how much you try and put into it, I could be wrong. It really could last you a long time. The measurements on this are 4.13 x 3 x 0.19″. This is best used as a minimalist wallet. You really couldn’t try and stuff this thing, as it would all go wrong for you. However, I do love what this company is doing. Wallets are not their primary thing. They do a lot of cell phone cases, and they’re expanding into other more slim wallets that have burl wood and resin and other things, which are fantastic. We’ll do a review on one of those later.
For the final score. For quality, a 4. For price, a 2. Features a 3. Usability, a 3 and perception, a 3. That gives us a final score of 3.1 out of 5.
This wallet has been discontinued. Below is a close replacement.
The Alloy Wallet by Carved is a slim, hard wallet that stands out from the crowd. Securely holds up to 5 cards, plus cash.
