We take a look at the Top 10 no stitch and low stitch wallets. We also do a review on 3 new wallets as part of the Top 10. Handmade stitchless or low stitch leather wallet are popular as there’s no sewing to break to make the wallet useless. Using folds, tabs and glue, the designs are clever, while being fully functional.
(if you want to see all the features and how many cards and cash it can hold, please watch the video)
In this review, we are going to go through the top 10 no-stitch/low-stitch wallets. They might have a snap or rivet, but otherwise, they are folded in a clever way as the means to keep them together and make them usable. I will be taking each of them apart as we go along, so if you are interested, watch the video to see how they lay out and what they look like.
Our selection has the Kamino Card Wallet; the Man Gun Bear wallet, which is a new addition to our wallets collection; Crazy Horse Craft; Lejiled Number One; Loyal Stricklin Johnny; the Lost Dutchman Franklin, which we recently reviewed; Open Sea Stitch Less, another new piece; EQPD No Spill, another new one as well; a Lo Esencial Assembly Number One; and finally, the Leathings. You can also check the standalone review of the wallet that I have already done. For the three new ones that I just mentioned, I will do their complete review herein.
Starting with the price, some of the higher-end ones would be the Man Gun Bear wallet priced at $75, and the Open Sea’s Stitch Less at $79. The EQPD is priced at $40 but also comes in a nylon version at $12. Therefore, they are all fairly reasonable.
The first wallet we are looking at is the Kamino Card Wallet. This is designed and manufactured in Japan. It is made from Cordoba paper, it is a latex-laced, washable paper fabric, and in this case, it has a naturally wrinkled finish to it. It also has a steel snap that comes in a chrome black, which is quite nice. There are no adhesives that are used on this wallet, except for the snap, it is all folded. If I try to describe what Cordoba is like, if you have ever looked at the white instruction label on your jeans and wondered how it handles washing after washing and remains so durable, well, Cordoba is very similar to that type of material. And over time, the Japanese developed a very unique method to increase the durability of paper and its application in so many things, that it became an integral part of Japanese culture. In addition to cards, it has cash placement. It has a place on the back for another quick access card.
I have always wanted to take this wallet apart, so when I did it, I ended up with something very cool. This wallet wraps around the back in a very nice way, and it has even more to it than that, as it could accommodate a good deal of content for its small size.
The next wallet is one of our new wallets, the Man Gun Bear. This wallet is designed and made in the United Kingdom from British vegetable-tanned leather. It is a two-ounce leather, which is a little thinner, but that is what enables all the folds that we have within this particular wallet. It has some light sewing right down on both sides, which helps enhance the functionality of this wallet.
From a feature perspective, this wallet has nothing on the exterior, while the interior has six staggered card slots. The staggering is done cleverly via the minor stitching I mentioned. It has one billfold pocket, which is amazing and shows what they are able to do with very little stitching. In regards to the card and cash insertion test, the staggered approach of these cards is very practical and cool. It allows quick access to your cards, and this feeds my OCD like crazy. It fits all heights of currencies, including the yen and the higher denomination euro. Usability is good, and those staggering cards look splendid. The only issue is that it is very thick. With just one card in each slot plus that cash, it becomes almost an inch thick. The final score for the Man Gun Bear wallet is four for quality, three for the price, another three for features since it provides all that is needed, usability scores a four because it permits great access to cards, and perception scores a three. This gives a final score of 3.6.
To unfold this wallet, there is one piece of leather that wraps around and is tucked, I grabbed the interior and pulled it out. We could see a little bit of skiving done, and it looks like they have a little bit of glue in, that kind of holds it in place, which is quite alright. I like the fact that you can always take something apart, and by doing so, the wallet comes in looking pretty big. It lays out nicely, besides, you can see the sewing which provides the stagger. This looks quite excellent.
The third wallet is the Crazy Horse Craft. This one is designed and made in Lithuania of Crazy Horse leather, full-grain, vegetable-tanned Italian leather. It is from the full-grain vegetable tannery from the Tuscany Consortium, so it is validated that it is certainly Tuscan leather. This wallet provides access to cards and cash in its various slots. Besideeesss, without needing to remove anything, you have got an immediate slot that can be used for a quick access card. If you open it up further, you can put in currency folded once. I would not recommend coins, although you can, but there is a risk of it getting lost or falling through. This origami wallet has no sewing, just snaps to hold it together.
Taking it apart is pretty simple, moreover, this wallet comes to you with instructions on how to put it together yourself.
The Lejiled Number One, is designed and made in France from a full-grain, vegetable-tanned Italian leather, which is also from the Tuscany Consortium. It has the perfect weight of leather, it is a bit thin, but that is all right because it enables having all of the foldings without it being too thick before you even start putting in cards and cash. A single snap holds it together, and it provides a quick access card slot on the outside. Once you open it up, you have another card slot and access to cards and cash. They have even built a pole strap into the overall design.
When we took it apart, we encountered a little tricky node, but nothing that can not be handled. However, this intricate design has gone through a lot of planning to make this very clever and excellent wallet.
Next wallet is a favorite for customers and a true crowd favorite, the Loyal Stricklin. We have the Johnny wallet, designed and made in the United States from a three and a half weight Wickett and Craig harness leather, which is beautiful and patinas up nicely overuse. It is too bad that this flap is not a little wider like in the Lost Dutchman Franklin, where it could act as a cash wrap. The security slit is placed very high, therefore you have to fold your cash to get it in. However, it can function fairly well, even though it has quick access, but again it is a very simple wallet that provides all that we are looking for in a very simple, no-stitch wallet.
Taking this wallet apart is pretty easy thanks to it being simple in design, which is great because we do not need something very complex, as long as it works.
The Lost Dutchman Franklin is a wallet that we have recently reviewed and it holds our highest wallet ranking score to date. If you get a quick look, you can see that it has a security slit that its flap goes down over. Because of the width, it is almost like the big fin for cash, where it can be put in and wrapped, therefore this provides a cash wrap potential, or you can simply fold the cash once and put it in. It does have a quick access card slot, which is not an independent slot but a slit that goes down, but I love how this is fastened on the back because it provides a measure of security. Inside the wallet, there is a generous slot. It does not open up from the sides like the Loyal Stricklin Johnny, but that is all right.
The next wallet is another of our new ones, the Open Sea’s Stitch Less. It is designed and made in the United States from Italian Butaro vegetable-tanned leather. It is essentially the
In regards to the feature review, as mentioned, it has the security strap that wraps around, which is the slot where the flap inserts itself for security. If we open this up, we can see that it has three interior card slots, as well as the ability for cash folded once in the back. From an accommodation perspective, there is no mention of the number of cards that it can take, but I inserted seven cards distributed within the three different slots as well as some cash folded once, and it works fine, but it does not work with the tall currencies like the yen and the higher denomination euro. However, depending on where you go, you can choose the wallet you want to take. This wallet is a three-ounce leather, which is stiff enough to be able to handle what you need, but it is still pliable enough so it works in a stitchless folded model.
The final score of the Open Sea’s Stitch Less is five for quality, two for the price because it is a little expensive for what you get, features score a three, usability scores a four, and perception scores another four. That still gives this wallet a great score of 3.8 out of 5.
Taking it apart is easily done by undoing the strap, which is a collar button knob rivet, and it comes out, but in a limited way because of the rivet that holds it, but you can see the approximate dimensions. It is very simple but provides a great platform based on the
Next one is the EQPD NoSpill wallet. It is called the No Spill because things do not fall out. It has got a little nose, a sort of dog ear that is out. This is made and designed in the United States from a very rough flesh-side leather. It is a four-ounce oil-stoned leather, and it comes in brown or black. I have got the brown one and it comes with little instructions.
From a feature perspective, the exterior has nothing other than the dog ear. The interior has two card slits. The main feature of this wallet is in its name, NoSpill, because when you are ready to carry it, you pull the other side over and tuck it under the dog ear. Thus, it keeps it from opening up and keeps things from falling out. However, the dog ear, which is part of the design, does interfere a little bit, and the way it does it makes it a little dysfunctional. The cash can slip underneath this dog ear, which is great and it holds it in place, but access to it may be an issue. The cards, as well, tend to get underneath the dog ear, and because of that you cannot just pull them out, you will have to kind of open up an angle to pull them out, put them back in, tuck, and push in. From this perspective, it is kind of like the Phantom wallet. The cash can be slid all the way up, but it tends to migrate itself down a bit, it is a little fiddly, but otherwise, it is all right. Furthermore, it has got a kind of rough edge, a very rough finish, and not any burnishing. This would take a bit of force for things to fall out, but if we are looking at why it was built this way, the purpose is not having cards come out and having cash tucked away nicely. Therefore, by way of security, this is a very good design.
The final score for the EQPD NoSpill wallet is three for quality, three for the price, another three for features, and two for usability. That dog ear is an interesting feature but is it a little fiddly. With a final three for perception, this wallet gets a final score of 2.8.
You may notice that there is just mild sewing, this is one piece of leather, and so rather than a no-stitch, it is a low-stitch. It has a stitch on the side and a stitch on the dog ear, and you can visualize how this opens up as one piece of leather, and that is how this one functions.
The Lo Esencial Assembly Number One is made from one piece of unlined, full-grain, vegetable-tanned leather. It is designed and made in Mexico, and it is barely the size of a card, which means that it is very compact. You have the option of requesting initials to be stamped on the front. It is a very clever and thin little wallet, and I like how the brass snap is on the inside, so it does not appear on the exterior. It has a slit for four cards and another for cash. It offers a nice quick access card in the back.
Taking it apart goes through the tabs that are designed into it on both sides. It looks to be an incredibly simple wallet but functions very well.
The final wallet is the Leathings wallet. It is made in Turkey and has one snap as well as a couple of different tabs to hold it together. It is a bit of a chunky wallet, but it does have a quick access card slot, although not in a place you would expect. It has placement for cards and a larger pocket where additional cards, as well as cash folded once, can fit, and it seems to do that just fine.
