Today we are putting two wallets head-to-head that are very, very different, but also they do pretty much the exact same thing
This is the Ridge Wallet and this is the Belroy Card Sleeve
Both of them, they're meant to carry cards in cash and that's about it
They both are actually quite similar sizes and really, like I said, they do about the same thing
And so today I'm going to be putting them head-to-head in seven different categories, ranging from aesthetics to warranty and even to the value
of each wallet and letting you know exactly which one is better in each category so that you can
decide for yourself which one is better. However, I'm going to give my recommendation at the end
as to what wallet is best for each person. And I did want to mention that the Belroy was gifted
to me by the brand, but this Ridge was actually gifted to me by my wife. However, Ridge has sent
out other product for free in the past as well. So let's get right into it by talking about what each
wallet is. And first, let's go ahead and start with the Ridge wallet. This is the white version of the
wallet, however, there are a ton of different colors. On the interior of the wallet, you have a
capacity of up to 12 cards, and there's no external capacity for any cards outside of that
without purchasing an additional accessory. On the back, you do have some cash stores that goes behind
this cash strap, and outside of that, there really isn't much to it. You basically push the
cards out by pushing on this notch, and you can get the cards out like this. The easiest access
is to this card and this card. The interior cards are a little bit more difficult to get to
but it's not too big of a deal. You can basically push them out and then you pinch
and then you can kind of fan through your cards like that or of course you can pull them all out like that
Now as for the Belroy, it has a capacity of eight cards, seven of which generally are going to fit on the interior of this
and then you have a single quick access pouch there and there's a quick access pouch there for cash
Now to get the interior cards out, you don't have to reach down and bring them out like that
There's a little strap that you pull and it brings all the cards out
this strap does work really well and I've been really impressed by it. And you actually find it in some of the other Belroy products that the brand has also gifted me But we talk about those in a different video As for the construction it is all leather There no metal on this whatsoever and so that is what kind of makes it into a stark contrast of ridge
which is basically all metal. And so that's that. Let's go ahead and get into each category and tell you which is best for each
Okay, so let's go ahead and start out with value. Now, both of these do essentially the same thing
They both carry cards, they both carry cash, and that's about it
So really in the end, when you look at the most simplistic nature of the wallet, the lowest price one wins, and that's going to be this Belroy right here
The Belroy is MSRP around $55, and the ridge starts out at about $95
So at about double the price, you're doing essentially the same thing, making the Belroy the better value
Now, of course, if you need more than eight card capacity, the ridge is the obvious choice
And it's probably the better value because you're actually taking the cards that you need with you. However, if you keep under eight cards, this is going to be the better bet for the value
The next category is styling and aesthetics, and I actually do give that to the ridge
Now, the leather on the belroy is very nice. I really do like the leather
When you first get it, it does smell like leather. However, I do like the aesthetics of Ridge
Now, this is their basic white version. However, they have so many different styles of Ridge wallets out there
All the different kind of colors, there's even carbon fiber versions, which I've reviewed as well
I'll put a card up here for it. And there's a bunch of different seasonal versions and even a bunch of sports team versions
So there's a lot of options out there for people. And considering I really like the finish on these, I gave it to the ridge as the better aesthetics
Now, if you disagree, leave your comments down below. I'd love to hear why. And then the number three category is build quality
And I will say I don't really give a tie. However, I will say I'm going to give a tie in this category
It's really hard to compare a leather wallet to a metal wallet. They have their own build quality in and of themselves, so it's really hard to compare directly
But when you look at each individual wallet, you can see on the Bellwraway right here
all of this ditching is really nice I used this wallet quite a bit and I haven run into any quality issues Now this ridge I used pretty much exclusively for about a year You can see there are little dense and dings and stuff but for a wallet that was used
exclusively for a year, it's in pretty good condition. And I haven't had any issues with the screws backing out
The elastic strap hasn't loosened up whatsoever, and so really the build quality
has really been fantastic. Now, the fourth category I put these two head-to-head on is card capacity, which the ridge
is an obvious winner. The max capacity of the Belroy is eight cards, the max capacity of a ridge
wallet, regardless of which one you get is 12 cards. So it's an easy category to win out on
I will say if you do try to put extra cards in this wallet, you can put more than eight
However, I ran into doing that because I actually needed more cards and more cash into this
It actually stretched the wallet out quite a bit, so it doesn't hold the cards quite as well
anymore. So I don't recommend putting any more than eight cards in this wallet because you'll run
it's the same issue as me. Now number five is durability. This is a little bit different than
build quality. And I actually gave it to the belroy because leather tends to age really well
and looks nicer over time. However, the ridge wall does get its dense and dings and it does
show wear and tear aesthetically speaking. Now neither are probably going to break down break or any
of that kind of stuff, but the ridge is going to age and not look as nice as it ages and gets
older, whereas the belroy is going to probably look a lot nicer. And that's just kind of the nice
quality about leather. Downside is the ridge probably is a little bit more usable. Which leads me
actually to my next section, which is usability. I have probably 20-something wallets in my collection
and I regularly reach my Ridge wallet, and so I actually had this one winning out. Honestly
really just wallets overall. I think Ridge wallets are extremely usable. Now pushing the cards out
and getting to the interior cards can be a bit of a pain. However, most people really only
use one to two cards regularly, and the rest are insurance cards, extra bank account
and that kind of stuff. And so just being able to get to that single card there is a super simple and easy way of doing it
Putting the cards back in are super easy And considering the wallet itself is no bigger than a credit card you don really feel it in your pockets whatsoever So I had the Ridge Wallet winning out in this category Now warranty and returns This is the last and seventh category I had the Ridge Wallet winning out Now Bell Roy sells a bunch of different types of
products, not just wallets. They have bags. They have a bunch of other stuff. And their warranty
and return in exchange and stuff is a little bit more similar to kind of like a clothing company
And so they only have a three year warranty on this and a 30-day return policy. Whereas the
Ridge wallet has a lifetime warranty and a 99-day return policy, almost three times the
return policy of Belroy, meaning the Ridge wallet actually did win out on this category pretty well
The hard thing is, again, they go back to Bellroy doesn't just sell wallet, so they have to
kind of have a warranty and return policy that covers all of their different products
So it kind of makes it so that this wallet is not quite as comparable as other kind of
wallet-specific brands. Now, I do realize Ridge sells a bunch of other products, but their wallet is their main product
And so that's the comparison of all the different categories. So which one do I recommend
Now, if you are somebody that likes leather, there is no better option. This leather wallet is so
incredibly nice. It's nice and compact. It's a full leather construction. It's easy to get to this
quick access cards. It's easy to get to your cash. Easy to get to the backup cards in the inside
This is an amazing option for anybody that wants a leather wallet. However, if leather isn't something
that's necessary for you, the Ridge wallet is there. I really think the Ridge Wallet is probably
one of the best wallets ever made. And it makes sense because it's actually the one that started
off this minimalist wallet revolution. So I would probably say probably about 20% of people
will probably go with this Belroy, whereas the rest of the people probably are better suited
with the Ridge Wallet, especially since you can customize it to exactly what you want. And with that
said, by the way, I do have links down in the description for each of these products. If you wanted to purchase these for themselves, they are paid links. And they help me out by getting me a commission
if you guys do make a purchase through them, and it's what makes videos like this possible
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like videos about wallets and other awesome gear, as I have a ton of other videos coming up here soon
and I'll see you guys next time