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anything and everything there is about the world wallets. We purchase all the wallets we review. Now today's top 10. It's top 10 for 2020 on Mark's
Favorites, my favorites. And of course, I try to
place an unbiased review on all the wallets that I review, whether I like them personally or not. And that's because there's always a wallet out there for someone. There are hundreds of wallets out there, because those wallets meet
the needs of individuals. Now, for me however, I will
take you through the top 10 for 2020 that I personally like. But before we get started,
please hit the like button and please remember that the
full reviews for each of these wallets, we've already reviewed them all, are in the notes below. So now, let's get into the top 10. (drum roll) Here are Mark's top 10. Starting from the top left
we have the STOW Swift. Then the Hell-bent 3.0, to it's
right is the Das Offene Meer which really is now The Open
Seas, because that's what it means in German. That's the Houbei. We have the Dango A10,
the Bellroy slim sleeve. And then down here on the
bottom, we have the XSTO. I have them both. This is the original STOW and the XSTO. Both are favorites XSTO
is the latest to come out. And then we have the Allett
Leather Bifold Wallet followed by the Tauruscamp Grain Wallet. We have the Winston from
Wingback and the Trayvax Contour. When we do our tops, we
always start out with price. Everybody wants to know what
the price is to start out with. How much does this cost? Well, let's look. The Trove Swift $45,
Hell-bent 3.0 it's 99. The Dango A10 that's $99,
that's a cost for the base plus the single card accessory it has. The Bellroy Slim Sleeve is 79. The XSTO is 66, goes up
to 68 depending on the card configuration. The Allett Leather Bifold is
45, Tauruscamp brainwash at 68. The Open Seas Leather, the Houbei here from Das Offene Meer is 79. The wingback Winston 100 and
coming in as the heavyweight the Travax Contour at $158. All right, what makes each
of these wallets my favorite? Let me explain first that I
prefer a minimalist wallets. That's just my preference. And I rarely carry cash and
only coins when I travel. That may have come out in a
lot of the comments I make in some of my videos. So this list is for my
everyday carry type wallet where I live not when I travel. That's a completely different thing. Hm that's probably a good video too. And so I'll warn you that
if there's leather involved I'll be smelling it probably. So anyway, let's get into the wallet. We're starting with the Trove Swift. This has been a perennial for
me and for a lot of reviews, a lot of comments from people. It's footprint versus capacity
is a really big thing for me. I like small and when it's
functional like this Swift it's even better. I did a carry test on this wallet and it didn't disappoint at all. And you can see the carry
test here up the top. It's designed and made
in the United Kingdom, has two layers of bonded full
grain veggie tan leather. Oh yeah, still smells
good after a year plus. The main elastic here is
Italian, very high quality. And one concern is that
it has a tendency to bend your cards over time. And that would be the case because we have a very strong
leather component in here. And as it gets out to the elastic pieces it could cause that to happen. The pull tab grip is really
nice and it's rubberized here on the head and that
makes it a really awesome by way of being able to get
it when it's in here tight. But it's not really a obtrusive. And let me also mention this
is in no particular order. There're all mixed up,
not any particular order. So now let's take a look
at the Hell-Bent 3.0. The slimness of this wallet
without the money clip. Here's the money clip, it's right here. And it does add some bulk. Let me show you, but this
in here, it is very nice. And how adds right here. So it just slips in nicely sits there. But to me this adds bulk. I didn't really... I like
my wallets really thin. I think I mentioned I
like minimalist wallets so that's kind of why I
don't like this money clip. Even if it's a beautiful money clip. I really love this. It's not something I would probably use. Like several other wallets here, I did a carry test on this
wallet and it was great. I really liked this one. Either easy the fan out
cards to get them back in. It's held together by really
the tension of these screws here in the back. And when you wanna get a card in and out, I'll take an exception
and use cards in here. It's just a little unique. They just slip right in, this holds these do not come out
with a lot of effort. And all you do is just grab the cards, fan them out like this,
grab the one you want, you put it back in and there you go. It's really nifty, I like this one. So even though it looks
like they can fall out, they just don't because of the tension in this particular wallet. And I really really liked
carrying this wallet. It may look like I'm
spending a lot of time pulling cards out of it, you
can pull them out easily. So let's get on to the next wallet. Now onto the Dango A10, I've
carried a few Dango wallets and I reviewed almost all the rest and I do like aspects
of all their wallets. But for me, the A10 really
provides the sweet spot for talking metal wallets
from the Dango product line. It's almost all metal wallets. So they do have a couple
leather, but anyway it has a reliable and thought
out place to dress cash, which goes in here unlike
all the other wallets. And I do like the adapt
aspect of what we have here. Cause you can pick and choose
which accessory to use. The slide and rail that
we have is very clever. It's a great platform
to extend their products and the other offerings they have. And I did a recent carry test on this. As I mentioned, I really enjoyed it. You can see the carry review
up here and like other wallets the slimmer width version
of this, it's not as wide versus the other Dangos, really
made this right size for me. For example, the width of the Dango A10 is only 64 millimeters
versus the 74 millimeters for the traditional M2 Maverick. They also adopted the
Dango rail mechanism here as mentioned from the M1. I think they found a real winner here for several products and what they can do. And that's what makes this a great wallet. Now on to the Bellroy Slim Sleeve. This is by far or one of my favorites due to the ease of use,
capacity to carry what I need and it's thin profile. It's so functional but
it's also very usable. Isn't functional and usable the same word? Might be. Anyway it's awesome. It's very easy to use overall. By putting cash fold it over
once it barely sticks out here. That's U.S currency Again,
look below for the review. Which has annoyed some people but it doesn't interfere
with the spine closing. So it closes just fine. I like it as it provides
a way to grasp the bills as bills are hanging out a little bit. Designed in Australia, made in India. It's made from environmentally certified top grain leather, veggie tan. It's double stitched in areas
where the leather meets, which is really quite nice. And the layout is incredibly efficient. Two card slots here, one here
and a archive cards in here with this pole strap. Smells nice, does it, Oh yeah. I had this for over a year,
still smells awesome, long-term. I still have concerns
about the leather being too thinly split possibly. I mean, it really is, but it's still... I have a lot of reports
that it performs nicely over the years. Others that say it's problematic but overall I just love this footprint. On the XSTO which is the
successor to the STOW, it's really amazing to me. One of the most exciting wallets of 2020 for sure has to be this
XSTO upgrade to the STOW. I'm not gonna get into this one. Let's talk about the XSTO. It's achieved this wonderful
balance, this feature balance that sets a level of functional excellence that we haven't seen in
a long time from anyone. Whether it's leather or
whether it's a metal, metal just happens to be rigid enough to provide that platform. The small and compact footprint is really what makes this attractive to me. It's excellent in how cards go in. They click, they stay, there's
no way they're coming out. It's ability to handle cards
and cash almost equally where cash goes in the bottom. We have this spring mechanism
here that holds it in place. Really doesn't make cash
a second class citizen. And it doesn't actually make it. It makes it simple because
of the stainless steel spring at the bottom. And the cushion insert which
we used to have in the STOW is plastic, this is metal. So they really upgraded
the materials in this. It's easy to see why it's
critical to the wallet functioning as it provides us upward
pressure to keep cards in place. So that they're up against this lip from cash in the bottom. So cash on top or cash on
the bottom, cards on top, it just works brilliantly. And there is a secondary
storage area right on top. Underneath this a little
business card holder which you can upgrade
carbon fiber for example, I like to put my ID in here,
not just business cards. You can put other cards
in here to upgrade it. And so that is the XSTO,
the successor to the STOW. Great wallet, you can
see the review on that. Now the next one here is gonna
be the Allett Leather Bifold and it's big, I think you
saw that in the picture. It's kinda big, So it doesn't really kinda fit the minimalist thing that
I talked about but it does. Designed and made in the
United States in California. What makes this wallet
impressive is its capacity. And it's not just a George Costanza. Hm that's a capacity, it's its own. It can maintain up to 24 cards while still being very
functional and incredibly thin. The leather use on the
exterior is a Napa leather. That just means it carries characteristics of being very soft, which it
is, to the touch and pliable. You have two areas probably
the top one here for receipts the deeper one you can put in cash and there's the seams are
created to prevent overlapping which helps enhance the
design and the thinness. So the design in those
really is to allow inclusion of significant items
without creating bulk. Maintaining minimalism the best they can and they do that brilliantly. Now, should I sniff this one? It smells pretty good, it really does. Next is the Taurus camp Grain Wallet. I really liked this one. I have done a carry test on that. You'll see that if you haven't already. what really attracted me to this wallet, was functional design. You can really tell when the designers put an extra effort to understand
how people use a wallet so they can make
refinements to their design. So it makes it a better experience. And this is truly one example of that. It has an ability to keep cards
for tap payment right here in the front, in this front pocket. It's really nice. I like being able to flip,
open this with my thumb. Just getting here, flip
that open, not hard to do. And I'm right-handed so this works for me the tears steps on the
back thumb notches here again is a nice thought here recognizes that instead of digging in
this way, you can actually have a little bit of
exposure to grab a card. A nice thinking, may appear
to be a little bigger than you expect this over a wallet which it is because it's
an eight centimeter version which handles all currencies. They have a seven centimeter version which is not as wide, a
little thinner, not as wide. And that feels like a right
size, of course, where I live which is in the United
States which handles Australian currency, Canadian
currency and so forth. And there we go, That's a
Tauruscamp Grain Wallet. Now this next one I know we
have reviewed quite a few of the Das Offene Meer now
renamed Open Sea Leather. That's just a translation of
Das Offene Meer from German. And this is the Houbei. Now for those that aren't
aware, like I mentioned they changed their name and that's fine. I think it hopefully
will make it a challenge for people to find them. And I love this particular
wallet for the unique design. All of Michael's designs are pretty unique but this one encompasses
everything we're looking for. Of course, we've got the
unique xo pattern here on the side, which is
really what Michael does. This is made in the USA or wherever Michael Bluth is stationed. He's full-time Navy and it's made from a veggie tanned, full
grain, Italian Buttero leather. And the leather comes from
the custodial walpier tannery in Italy, The company recommends
seven to eight cards and 20 pieces of cash. That is really significant,
very significant. That's a lot of cash
to stuff in this thing. Because it is a wrap, cash
goes in here, comes up, folds over, 10 I think is
very reasonable on this. It does not work with Yen or Euro, just U.S, Canadian, Australian. I hope that there's a
different version that can work with those currencies in the future. And this unique design just makes Houbei a joy to use. Again it's got the flap insert here card slot, card slot, quick
access card slot here. I mean, everything I
could ask for in a wallet and the footprint is very reasonable. Now of course the smell of this one. Yeah. This is just amazing. You just can't miss that quality. The leather that comes in here I can't get enough of it anyway. So let's move on to the next one, which is the Wingback Winston. There are similar wallets like this, one we have an open back. Well, let me show you, it's
the open back here that I'm kinda beginning to like
with bifold wallets. And the reason why is you don't have any extra leather that's involved here. You have quick access to your cash. It's really not a problem, no
secondary layer of billfold (indistinct) wallets
and the Octaval wallets. We reviewed also do this. I like this one in particular,
due to several reasons. One is the refinement in the construction and the finishing elements. The weight of the leather is just perfect the thickness and he
uses a different weights depending on application
which I really like. It feels very elegant,
simplicity, very tight footprint. There's really nothing
sloppy with this wallet. And I really love how
the edges are beveled. Right here at the top
you can see the beveling and of course the painting
on all other edges. It's just this kind of attention to detail that brings a lot of class
elegance to this (indistinct). It's designed and manufactured
in the United Kingdom. And like I said it's made from full grain veggie tan leather, it's environmentally certified,
it's all really good. And the hand-sewn wallet,
it uses gutermann thread from Germany. Getting quality all the way through this. And it's really made from
just three pieces of leather. As you can see, we have
the main piece in the back. It folds up under the bottom to here. And then on the inside we
have the other two pieces that form the rear pockets. Very clever and very
clean, It reduces a lot of the sewing requirements
and it just gives some nice texture. And that is the Winston from wingback. Now let's look at the Trayvax Contour. All Trayvax wallets are unique and require a level of
engagement, learning, understanding with their designs that require mental application. They don't necessarily
come easy in some cases. And this either leaves their
wallets as too difficult to use for people or endearing
for their special features. You know me I'm kinda all about a don't make me think situation. All of Trayvax wallets, of all
of them, this is my favorite and it's a little
involved but I'd like it. The quality of materials
makes this a solid wallet not too big but very capable. Designed in handmade in the United States, (indistinct) machine
stainless steel plate. We have a whole grain leather here which is a top grain oil
tan leather made in Chicago. It's just fantastic, the
quality just oozes through this. Once you get the hang of
the hex screw that is here, you're able to understand
how this all fits. And again, this is your capacity
for cards that go in here. You also have cash that
store storable right here by folding it, it just
provides the functionality and it's just really kinda cool. And here we are, back to our selections. We went through real quick,
next thing would be size. Let's look at the size of each of these, laying those out there, take a look. You can see how close some
of these come by way of size. Others not so much. You can just tell
visually what we have here between all of these wallets. And it helps you decide wow. Compared to the others
here, which ones would be more appropriate in my pocket. Now let's look at the weight
of each of these 'cause some of these are light, some
of these are quite so much. And here we have the weight, Of course the Trove Swift
18 grams, Hell-bent 73, Dango 65, the Bellroy Slim Sleeve 27. They're really kind of all
over the map, but obviously if there's metal involved,
it makes it quite heavy. So all of these wallets
provide their own size and weight comparisons
that help you understand what might be appropriate for you. There you go, that was quick. That just wraps up our look at my personal top 10 wallets of 2020. If any of these interest you, please look at the notes below, I appreciate that. And thank you for being with
us during the year 2020. It's been one of one of those years hasn't it for everybody involved? But I've really enjoyed
interacting with all of you in emails and comments. It's just been a pleasure. Thank you so much for being part of the Walletopia community. And if you wanna see all the
rankings for these wallets compared to everything else,
go to walletopiainfo/rankings and we will see you in the next review. Bye.
