Bellroy Micro Sleeve Review

The lovely people at Bellroy recently asked me if I’d like to take a look at their new Micro Sleeve wallet. Now as you know I have a minimal wallet habit and having been intrigued by the Micro Sleeve since it’s release I happily said yes.

Bellroy Micro Sleeve Wallet

I’ve been using the Bellroy Micro Sleeve as my “daily carry” and thought I’d share my thoughts on this great little wallet.

Design and Construction

The Bellroy Micro Sleeve is designed to hold between two to four cards plus a few folded bank notes. At the moment I’m not travelling much, and only need to carry my bank card and my Drivers Licence for ID, which makes the Micro Sleeve just about perfect.

The Micro Sleeve has two slots on the outside for your cards and a single pocket in between for your cash – squeezing the ends of the Micro Sleeve opens up the cash pocket allowing easy access to your cash.

This design made me think of the simple coin pockets we had as kids back in the 70s day, made from plastic, and generally covered with pictures of the Smurfs or Snoopy. The top was kept closed by two flat steel springs, you squeezed the ends to open the pocket, which would close with a snap somewhere between satisfying and terrifying.

I had initially assumed that the Micro Sleeve used a stiffener of some sort to create the spring loading of the cash slot, but after a couple of weeks in a moment of idle examination I noticed that it is in fact just leather.

Bellroy Micro Sleeve Wallet note slot

The whole wallet is two sheets of leather folded and glued and sewn together, the springiness comes from the leather itself and the opening is controlled by a cleverly placed slit on each side of the inside of the wallet.

The only issue I have with the design isn’t really an issue with the design… It’s an issue I’ve mentioned before, it’s the comedically large bank notes we have here in the UK requiring each note has to be folded three times for it to fit the Micro Sleeve cash slot. So when carrying more than a few notes the slim profile of the Micro Sleeve can be affected and we wouldn’t want that would we?

Bellroy Micro Sleeve Wallet the pound note problem

The Micro Sleeve is made from some of the nicest leather I’ve seen, I wonder if the quality and inherent stiffness of the leather is needed to facilitate the spring design and ensure it’s longevity.

I’ve been using the Micro Sleeve for four weeks or so and it’s wearing beautifully. I fully expect the outside to take on a lovely patina as it wears over time – a future candidate for Aged to Perfection.

The Colour

I usually buy black accessories, but you may remember I was really adventurous with the Bellroy Elements Phone Pocket and chose grey.

Bellroy have a lovely range of colours for the Micro Sleeve and so this time I went “full disco” and chose the frankly gorgeous Caramel.

Bellroy Micro Sleeve Wallet patina

Caramel is a beautiful colour and is twinned with a darker chocolate brown on the front of the wallet for a very stylish and classic combination. I chose Caramel as I hoped it would age nicely, adding depth of colour and based on the first few weeks it looks as though it will.

Final Thoughts

I have tried a number of slim or minimal wallets over the last few years and the Bellroy Micro Sleeve is without doubt the best designed, best constructed and frankly nicest of them all.

The simplicity, cleverness and elegance of the design of the Micro Sleeve make me love it even more.

If you are looking to slim your wallet I highly recommend the Bellroy Micro Sleeve, it’s a real beauty.