So I’m delighted to be writing this update back in Nottingham for the triumphant return of New Adventures, once again accompanied by my Western Flyer.
It’s been almost six years since my original review so I thought an update on my Western Flyer might be useful.
I was surprised to see that the original review was six years old not just because it feels like yesterday, but because my Tom Bihn Western Flyer still looks like new. I’ve taken this bag all over Europe, from Belfast to Berlin, it’s been in planes, trains and automobiles and is showing no signs of wear. None. Nada. Zip.
I knew Tom Bihn had a great reputation for quality, but this is something else – every stitch, every seam and every zip is still 100%.
Speaking of zips there was one part of the design that bugged me, but I ‘fixed’ it.
There are two double zips on the bag and I found the zip pulls jangled together when walking – after a few hours sightseeing around Berlin with my Tom Bihn Western Flyer on my back they had to go.
So I took a brave pill, grabbed my tin snips, cut off all of the metal tags and replaced them with paracord zip pulls.
Ahhhhh the sound of silence.
Other than that one minor annoyance, the Western Flyer is still one of my favourite pieces of luggage.
I use my Tom Bihn Western Flyer whenever I can and it always makes me happy, both for its excellent design and because I associate it with travel and adventures large, small and new.
Where and how to store your Apple Pencil is an ongoing first world problem for iPad Pro users. Apple’s cases and covers don’t include a home for your pencil; except for the eye wateringly expensive Leather Sleeve.
Apple make a very nice looking Pencil Case, but I could never understand why it wasn’t magnetic allowing it to stick to your Smart Cover or Keyboard.
I guess Twelvesouth had the same thought and thus created the PencilSnap – a leather sleeve for your Apple Pencil that sticks to your Smart Cover through the wonder of magnetism.
When I saw the PencilSnap I ordered one immediately. Now, the PencilSnap isn’t cheap; it cost me £35 including shipping, and then there was a further £5 in customs charges, so £40 in all. Suddenly Apple accessories seem almost reasonably priced.
When I removed the PencilSnap from it’s rather nice box I had to check the box for details of the case as I was confused over the PencilSnap’s construction. The PencilSnap is made from leather, apparently, but it looks and feels like pleather or dare I say it vinyl. It certainly isn’t the same quality or feel as Apple’s Smart Cover, and so doesn’t match well visually.
The PencilSnap holds the Apple Pencil securely, very securely. I hope that as the PencilSnap wears in the leather will soften making it easier to remove the Pencil and a better visual match for my Smart Cover.
And speaking of holding securely – the PencilSnap’s magnets are excellent, adhering to the Smart Cover very strongly indeed, there’s no risk of the case falling or slipping off.
The magnets hold the PencilSnap in one location, which causes another issue with the case – it sits proud of the edge of the Smart Cover when I had expected it to sit flush and parallel with the edge. It’s not a deal breaker as I tend to hold the iPad by the side where the Smart cover attachs, but it’s a little annoying. Again I’m hoping that as the PencilSnap wears in it will be less noticeable.
The PencilSnap is a great idea and functions well, but is perhaps a little let down by the materials and final design, which given the cost is a little disappointing.
Should it improve with wear I’ll update this review.
Those of you that frequent my blog on a regular basis will know that I am a big fan of Bellroy’s lovely wallets and leather goods.
I was chatting with the lovely Nashata from Bellroy about their new range of bags – the Duo Work Bag is on my Christmas list – and was delighted to be offered the opportunity to check out their Passport Sleeve.
I’m not due to fly for a couple of weeks, which makes it sound like I fly far more than I do, so in advance of a full review I thought I’d do one of those new fangled unboxing so beloved of YouTubers.
Here goes…
I always enjoy the understated elegance of Bellroy’s packaging – the outside belying the delights within.
Classic Bellroy attention to detail; the refill for the mini pen has its own slot within the packaging, most other manufacturers would have either not included one or just tucked it inside.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
When I moved from my iPhone 5S to a new 6S I was presented with a dilemma – my phone would no longer fit my lovely Bellroy Elements Phone Pocket.
I mentioned this whilst chatting to my chums at Bellroy who kindly offered to send me the larger version of their Elements Phone Pocket in a new Slate colour for me to try.
Both the larger Elements Phone Pocket and the new Slate colour are perfect.
Long story short – it’s fabulous.
Design & Construction
My review of the iPhone 5S Elements Phone Pocket covers my thoughts on the design and construction in detail – as a larger version of that item the same applies to the iPhone 6S version
One thing I noticed immediately is that the 5S case was a closer fit than the 6S case – the 6s moves around inside the Phone Pocket more that the 5S did. This is not a bad thing as such, and would I think possibly allow users with the Apple leather or silicone cases to use the Phone Pocket without removing that case, I don’t have one of those cases so can’t confirm that.
The extra size of the iPhone 6S version makes inserting and removing cards and cash even easier. The extra height makes the key pocket deeper, deeper than my key. I advise tying a piece of string or ribbon to your key to help removal should it fall down inside the key pocket. I speak from experience.
The Colour
I have a tendency to alway choose black for cases, wallets and devices. Grey, whilst not being the most radical colour, is a departure for me, and one I’m really enjoying.
The Slate leather is a very elegant shade of grey, standing out amongst the usual blacks and browns found on wallets and phone cases. The leather is of great quality and based on my experience of recent weather is definitely waterproof. The YKK waterproof zip matches the slate colour perfectly.
Inside is a mixture of the same slate colour used outside and a lighter grey which helps define the different pockets and spaces within the Phone Pocket making it easy to see what’s what.
Conclusion
Another brilliant product from Bellroy – well thought out, designed with real-world use in mind and beautifully made. The colour adds a nice new look to the Elements Phone Pocket – it’s become a new favourite.
Bellroy have just realised a new wallet called the High Line. Even slimmer than my Note Sleeve the High Line comes in a very nice looking charcoal colour – I’m adding it to my Christmas list now.
I’d always fancied a hobby that involved ‘stuff’ and then I started cycling. I did’t realise quite how much ‘stuff’ or more specifically wardrobe you need to cycle comfortably in the UK with our famously changeable and variable weather.
Then of course there is what to do with the items you need to take out with you on a ride: phone, money, cards, keys etc.
Many people make do with a ziplock bag, tossing everything in to jumble against each other. I didn’t fancy this approach, and since I started riding I’ve been using a Pocpac iPac which has a slot for a card and cash but nowhere for your keys.
Now being somebody that enjoys “nice things” and is cursed with the need to find the perfect solution for problems imagined or otherwise, I’d started casting around for a better, and dare I say more elegant way, of carrying my personal effects whilst riding. I was starting to think about the Rapha Essentials Case, but was put off by it not being properly waterproof or truly designed for smartphones.
Being a Bellroy user and a bit of a fan, I own both their Note Sleeve and Card Sleeve, I follow them on the Social Medias, and just as I was starting to look around Bellroy shared a teaser photo of a new product, what looked like one of their Elements wallets with an iPhone poking out and tagged #comingsoon.
An email to the lovely Karen at Bellroy confirmed it was as I suspected and called the Bellroy Elements Phone Pocket.
An offer of one to review was quickly and gratefully accepted, I’ve now used the Elements Phone Pocket a few times and it really is a great way t carry your ‘stuff’ when cycling.
Design
I carry an iPhone 5S, a One Life iD card, an “emergency tenner”, my bank card and the key to my garage, the Elements Phone Pocket easily accommodates these and makes each easy to access. Perhaps most importantly the clever and considered design of the Elements Phone Pocket means that whatever you carry cannot rub against and scratch your phone – nice.
Within the Elements Phone Pocket there are four slots that can take cards or cash, so capacious and numerous are they that you could easily carry a full wallets worth of cards if you so desired.
One of the slots on the outside of the Pocket can accommodate coins which is very handy, as whilst a tenner is easily stashed the change from your coffee stop is less so.
I particularly like the special slot for a key, something that could wreck havoc against your phone. The only addition I’d like to see to the Elements Phone Pocket is a pull tab or similar device to make removing your key easier as it can be a little tricky especially with cold fingers.
There are also dedicated slots for a SIM card and iPhone SIM removal tool. I initially thought this an odd addition, but as I’m now looking for a new mobile provider that I hope will actually be good enough to allow me to upload photos whilst on a ride and for Garmin Live Track to maintain an internet connection for its entirety I might be testing a few SIMs in the near future.
Construction
The Elements Phone Pocket is made from what Bellroy call all weather leather, it looks like high quality leather but has a different finish to that of their wallets. The interior is Bellroy’s usual buttery smooth leather and funky printed cotton.
The layers of leather that make up the pockets and slots sit against outside of the wallet with your phone in the middle, this provides a significant degree of padding and protection. I’m pretty sure you cold drop the Elements Phone Pocket from your jersey pocket on a fast decent and your phone would emerge unscathed – now Bellroy make no claims for impact protection and I’ll make it clear I haven’t tested this and advise you not to do so.
The zips are water-resistant YKK zips, that have a plastic cover that ‘seals’ as you do the zip up. These are the same as Tom Bihn use on their bags so I have no doubt they will resist all but the most persistent precipitation.
Final Thoughts
The Bellroy Elements Phone Pocket is one of my favourite things. It does what it was designed to do perfectly and cleverly, it’s made from the highest quality materials and in short is a delight to hold and to use. It is the perfect phone wallet for outdoor activities, if you cycle I highly recommend it.
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, I follow them on the Social Medias, and just as I was starting to look around Bellroy shared 
