Saddleback Leather Co. Medium Full Grain Leather Bifold ID Window Wallet for Men Includes 100 Year Warranty

The Saddleback bifold wallet, what can I say about this marvelous lady… It isn’t very often that a Feller even thinks about his wallet. Though to be honest it does happen to be one of the most important accessories that we carry around with us on a daily basis. Women have the luxury of choosing a conveyance device that comes in a range of sizes from a nifty handbag all the way up to purses the size of Texas (Which would still be the third largest state if Alaska decided to have a civil war with itself and split in two). However we as men are forced to jam all of our worldly goods that we will need to operate throughout our day in a little folding container 3.5x4.5 inches (plus or minus half a walrus whisker). That being said when choosing a Wallet you shouldn’t make that decision hastily. At 40+ I have gone through my share of Wallets. Even good leather wallets will eventually start shedding their nylon or silk liners after a while, corners will fray, stitching will begin to unravel and break I’ve had wallets that ended up being Chimeras of Leather and Duct Tape (hate to run into that creature in a dark alley). Moreover it was with this in mind that I chose to do some research and spend a little bit more on my next wallet. About a month or so back I heard a segment on NPR that featured a story about the Saddleback leather company. I didn’t catch the bulk of the story but the ending was of enough interest that when I got home I sat down and researched the company a little. If you are reading this you should definitely go to their website and read “The Story” I’d summarize it here but it is so extensive we would be getting into the neighborhood of a Readers Digest Condensed Book and Jeebus knows I don’t need any help expounding on my story lines. Anyway, I thought to myself ‘Pay for something that is built to last and worth it’. And to be honest these wallets really aren’t that much more than others and less than some. I’ve spent in the neighborhood of 40 bucks on wallets that fell apart after a couple years, I’m not saying this wallet won’t but with a solid 100 year warranty I’m guessing it won’t. The wallet arrived and I love it, so… after my brief and concise intro lets get on with my Actual Review of the product in question. Have you ever heard the phrase “He married above his station” That is how I feel about this wallet, I mean in all honesty most casual observers would expect me to pull out a Lynyrd Skynyrd screen printed Nylon wallet with Velcro enclosures, out of my pocket. So I’m gonna’ be straight with you upfront… This wallet… She is too good for me, so don’t be put off if this review seems a little biased. I ordered the ‘Tobacco’ color option for this wallet. I probably would have liked the other colors as well, but I do have to say this is a really nice option as the surface almost feels like really smooth suede and the character of the wallet is constantly changing and evolving in the shifting moving suedeiness of the leather. Out of the box it has a deep rich tanned leather smell to it, unlike the highly chemically dyed smell you get with a lot of similar leather products. If you have ever walked into an old Saddle factory or leatherworks store sticking your nose into this wallet is reminiscent of that experience. (Though on general principal… being a man… I never recommend sticking your nose in a well used wallet, considering the neighborhood in where it resides). If you close your eyes and run your finger along the seams you can feel the heavy duty stitching that binds all the solid pieces of leather together. This is the same stitching and material that they use to bind the Sails together on Pirate Ships folks… Jack Sparrow could slide down the edge of this wallet with his cutlass drawn and never tear the material. And of course there is a beautiful “Saddleback” logo embossed on the front corner of the wallet, though after feeling the quality,thickness, and strength of this leather I am completely baffled as to how they did this…. Picture Superman trying to get a Tattoo. Maybe they have horseshoes with a raised logo on it, which they then put on the back feet of a Mule and have him kick the logo in. Opening up the wallet, it is very simple in design and doesn’t come with many of the Bells and Whistles of Lesser wallet’s, however it is usually those bells and whistles that fall apart on those wallets first, so I do not consider this a negative. For instance there is no little plastic tab that you can slide your spare key in to. Some people don’t even carry a spare key in their wallet so this wouldn’t be an issue. I do however, I’m scatterbrained sometimes, and in those instances I don’t want to be fiddling with a coat hanger on my window in the Bass Pro parking lot. So in lieu of a fancy tab I just slid my spare key in one of the inner pockets, after two days it has formed a perfect key shape indention and I can be comforted that my key won’t be in there gallivanting around the whole wallet. Likewise the key has gone to mocking all the other keys and claiming that there is no way he can be considered a “spare” key now, since he’s the one that gets to rest in the lap of luxury in perfectly tanned and treated cow and pig skin leather. All those other second-class keys have to sit out shackled in irons together with no elbowroom. Another thing that is missing is that fancy plastic window where my driver’s license peeks out. This is for sure one of the first things to tear and go bad in a wallet. I have to say that my license was taken aback for a while, he got so used to being able to look out his window and observe the world around him. But lets be honest folks will you have a better view out a big window on an old dilapidated singlewide trailer, or getting to peer over the wall at Graceland? My License gets to peer over the wall of Graceland every day now and see the beautiful lush leather lawns and pigskin topiaries. Speaking of which it was difficult to get my cards into those solid well made slots to begin with. And for a couple days a few of my bankcards cried because they got blisters. But don’t worry folks, just like a really nice pair of boots to break in, after a few days the blisters popped and the cards have never been in a more comfortable slot in their short and petroleum processed lives! I read a few older reviews that mentioned the old style straight edged slots used to have an issue with breaking credit and bankcards. This is due to the leather being so thick and well made that the pressure on that thick edge would eventually just snap a card. They fixed this by giving the slots a little swoosh edge, which is nice since my license now has less of a task when it wants to pull itself over the edge to look around. I still saw one guy say that a card he rarely used still developed a crack. Personally I just move my cards around to different slots each time and turn them upside down and backward each time to help alleviate that problem from developing. It’s really good for their egos anyway. I mean how fair is it if you only let one card ride shotgun all the time? Before you know it they will grow up dysfunctional and winey “Why does Visa always get to ride in the front, you love her more”... It's always that middle card that doesn't feel loved (And I will share with you now a little insider secret folks… If one of your credit or bank cards break… they will send you a NEW one…no charge… It will be like Hanukkah in your pocket). The money pocket is roomy and ample…and lets be honest more ample than I’m ever going to get to use, you know... to push it to it’s true potential. I’m driving a Ferrari on a Ford Pinto budget here, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to give a complete review on this wallets capacity since it’s capable of so much and I’m still puttering around in 2nd gear with it. But lets just say for the sake of argument that there is more than enough room for all of your cash stacking needs! Only Washington, Lincoln, Hamilton and Jackson have ever done any long-term ride a-longs in the passenger cabin. One Benjamin rode along for a while once but the first time I passed a Starbucks he jumped out and hasn’t been seen since; though a Lincoln and Two Washington’s jumped right in to take his place (Seriously Frappuccino’s are up to 93 bucks now?) But you can be assured there is more than enough head and legroom for a lot more presidents and statesmen in this here Wallet. You can get a whole wad in there if you needed to… Hey I don’t make up the terms folks a group of American statesmen is called a “Wad”, we don’t get to pick our pluralities’ in life, I’m sure geese don’t like to be called a gaggle... and crows… seriously a “murder”? What is that all about? Unfortunately we have to stick with “wad” except for Benjamin, for some unknown reason he is so special that when he gets together with a bunch of others of his type he can use the term “Fat Stack”. I don’t know if you… the reader… has ever rode a long in a Bentley, Jaguar, or Rolls Royce. But one of the perks of those cars is the beautiful interior you get to enjoy, all made of the finest materials. And this Wallet is no exception it has the most supple and luxurious pigskin liner, it is so smooth and silky I almost feel a little naughty when I reach in for a bill. (Blush). However don’t be fooled by it’s feel or have any worries about it deteriorating. For anyone that has ever owned pigskin work gloves you will know this is one of the strongest and flexible skins out there. I even heard tale that Buffalo Bill practiced using pigskin before he was able to get his hands on the more luxurious “long-pork” skin…. Great now every time I reach for a dollar I’m gonna hear in my mind “It puts the well lotioned hand in the Wallet or it get’s the hose”. As far as thickness this wallet definitely has some heft to it due to all the high quality thick leathers that went into its construction. However, changing a wallet out is always a good exercise in determining what you really need and not need to carry around with you. “Do I honestly need to carry around with me this membership card to the Armadillo sweater of the month club?” So I have to admit I am definitely a wallet hoarder so getting this new wallet was a good chance for me to do some wallet housekeeping. Luckily I didn’t need a reality show to clean it out. Though it would have been spectacularly cool to come home to Ty Pennington saying “Move that Bus” before seeing my newly remodeled Wallet space. If you are like me, this is going to be a problem since you won’t be replacing this wallet over time. Don’t get me wrong it will hold an UnVishnu amount of cards in there. However I’m sure I will be using my lower vertebrae as a judge on when I should go in and clean the Wallet out. Because no “all you can eat menudo and pasole” punch pass card is worth a slipped disc in your back. However you could always be like Tyrion Lannister who I hear carries “two” packed Saddleback Wallets in both back pockets to help him reach his grog, ghost-pepper seared pheasant and deep-fried pickle chips that he loves so much on the banquet table. In closing this wallet will make you feel like you reside in the lap of luxury… Though I guess technically it will be riding on the rump of luxury… Unless you are riding the New York Subway then you should definitely transfer it to the front pocket lap region. I hope you have enjoyed my review and even more I hope you will enjoy your Saddleback Wallet as much as I am!

I picked this up years ago and at first I had a few concerns. The wallet was a bit "ugly" and raw looking. It was hard to get cards into the slots. It was very just tough and not what you'd generally see as a 100 dollar wallet. Fast-forward a few years and the leather has developed a lovely patina, the leather has softened up, and the wallet still holds all my cards completely securely, sometime many wallets over time stop doing. Simply put, this is the most durable and tough wallet I've ever had and with time it the quality and look just keeps getting better.I cannot recommend enough.

Some may consider the unloaded thickness of the leather a con, but I find the wallet fits comfortably in my pocket. (One should not have their wallet in their back pocket for health reasons, those that ignore the health consequences of sitting on a wallet will notice this is thick.100% leather & parachute thread. I could not find a cloth lining, piece of plastic, or fabric anything. As a result the pockets are thick. When viewed on its side axis from the spine, the leather meets in an hourglass arrangement as a consequence of ascending pockets culminating at the middle. This goes away after use and becomes more flat but one should expect 1-2 months in pocket to obtain optimally flat lay.Each card pocket grabs the card very tight. I had to rotate three cards into my frequent use pocket for two weeks (debit card) so I was not struggling to remove it. It loosened it barely enough to make the card more accessible. This tight grip means if I turn and open my wallet upside down and shake it all cards stay firmly in place. One should not have concerns about cards slipping out / the upward facing layout.The two inner facing pockets beneath the credit card slots can hide a high bill and are perfect for folding up a few checks. Also a tight fit, with the inner facing direction, nothing can possibly fall out of these two inner sections. I was able to work in 8 cards on one of these pockets and I might have done more if I decided to stretch a pocket over a few weeks fully loaded.U.S. bulls fit with about two inches to spare if unfolded in the cash slot. Because the leather is stiff due to its thickness, this extra space makes addressing and storing the builds much easier. I prefer as I have done on previous wallets to good my bills and place in either side to allow for the wallet to lay flat. This is purely by choice but may become desirable if one has 20+ bills as this seems to be roughly the point in which the wallet beings to not lay flat (jammed open at a slight angle).Even the wallet's spine uses a shorter length of leather on the inside fold to accommodate a natural closed position from day one and ensure the outside leather is not stretched around an inside fold. Details applied such as many extra stitches at corners and use of separate threads for each side to avoid tugging / loosening of the stiches show this company really has experience on reinforcing the high stress areas.The size of this wallet means it is big enough to hold what you need and the three pocket types (card, inside, and cash) mean there well be a spot for just about everything.This wallet looks and feels like it will last 50 years and that is no exaggeration. If I had known the extent of the quality of the product I was ordering, I would have doubled my allocated budget and paid over double for this wallet. An analogy: this wallet is to steel toe boots as most competitors' wallets are to 5 dollar sneakers that come unglued in the rain.I do not normally write reviews and have never recommended other products to a degree such as this... but I'd bet 20 bucks this is the exact wallet you want whether you were originally looking for this type or not. (Also their customer service is outstanding from what I hear.)Rating: 999/1000