Faire Leather Co is a Singapore company that specializes in leather goods, and are known for their Bond Collection on Kickstarter. They also have a wallet lineup, and in their bifold range, I have decided to go for the Faire Specter Bifold Wallet.
The Specter Bifold wallet comes in two leather variations – Vegetable tanned (VT) or Cross grain (CG) embossed. I have both versions and will show pictures of them. On first glance, the Specter Bifold is designed very similarly to Bellroy’s Note Sleeve. The Specter Wallet retails for S$99.
Design and build quality
The Specter Bifold looks really classy, clean and minimal which I really like. I have the Black VT and the Burgundy CG wallet. Personally, I prefer the VT finish on the wallet as it look more luxurious compared to the CG finish. Each finish VT or CG comes in 3 to 4 colorways. For VT, you can choose from Tan, Dark Brown, Navy, and Black. And for the CG, you have three colors of Burgundy, Navy, or Black.
As for the quality of the leather, first impressions is that the leather used is really good quality. Faire Leather Co states that the leather they use is on the exterior of the wallet US Top grain cowhide. I have been using the Black VT Faire Specter Bifold wallet for about 6 months now, and the leather still holds up really well. The only wear I can notice is at the pivot point where the wallet folds.
On the inside of the wallet, the leather used is Nappa cowhide, which feels soft and pliable. The color of the interior leather is a brown burgundy color. This brown burgundy interior leather is consistent across all colorways, so the Black VT and Burgundy CG all feature the this brown burgundy leather. Personally I really like the brown burgundy interior against the black exterior as it brings about a nice contrast.
The leather used is smooth yet firm kind of texture. At first use, the Faire Specter Bifold Wallet may seem a little hard and rigid at the edges such that it actually takes some effort to pry open the notes sleeve compartment. However, do give the wallet a few weeks of use for the leather to break in. If you ever held the Bellroy Note Sleeve, the leather on it is more soft and supple, whereas the leather on the Faire Specter Bifold Wallet has more structure to it.
Features and specifications
The Specter Bifold also features RFID Blocking technology to protect you against credit card fraud and identity theft. The wallet itself weighs about 70 grams and has a rather a small form factor measuring at 9.0cm x 10.5cm x 2.0cm (L x H x W).
As follows are all the compartments in the Specter Bifold:
- 1 Notes compartment
- 4 Card slot
- 1 Hidden card slot
- 1 Hidden coin slot
- 1 Slip pocket with quick access pull-tab
- 1 Slip pocket
Compartments and usability
The Specter Bifold is a vertical wallet, meaning that when you open the bifold, cards are slotted in vertically. On the inside of the Specter Bifold, there are two card slots on each side of the wallet for you to store up to 4 cards. I found after storing all 4 card in the slots, only the front 2 card are easy to remove by using your thumb to slide it up. But if you want the remove a card that is behind, you kind of need to dig you finger in to pull the card out.
There is an additional card slot situated behind the card slots, which is meant to store less used card. The is one each on the left and right. The slot on the left has a pull-tab to easily access those cards. I found that if you only put one card in that slot, the pull tab works well and the card slides in and out easily with the pull-tab. But if you are putting 2-3 cards there, then you will have to use some strength when pulling in order to slide the cards out.
Moving to the notes compartment of the Faire Specter Bifold wallet, it comfortably fits a S$100 note. However, as $50 and $100 notes are kind of a snug fit with the note sleeve, putting and removing the notes are not as fast as regular wallets with more length space.
Within the notes pocket, you will find an additional hidden card slot and a coin sleeve. The hidden card slot great to keep cards like your driving license or NRIC – anything that you want to keep concealed. The coin sleeve is great if you have a few coins that you want to keep together with your wallet instead of throwing them in your pockets. However, it is recommended that you keep just a few coins in that sleeve as it can get bulky with too many coins.
Personal usage
I have about 11 cards in my Specter Bifold. Before putting in my cards, the wallet is about 2.0cm in thickness. And after squeezing in all 11 cards, the thickness is now at 3.0cm which isn’t too bad. But do note that is also I squeeze in more than what the wallet was intended to carry. If I store 7 cards, then the thickness only comes up to about 2.5cm which is still rather slim in my opinion.
Using it for about a month now, I found that it is best to keep the most used cards in the front two card slots and perhaps one card at the pull-tab sleeve. Also, removing coins from the coin sleeve isn’t very easy. The flap has some resistance to lift and the sleeve material is not stretchy so you may end up squeezing your finger in to find a coin.
Conclusion
I really like Faire Specter Bifold wallet and believe it will go a long way in terms of durability and age. The small and slim form factor comes coupled with functional features such hidden card slot and hidden coin compartment can come in useful too. I personally like the structure of the Faire Specter Bifold wallet – it has a good firm shape and doesn’t feel too soft.
All this for just S$99 is quite a good deal to me. And even more, you’ll be supporting a local Singapore company.