I decided to take some time off and go on a mighty trek across America. With all my bags packed and ready to go, I had one last important decision to make. ‘Which wallet was I going to bring?’ The decision wasn’t easy. Over the years, I’d accumulated hundreds of wallets—from the great to the not-so-great. Since I was known to swap wallets every week or so for reviewing purposes, I knew I had to pick something that could handle a cash-heavy lifestyle and suit the demands of outdoor camping. I may have spent more time choosing a wallet than packing my entire suitcase, but with my chosen wallet in hand, I called a taxi and, within a few hours, was on my way to Los Angeles. That wallet was the Extentri wallet a unique trifold wallet and i must say the trip gave me enough food for thought.
Exentri Trifold Wallet Review
With its tri-fold design and clamshell clasp to keep it shut the Exentri is probably the most versatile wallet, I’ve come across which was half my thinking when it came to a good wallet to travel with. Think of it as a bit of a Frankenstein’s monster. It’s like they decided to stitch a few different types of wallets together and said ‘Job done’. Nevertheless, this isn’t a bad thing. The wallet is incredibly attractive and does a good job in terms of overall functionality in day-to-day life.
If someone was to ask me what I thought the best trifold wallet on the market today was I’d very much consider the Exentri wallet. The wallet takes the idea of a fully functional wallet that’s also slim-line in its design making it a convenient and comfortable size. Not only that but the wallet is so damn attractive. Its compact unique look, sleek metal clip and premium leather make a complete package.
The Exentri Wallet Brand
Jon Richard Skjelvand and Marius Schiøll, two childhood friends from Groruddalen, Oslo, founded EXENTRI, a company known for its innovative wallet design. Without formal education beyond high school, they combined their work experiences to create a wallet that merges the best features of traditional wallets and cardholders. The wallet is credit-card-sized with a distinctive hole in the cover, allowing users to easily slide out cards.
Initially, they operated under the company name “Reklamekontakt,” producing advertising materials. Facing stiff competition, they pivoted to developing a product with broader appeal. Recognizing the growing use of cards over cash, they saw an opportunity in creating a wallet tailored for card users. After years of prototyping, they commenced trial production in China in 2005 and officially launched the wallet in 2006. From here, Exentri has gone from strength to strength. By 2012, Their wallets were sold in 13 countries, with 40% of sales outside Norway, totaling 600,000 units sold.
Look and Design
The Exentri wallet does look very different from a typical wallet. In reality, the wallet is built in a tri-fold style with the wallet split into 3 main sections (once folded out) plus a long slot for your notes. Exentri’s design incorporates little stylistic choices that add to the overall branding look and feel.
For example, the front and back, have quick access slots so you can easily slide out your credit/debit cards stylized in a ‘house’ shape. The wallet also has a lovely stainless steel clip that holds the wallet together once closed. This not only looks great and compliments the overall design, but also works well to hold everything in place with little worry (things won’t just fall out). What suprised me most about this wallet was its size to capacity ratio. By that i mean for its smaller size (it reminds me of a deck of cards), it really does have the ability to hold a lot of stuff without comparising on bulk.
The range of colours the Exentri comes in is typical of this brand of wallet. With variations on the colour brown along with a range of unique colours like green, red and purple. Each looks very cool, classy, and modern in its way. The Exentri’s material is something else to note. Made from strong and durable leather the wallet feels nice but can be prone to wear and tear. Perhaps this is something of an anomaly as I have used this wallet more than others but the leather is quite susceptible to scratches, scrapes, and scuffs.
Black Cube
Green Cobra
Sand
Functionality and Utility
The Exentri wallet’s strongest asset, along with its looks, is its great array of features. As I mentioned earlier the tri-fold design allows for maximum storage capacity while keeping the size to a minimum. In total, I found you could store 10+ cards at any one time which is phenomenal considering its compact size.
This also doesn’t mention the long cash slot for storing your notes which is also really great and easy to use. One amazing functionality is the option to have notes poking out the side of the wallet and folded in when closed. See below for a better idea of what I mean but this makes it so easy to get access to your notes without having to go in through the top.
The wallet’s quick access slots which protrude on the outside layers of the wallet are also very effective. Having one on every face allows for easy access regardless of which side you come at it from. One stand-out feature is the metal clip that’s used to prevent the wallet from opening and secure wallet. It works well and I wish more wallets did something like this.
Another aspect of the wallet which added to its clever design it’s the various ‘cut-outs’ in the front and back of the leather. This isn’t just an attractive design accent but designed to give you added leverage when accessing your cards. All you need to do is slide a finger or thumb across the opening and the card will raise up for easy access. A nice and simple way to provide added functionality.
The only other feature worth mentioning is a slit, a cut in the leather, in the center part of the trifold wallet. At first i couldn’t for the life of me figure out the intended purpose of this, but some promotional images gave light to what is can be used for. The image itself shows a ticket stub being tucked in here. Although this could be consdiered quite an outdated feature in terms of storing tickets (everything is digital these days) i did find myself tucking in folded up recipts and other small paper items here. It’s not exactly strong (they can easily fall out) its nice to have.
Final Verdict: How good is the Exentri Wallet?
Overall I find the Exentri the best of both worlds from a design and functional perspective. With a slim, attractive look, and bounds of functionality, I find it really hard to criticize this wallet and recommend it as one of my favorites of this year. While on holiday in America I never found myself ‘wishing’ I could swap wallets which is very unusual for me and no issues ever arose in terms of durability.
The Exentri is a mid-range priced wallet coming in at €54.95 (approximately $61.00). On the scale of wallet prices the Exentri is actually very affordable and consdiering its hardy construction, good quality materiasl and craftmnaship I beleive it really is great value for money.
Compare that to some other wallets on the market today and you’ll soon see the value that the Exentri wallet brings. I’m pretty confident Exentri also has great offers from time to time so keep an eye out for this. If you would like more information on the Exentri wallet click the link here, or use the addtional links below to visit Exentri’s Amazon page.
Our Verdict: TL;DR