The Elvis & Kresse Fire & Hide Wallet Review

I’m always intrigued by brands that try and do something a little different both in terms of innovation and the way they help the wider society. Elvis & Kresse do exactly this and are built on the philosophy of innovation and creativity in their product designs. Since 2005 the team has been rescuing raw materials and transforming them into handmade luxury products while donating 50% of profits back to charities. It’s an amazing business model and shows how you can take something once seen as worthless, and turn it into something better.

In this review, we’re going to be looking at the Elvis & Kresse Fire & Hide Wallet. As the name suggests the wallet combines hand-woven rescued leather and decommissioned fire hose. Even the lining of the wallet is made from reclaimed material coming from old parachute silk. Let’s take a look at how this wallet performs in daily use.

‘In 2005 we had a chance encounter with the London Fire Brigade. When we learned that London’s damaged decommissioned hoses were headed to landfill we mounted a rescue. We set up Elvis & Kresse to save it. For over a decade none of London’s fire-hose has gone to landfill and over 200 tons of material has been reclaimed. In 2017 the Burberry Foundation partnered with Elvis & Kresse to tackle the even greater global problem of leather waste. This Five-year partnership will see at least 120 tonnes of leather off-cuts from Burberry recrafted into new luxury items, designed and sold by Elvis & Kresse’.

Look & Design

As you’d imagine the look and feel of the Fire & Hide wallet is something unusual and different from most wallets on the market. Each wallet is clearly different and unique which stems from the fact each reclaimed piece of fire hose they use will be of different quality and be in different conditions. Each wallet has a sort of cross-hatched design on the front with the inside providing a bubbly texture that – of course – resembles what you’d expect from a fire hose. 

The wallet feels sturdy in the hand with a plastic feel. The material that firehose is made from obviously has to be durable as it was originally designed to undergo extreme conditions. This adds to the functionality of the wallet as the wallet can without many situations with ease and can guarantee long term performance overtime.

The wallet also comes in a range of different color options from a traditional red (the color I think we all associate with fire) from a stark green to my personal favorite a mustard yellow. You can have the option of adding a personalized message to your wallet (for an additional £10.00) which sits on the inside left of the bi-fold.

Functionality & Utility 

The wallet is designed in a traditional bifold style with multiple card slots on either side and a main full-length note slot on the top. The wallet has a capacity for 8 credit or debits cards with two additional parallel slots in the middle best suited for business cards. Although you can expand on this capacity by up to 4 additional cards. The full-length note slot is roomy and secure and will accommodate a variety of different currencies from across the world which is nice. 

The wallet poses its contactless card friendly which means it can be used with contactless payment systems without the need to remove any cards. If this is great but does pose the issues of contactless fraud and issue slowly rising as more countries include this as stand-in how we pay for goods and services in daily life. This is why RFID technology exists so it might be worth investing in an RFID blocking card if you think this might be an issue for you. 

Price Tag

The wallet comes in at a standard price tag of £90.00 putting it on the upper end of the price spectrum. This isn’t cheap but I suppose it shouldn’t be. Made from a unique material, being handmade, while donating half of the money to charity I completely respect this higher price tag and is aimed at the more environmentally focused individual who wants something a little different to carry with them on a daily basis. I think the wallet is worth this price and if you’re willing to splash the cash would wholeheartedly recommend the Fire & Hide wallet.

Final Verdict

A unique wallet with ample functionality and amazing design. I’m always a big fan of brands who use reclaimed material as it adds something more special to what is usually a boring everyday item. With 50% of profits going to charities, the environmental aspects of the wallet and something truly unique I can’t really fault this innovative and unique wallet and the Elvis & Kresse brand do a great job of bringing it all together. For more information on this wallet check out their official website by clicking the link below.