The Trove Slim Wallet Review

I’ve always been fascinated with wallets which put emphasis on design and personalization. For me, a wallet can express so much about your personality so being able to create a wallet that has a huge variety of customization options is an amazing thing. The Trove Wallet does exactly this and provides you with a functional wallet with a variety of design and customization options to satisfy anyone in need of expressing themselves uniquely.

Trove, based in the UK, is a brand that first started in 2011 with the mission to create a wallet that combines the skills of leather craftsman, product innovation and creativity. They continue to innovate with a variety of different (yet similar) wallet designs. Let’s now take a closer look at what the Trove wallet has to offer.

‘Since we started the factory in 2011, there has been a constant internal drive to create a new product that combines the skills and craftsmanship of the people in our factory with innovative and creative product development. After two years of making prototypes that did not quite meet our goals, we came up with the initial designs for TROVE. In the preceding months, we started quietly developing and refining the product to make it the best that it can be’. – Trove 2020

Look & Design

The sheer range of design options the Trove wallet presents is definitely worth mentioning. With over 20 different color combination options from stark pink to the more standard brown leather. The original wallet is made from a combination of two materials – leather and elastic. The Two layers made from bonded full grain Italian veg-tanned leather providing a premium feel. With daily use becomes more malleable without affecting performance. Think of it like breaking in a new pair of leather boots. The elastic is also of great quality and after many durability tests it came out unscathed without any wear, tear or loosening over the 4 week period I used the wallet.

Trove is one of the only wallet manufacturers that also provides you with the ability to design your very own Trove wallet with a nifty website that automatically mock-up your wallet based on how you want it to look. This includes options to change its color, (and stitching) includes personalization (a monogram of up to 5 characters) and even the option to include or omit certain features such as the quick access pull tab. Overall the experience using this feature is amazing and it fantastic to be able to view the wallet you’ve created before you purchase it. You can also use a fun randomize option which randomly generates you a unique wallet. A unique experience and something I’d love to see from more wallet brands.

Functionality & Utility 

In terms of its functionality, the wallet is separated into 3 separate pockets to organize your cards, cash, or photos. This includes one pocket at the top and 2 located on the underside of the wallet. This is also where the optional quick access pull tab is located. This allows you to quickly access any cards in this pocket at ease. The end of the pull tab has a little piece of plastic which gives you a better grip and a more tactical feel. If you do choose to go with the added pull tab option keep in mind that this becomes useless when reversed. 

The Trove is the first reversible wallet I’ve come across. By this, I mean, you can turn the wallet inside out to change the layout and design of the wallet. The reserved Trove is generally better for cash storage so if you carry a lot of physical banknotes it would probably be preferable to carry the wallet this way. This reversed version creates two thinner leather pockets on the outside where banknotes can be folded and inserted for a secure fit. 

The standard layout (none-reversed) is better for people who carry more cards than cash as it expands your ability to carry more cards in a more secure way. The Trove has a maximum capacity of around 8 – 12 cards. You could probably fit more in but you would begin to dramatically increase the size of the wallet bulking it out.

Customer Reviews

I always like to take the time to browse through some of the online customer reviews to see some more impartial options about the Trove wallet and see if there’s anything I personally missed when reviewing the wallets. The reviews below are from a variety of sources from Facebook and various review sites from across the web. 

Review 1: ‘High-quality wallet. It has a section for cards (I keep about 6, but it can take more), money, and I even throw in about 3-4 coins in the 3rd compartment. I plan on buying more as gifts’.

Review 2: ‘So far, so good. This is a small minimalist wallet. I’d say 8 cards will fit comfortably. High quality, I love this wallet’.

Review 3: ‘Really great products backed up by first-rate customer service from really friendly and approachable people. What tops it for me is they’re also local. Cannot recommend Trove highly enough’.

Price Tag

The Trove is a well priced minimalist wallet that won’t break the bank. I’ve reviewed a few wallets in the past – like the Trove – that fail to price their wallet accordingly with what they’re trying to achieve and the type of people most likely to purchase their wallet. This is simply companies getting greedy, but I don’t think Trove has taken this route and provided a well-priced range of wallets.

The cheapest you can purchase a Trove wallet for is £20.00 (around $25.00) but the prices do vary depending on the customization options you choose and the specific type of wallet you want. For example, the full leather version of the trove (coin caddy) is slightly more expensive at around £35.00 ($45.00) with the same being said for the version which includes an elasticated band (The Trove Cash Wrap). I’ll be sure to do full reviews for these wallets in the future.

Final Verdict

The Trove might be the ultimate minimalist wallet. Not only does the design hold up in terms of its functionality, in practice, but also doesn’t fail from its design, quality and personalization options. At a great low-end price tag I really can’t fault the wallet and if you’re a fan of minimalist wallets – or are looking to slim down your EDC – definitely consider the Trove wallet. For more information on the Trove Wallet check out their official website using the link below.