The Wallet Shoppe
Many wallet makers start out as hobbyists in their garages, cutting leather, sanding metal or even slinging around duct tape. The origins of the Bryker Hyde brand are no different.
The company began in 2015 when a military vet in San Diego set out to produce an affordable, high quality leather wallet in his garage. Its founder’s story describes designing wallets around leather quality, stitching, and practical layouts while keeping a day job.
Bryker Hyde Wallets: An Overview
So what sets Bryker Hyde apart?
Function and Style: Many wallets dazzle with their looks or intriguing design, but prove awkward to use. Others work great, but make paying for anything a bit of an embarrassment. Bryker Hyde strikes a delicate balance. These aren’t the most revolutionary wallets on the market, but they aren’t dull either.
Quality Leather: The company prides itself on sourcing the finest full grain and top grain leather they can get at their price point. Their lifetime warranty covers factory defects and unreasonable breakage for the life of the product (normal wear, misuse and accidents aren’t covered, and replacements ship to US addresses).
Price: Bryker Hyde says on its website: “We won’t charge more than we’re willing to pay.” It’s this commitment to value for money that helps the brand stand out from the crowd.
RFID Protection: Every Bryker Hyde product has a Spartan war helmet branded into a corner. It’s not there because the founder is a military vet, though. It stands for the brand’s commitment to security: Bryker Hyde says its composite-metal shielding covers payment cards at 13.56MHz and some lower-frequency access cards.
Military Discount: The founder is committed to honoring and helping out others like him who have served in the military. The brand’s military and veteran pledge offers a 20% discount to eligible active, reserve, and veteran customers. Just send in proof of service.
The Bryker Hyde Collection
This review covers Bryker Hyde’s three original styles: the Minimalist, the Executive and the Quick Draw. It’s an impressive range that offers something for everyone looking for a quality leather wallet (and the full collection now adds pull-tab and AirTag designs too).
The Minimalist | Doing More with Less
The Minimalist (ID outside)
Dimensions: 4⅜ x 2⅞ x ¼ inches (maker’s unloaded measurements).
Finishes in the original range: Slate Gray (Distressed), Black (Smooth), Texas Brown (Distressed), Brown (Distressed), Charcoal Black (Distressed), Tan (Distressed), Cowboy Blue (Textured)
Two Versions: 1.0 and 2.0. The naming here makes it sound like the 2.0 is a significant upgrade, but the truth is that the main choice is the position of the ID card holder, outside (1.0) or inside (2.0), with a different arrangement of exterior pockets.
ID Slot: This defining feature comes with a thumb hole for easy access and gives this minimalist wallet an edge over others which don’t have dedicated storage for an ID. However, it is a bit of a drawback to have to choose whether you want to display an ID outside or inside by design. It would be nice to have the flexibility to adapt and choose.
Card Capacity: The maker lists eight card slots, an ID window, and a larger pocket for each Minimalist version. For such a small wallet, that’s an impressive amount of organization, and as advertised, it really does cut down on the bulk you’d get carrying that many cards in a traditional wallet.
The 1.0 keeps its ID window outside; the 2.0 moves it inside and changes the exterior pocket arrangement. Choose the outside window for quick ID display, or the inside version if you’d rather keep it out of view.
Owner Bob D. likes being able to reach his license and frequently used cards without opening the 1.0 in the maker’s reviews.
Money Clip: Bills are held inside the wallet through the use of a detachable metal money clip, which slides into the center of the wallet. It’s a sturdy piece of metal that locks into place with a spring mechanism that looks well made. Bryker Hyde notes that a loose money clip may need its tension reset rather than replacement.
Executive Bifold | Old School, Carry-All
Dimensions of the version reviewed: 4.5 x 3.5 x 0.6 inches.
Finishes in the original range: Brown (Distressed), Black (Napa Grade A), Texas Brown (Distressed), Black (Pebble), Black (Sheepskin), Slate Gray (Distressed), Charcoal Black (Distressed)
Two Versions: Top Flip and Side Flip. The defining feature of this line of wallets is a two sided ID slot, which lets you hold two or more ID cards in an easily displayed and accessible area. You can choose to have the ID card slot flip upwards or out to the side.
This is an excellent feature that really makes this wallet stand out. If you’re going to go big, might as well be able to carry two IDs, am I right? So, boom. Now your ID and access card/metro card/secret agent card are fiendishly easy to get to.
Card Capacity: This is an unabashedly big, traditional wallet. It’s the wallet you get if you want to outdo the massive wallet that your Dad had. Look at this, Dad. It’s bigger. More stylish. Your boy did you proud.
Counting up all the card slots, you got 8 visible card slots and 3 hidden card slots, for a whopping total of 11. Yes, 11 places to put your cards. Although, to be fair, it’s more like 10 because the ID holder tucks into one of the slots. But still, that’s a lot of cards. With this wallet you’ll be able to carry around just about every membership card you have. Costco. AAA. That Muay Thai gym that you haven’t been to in 7 years. Load ’em up.
All that storage comes with a few drawbacks in terms of visibility, of course. Some cards end up hidden, and two of the visible storage slots inside don’t allow you to tuck cards in all the way, which causes them to block some of the cards above.
Cash Carrying: The Executive Wallet comes with tons of space for holding cash. I was able to get 11 bills into it no problem. International currencies work well too, although you might have some trouble with larger 100 Euro bills.
The nicest feature of the wallet’s cash carry function is its two billfold pockets. This is great if you’re working from an expense account and need to hold onto lots of receipts (oh, you little executive, you), or if you need to keep two currencies separate.
Quick Draw Bifold | Multi-functional Challenger
Dimensions: 4¼ x 3½ x ¼ inches (maker’s unloaded measurements).
Finishes in the original range: Brown (Distressed), Texas Brown (Distressed), Slate Gray (Distressed), Charcoal Black (Distressed)
Perpendicular Card Storage: The card holders on this wallet are set up perpendicular to each other in a unique way that results in exhilarating flexibility. What appears on the outside to be a traditional horizontal wallet proves to be a vertical wallet when you pop it open. Think if MC Escher sat down to design a wallet and couldn’t help but throw in a few space bending features.
The outside of the wallet has 2 stacked card holders for easy access with a hidden pocket set perpendicularly underneath big enough for spare cards or folded cash for easy access.
Open the wallet up, turn it vertically, and you’ve got an ID slot set over a hidden card slot above a traditional series of 4 card slots.
The maker counts eight card slots plus an ID window. In the original review, about nine cards fitted comfortably without much cramming. If you wanted to start stretching, you could get 12 in, but that rather defeats the point of a slim wallet.
Full Size Cash Pocket: Cards are framed vertically when opening the wallet, but to get at the cash pocket, you’ll need to turn things horizontal again. It sounds complicated, but it’s actually strangely intuitive. Still, we’d pay attention to the exterior cards when turning it for cash. Owner Dennis M. avoids those outside slots because he worries about losing a card, and would prefer more interior slots instead, in the Quick Draw reviews.
Beyond the pitfalls in orienting the cash pocket, it proves to be a straightforward and secure area to store currency. You are a bit limited on space though. I maxed out at about 6 bills. But you could supplement this by placing folded bills into the hidden pocket on the outside of the wallet.
Which Bryker Hyde Would We Choose?
Bryker Hyde is a leather wallet brand. Period. And in a marketplace full of many such brands, it distinguishes itself by bringing good value with a nice balance of functionality and style. This commitment to quality carries through the full range of products from the classic carry-all style Executive Bifold to the modern Minimalist series to the quirky Quick Draw Bifold. There’s something there that everyone can find interesting.
But keep in mind, a Bryker Hyde wallet won’t dazzle the way that some gadgety minimalist wallets or famous fashion branded money holders will. And maybe that’s the point. Bryker Hyde’s customers want a well-crafted wallet that suits their needs and comes at a fair price.
Our Favorite?
It’s no secret that we’re big fans of slimming down your wallet. So it’s perhaps no surprise that we like the slim, minimalist version that Bryker Hyde offers — the Minimalist 1.0 if quick access to an outside ID matters, or the 2.0 if you prefer it tucked inside. The Executive is the better choice for two IDs and separate cash compartments; the Quick Draw suits someone who likes its unusual orientation.
