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Ridge Carbon Fiber Wallet Review (Worth the HIGH COST?)
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Jul 22, 2024
I've been a fan of the Ridge Wallet ever since my original aluminum wallet was given to me by a family member! However, I had always wanted to see if the Carbon Fiber wallets were worth their price, and thankfully, Ridge was willing to send one out to me free of charge to check out. In this video, I'm going to tell you everything you should know about it, including what I do like, what I don't like, and if it's worth 50% more than the aluminum version. Get yours on Ridge Wallet's site (Paid Link): http://shrsl.com/4inrn Read the full review: https://gear43.com/ridge-wallet-forged-aurora-carbon-fiber-review
View Video Transcript
0:00
Okay, so it is finally time to review my favorite Ridge wallet
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And that is this right here. This is a Ridged Forged Carbon Aurora Wallet
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Basically this wallet is exactly the same as all the other Ridge Wallets out there
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However, it has a forged carbon plate on the exterior front and back
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And then it has green aluminum flake. Of course they have a couple other colors that you can choose from on these forged
0:38
raw wallets, but I think it looks pretty cool in the green
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I don't know about you. Now in this video, I'm going to be telling you everything that you need to know about
0:46
the wallet, including how to use it, but also the good things, the bad things, and
0:51
exactly who this wallet is for because I'll be honest, it's not for everyone, and really
0:56
it comes down to its price. So stay tuned for that and we'll go from there
1:00
Now I do want to mention that this was gifted to me by the brand. I reached out and said, hey, I want an Aurora Forged wallet and they're like, sure, we'll
1:08
send it out to you. So they did and that's how we got here
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And so that leads me to what this wallet is. And we talked a little bit about it earlier, but basically it is the exact same wallet
1:18
as I have right here, which is my white aluminum wallet. This is one of the first minimalist wallets I ever got and I was super impressed with it
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In fact, it's the wallet that got me into reviewing this kind of gear. And the forged wallet is essentially a more expensive version that instead of having an
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aluminum plate on the outside, it's a forged carbon. And from what I can tell, it is real forged carbon
1:39
It sounds like it when you tap on it and looks the way that it should. As for the wallet itself, if you haven't used a wallet like this, basically it is a two
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plate and elastic strap style band. And you basically just put up to 12 cards on the interior and that about it You push out using this thumb notch you see right here and it pushes the cards out the top where you have easy access to Generally the outer two cards those are the quickest It is a little bit more difficult to get to the interior
2:03
But it overall is a simple process to get to it also is able to carry cash and I have found that the cash strap on Ridge wallets tend to be one of the better ones out there
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After comparing something like 20 wallets or whatever. So with that said, there really isn't much more to talk about on that because it is a super simple product but let's get into them I
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details of what I do like and what I don't like about this wallet
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Now the number one thing is an extremely simple design. Now a lot of people honestly kind of get mad or upset about how simple the design is and
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considering how expensive it is. But honestly, I think that is an upside to this wallet
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I have tested a lot of other wallets and the ones I tend to not like quite as much, generally
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have a more complicated design. So with this really simplistic design, there's not much that can go wrong
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There's not many things that you can do wrong to mess it up or any of that kind of stuff
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So I've been really impressed at how simple the design is, as it also kind of simplifies my life
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Next thing is durability. Going off of my aluminum wallet, I use that for a year and you can barely tell that I've actually even used it
3:03
And it does go into the carbon fiber version as well. And honestly, I think the carbon fiber, it just being carbon fiber, is going to be a little bit more durable on the exterior components
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Now, as for the interior, that is still an aluminum plate. The elastic is the same as the lower end wallets and that kind of stuff
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So durability I'm really not worried about. I think this is gonna be one of the strongest wallets out there
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The number three thing I really like about it is the forged carbon
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I am somebody that comes from the automotive world. I really enjoy cars
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And that really is where carbon fiber really got its strength. Some cars are almost completely made out of carbon fiber
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because it's lightweight, it's strong, and is malleable in a way that you can make it
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into any shape that you want. And not only is this a forged carbon fiber wallet
3:45
but it also has green aluminum flakes in it and I really like the way that it looks I think the green color on it just really shines really well And I also think the forged carbon portion looks really nice They a little bit bigger flakes Some of the other manufacturers out there that
4:00
have forged carbon style wallets. They don't have larger flakes. They're a little bit smaller
4:05
flakes. So I think the larger flakes gives it a little bit more of a dramatic style that I really
4:09
like. Now, this isn't specific necessarily to the carbon fiber version, but I also really like
4:14
the cash strap of a Ridge wallet. of elasticity and it's really easy to get cash in and out of. I have seen quite a few other
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wallets where it's kind of a pain to put the cash in a cash strap and I think Ridge did a really
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good job here. By the way they do also include the money clip with the carbon fiber version
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which is something they don't do with their lower-in versions. The number five thing I like about
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this wallet is it's card capacity. A lot of wallets in this category tend to have an issue where
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they kind of max out at six or seven cards and this one maxes out at 12 cards which is really nice
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Especially for somebody like me, I haven't really gotten into those touch-to-pay kind of things
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So I do keep quite a few cards on me at any point in time. So having that capacity of up to 12 cards is really, really nice and gives it a big benefit
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Now, if you're somebody that doesn't have that many cards, the elastic band does a great job of keeping one, two, or even three cards in the interior of the wall
5:05
So you don't really have to worry about it no matter what. And so those are the things that I do like about the wall, but let's talk about the things that I don't like
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Now, this is something you want to pay attention to if you're looking to buy it to see if it's a deal
5:16
for you. And the number one thing is it is still kind of difficult to get cards out. There's
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no way around it. Just because of its simplistic design, there is no like mechanisms to eject
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the card out the top like you see with an extra or a double oak, which those brands had gifted
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me these products that you're seeing on the screen. And just pushing it out the top with the notch
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that you see here, it is a little bit more of a difficult process, unfortunately, than some of the
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other wallets out there However the tradeoff is with those other wallets that they have a more complicated design which means they may not be quite as durable in the long run And then the number two and honestly the last thing that I don love about this wallet is
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its cost. It is really expensive. The entry-level version of this wallet, which is an aluminum wallet, starts at at around $95
6:00
In this wallet's MSRP is sitting at around $150. Now, both of those wallets do go on sale quite a bit
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However, at 50% more, you're not really getting any more for functionality
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really an aesthetic thing. Now, people may say that the carbon fiber makes the wallet a little bit
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lighter, but let's be honest, it's negligible and not something that I would really count on
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and necessarily say, oh, you should spend 50% more. So that actually leads me into who this wallet
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is for, so let's get into that. So this wallet is for somebody who is a wallet enthusiast
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somebody who likes carbon fiber, somebody who wants to kind of be set apart from the other people
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out there as it does that, that green flake in this carbon fiber looks awesome. It looks
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really, really nice. And honestly, I show it to people and they are all really impressed
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Now, mind you, I review products for a living, so normally people aren't necessarily going
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to do that. But if you're somebody that likes the aesthetics of your gear, it's probably
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worth it. However, if you're looking for a functionality of a minimalist wallet, I would just
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go with aluminum version because it's 50% less. And you're not really gaining anything more
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necessarily in the department of ease of use by spending the extra money on the carbon fiber
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version. Now I do also want to invite you guys. I have it linked up here somewhere. Is my
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best minimalist wallets video, I have a list of all of my favorite wallets there, so I definitely
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make sure to check that out. And if you want this wallet, I will have it linked down in the
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description and the top comment. That's going to be a paid link and helps me get a commission
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And if you like videos like this and want to hear from somebody who actually tests the products
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and uses them on a day-to-day basis to get this kind of information, make sure to subscribe as it helps me out
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And like this video as it pushes it on the algorithm
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