The Bellroy Carry Out is both a very compact wallet and a solid case for phones, cards and any other kind of small object you’d care to carry around, except maybe change.
I don’t, it should be noted, normally review wallets. Nothing against wallets per se; I’ve kept the vast majority of my meagre funds in wallets over the years, when it hasn’t been clunking around in my pocket, that is. Every once in a while there might even be a note in there, or perhaps a gently weeping credit card. Wallets are fine, but they don’t often intersect with the world of technology.
Bellroy’s pitch for the Bellroy Carry Out is that it’s quite a bit more than a wallet, however, because it’s also a smartphone case, or, alternatively, somewhere moderately secure to store your passport while travelling. Depending on what you’re travelling with, it could actually be both.
Bellroy makes the Bellroy Carry Out in four colours: Blue Steel, Black, Caramel and Java, which is as per Bellroy, a sheep leather if that matters to you. I’ve tested out the Blue Steel Carry Out, and the very first observation that anybody’s going to make about it is that it’s a large wallet/purse to carry around at any time. Bellroy’s usual marketing spiel is about smaller and thinner wallets, and that’s not what the Bellroy Carry Out is at all, measuring in at 10.8×20.7cm (HW) and around 1cm in width, depending on what you’re storing within it.
The issue of bulk has been given some consideration, however, as within the Bellroy Carry On’s bulky frame is a smaller removable wallet that can take around six standard credit card style cards and a small amount of paper currency. The idea, presumably, is that this is the wallet you’ll use when the Bellroy Carry Out doesn’t fit the cut of your suit or dress. It’s certainly slender, even if the Bellroy Carry Out isn’t. Although it does invite the problem that if you’ve got some cards in the smaller wallet and others in the main body of the Bellroy Carry Out, you’re going to either have to carry the whole lot with you anyway, or trust you won’t need those additional cards with you if you do leave it at home or in the office. Then again, if you’re storing your smartphone in there, it feels unlikely you’d leave it behind anyway. When you pop the smaller wallet inside the Bellroy Carry Out, it snaps into place with the same magnets that keep it folded in half, which is a very cool design touch.
Having covered the everyday wallet needs, the Bellroy Carry Out has a bit more space to cover off other more esoteric uses, including six more card slots, compartments that’ll fit a smartphone or passport comfortably, and an internal zippered section. There’s not too much to complain about here, save for the fact that the zippered section’s about the only place suitable for loose change storage, and then it can get even bulkier quite quickly.
Equally, it’s feasible to get just about any smartphone in the Bellroy Carry Out — I tested with everything from an iPhone 6 to a Galaxy Note 3 to a Blackberry Z10 without issue — but combining that with a passport in the opposite site pushes the Bellroy Carry Out to its limits. If you’re not a fan of Bluetooth audio accessories, it could also be a bit of a job wrenching a smartphone out of the Bellroy Carry Out case in time if it starts ringing.
At US$169.95, the Bellroy Carry Out is priced as a premium priced wallet/smartphone case, and that may be enough to put a lot of the prospective market off straight away. You’re undeniably paying a premium for the nice build quality and multi-function nature of the Carry Out. If that doesn’t fuss you, the Bellroy Carry Out is certainly functional, and it’s nicely built, but you’d need to be sure that you had a bag or briefcase that you could carry the main body of the wallet around with you to make the most of its larger size.