Road Tests :: 31Trum Document Wallet

31trum? What more can you say, it’s handmade leather products that are cut, punched, saddle stitched and branded from a kitchen bench in Ealing, UK. These are passionate products from Jason Watkins, a printer who could not find a wallet that suited his needs, so like all real men, he made one (yes, sewing is about as masculine as it gets now).

31trum has begun by making a name in some inner circle cycle blogs/forums. Some custom product was made for whoever needed it. From there it seems that things have grown and now some staple products are being offered. A number of weeks ago I picked up one of his document wallets – how did it go?

First things first, the leathers are great. I opened the package and was hit with a knee-bending waft of cow skin. This is definitely not vegan-friendly product! The combination of soft pebble grain leather with the thicker tighter-grained back looks and smells great. A real pleasure to handle.

The stitching is thick, hand sewn and done with care. Basically you can tell it’s a labor of love.

The push through studs and punched holes are great; there is a satisfaction to using the product.

It is hard to really say too much more about the piece. It is two amazing pieces of leather sewn together with enough space to hold some documents inside, end of story. It is fitted to hold a folded A4 sheet, or A5 sketch pad really well. The only issue is that I am not high class enough to be carrying important documents worth so much protection! Or so I thought; people notice when you pull a sketch book and pens from this beauty…

[Ed note: The studs can be an issue if you’re stacking another bit of tech next to this (laptop or iPad especially), so just keep an eye on how you nest things against the studs.]

I am now storing my passports and other travel documents inside, getting ready for a trip. It may be simple but it does its job well.

31trum also have some other great products, i.e. card wallets etc. Check them out on the blog http://31trum.tumblr.com/ and upcoming website http://www.31trum.com/