This is a detailed review of the Ridge Carbon Fiber, a premium version of the Ridge series made from military-grade carbon fiber.
Read the review below to see some positive and negative aspects of this wallet, and see if it would be the right purchase for you.
Ridge Carbon Fiber Review
Ridge Carbon Fiber is a minimalist, modern, and elegant wallet with a very thin and simple design. It’s built from 3k Weave Carbon Fiber and offers some functional features like great protection from RFID scanning, and the option to customize the wallet’s looks and components. The wallet holds up to 12 cards and 6 cash bills.
Should you buy Ridge Carbon Fiber Wallet?
I would recommend this wallet to anyone who wants to get rid of their classic leather wallet and replace it with a more simplistic, elegant wallet.
This wallet is made for everyone, it will fit any clothing style, the design is very slick, and basically everyone likes it.
If you have seen some cheaper minimalist wallets, and none of them have caught your eye, then you should read the review of this wallet and decide whether this is worth your money.
Buying
You can buy the Ridge Carbon Fiber wallet either from Amazon or the official Ridge wallets online store.
Whichever option you choose, buying the Ridge Carbon Fiber wallet would be super simple, although I might prefer Amazon in some cases because the shipping terms might be better.
Price and value for money
The price will probably not depend on where you buy the wallet from, but you should always check all of the options.
Value for money for the Ridge Carbon Fiber wallet is pretty high, considering that for the given price you will get a wallet made from one of the most durable materials of the world, which is carbon fiber. Also, customers are usually very satisfied with the product and 98% of them would recommend it to their friends.
Shipping
Standard shipping for the Ridge Carbon Fiber wallet usually takes 2-10 days, but you always have the option of priority shipping with Amazon, which will only take 2 days.
Unfortunately, at the time of writing this article, there is no express shipping option if you order it from the official Ridge website.
Customer support
You can reach the customer support team through several channels, but the easiest and fastest way is to email them at [email protected]
The Ridge customer support team is also available on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, as well as a dedicated contact page on their website.
Warranty
All Ridge wallets come with a lifetime warranty. This indicates that Ridge is very confident in the quality of its products.
This is what a lifetime warranty basically means, according to Ridge:
“The Ridge Wallet warrants that the purchased product is free from manufacturing defects and will function as intended for the life of the product. The Lifetime Warranty will include Replacement Parts in the event of failure or loss of Elastic, Screws, Inner Plates, and/or Money Clip. This warranty does not cover scratches, dents, chips, and/or scrapes on the Outer Plates; damages caused by accident, abuse, neglect, shock; improper use or storage of the product; unauthorized modifications or repairs.”
If you want to know more about the warranty policy, visit the Ridge warranty webpage.
Returns and refunds
If you are not 100% satisfied with your Ridge wallet, you can return your order to The Ridge warehouse for a refund or exchange within 45 days of purchase. The Ridge offers free returns + exchanges and will provide you with a Prepaid Shipping Label.
You must return the product unused and in the condition you received it.
You can find out more about Ridge’s return and refund policy on the Ridge return policy webpage.
The Ridge brand
The Ridge brand was founded in 2013, a start-up company by the father-son team that kickstarted the Ridge wallet which now sits in the front pockets of over half a million men and women worldwide. They recruited a small, close-knit team to execute their vision of creating high-quality, functional products.
Where are the Ridge wallets made?
The Ridge manufactures their wallets in both the US and China.
Ridge Carbon Fiber Basics
The Ridge Carbon Fiber wallet consists of two carbon fiber plates, two aluminum plates, and an elastic strap that binds them together. It is as minimalistic as it can be.
On the outside, you have a money clip or cash strap designed to hold your cash bills in place.
It is truly astonishing how small this wallet is compared to a conventional leather wallet, and that’s one of its biggest selling points overall.
How to use the Ridge Wallet
The Ridge Carbon Fiber wallet is easy to use, you just have to start putting cards inside and it will stretch itself automatically. When you want to take the cards out, there is a place designed for your thumb to push them upwards so you can choose which card you want to take out.
Picking which card you want to take out can be quite challenging with some minimalist wallets, but that is not the case when it comes to Ridge wallets. You can just open up the plates from the opening side and choose which card you want to take out quite easily.
The Ridge wallet unboxing
The Ridge Carbon Fiber wallet comes in a squared, white box that you can open from the top. In the box, you can find a few items: the wallet itself, some extra screws, and a screwdriver to unscrew the screws if you want to make some changes to the wallet, for example, change the money clip with a cash strap, or change the elastic straps that hold the two plates together.
User experience
The Ridge Carbon Fiber wallet feels luxurious when you hold it in your hand because it is not every day that you see someone with a carbon fiber wallet, and customers have reported that people can notice it from miles away.
However, some customers have expressed dissatisfaction with the elastic strap that holds the two metal plates together. Their main concern is that it won’t last a long time and that it feels a bit cheap if you consider the price of the wallet itself. But changing your elastic strap is very easy and the Ridge offers replacement parts on their website that you can get delivered to you in a short period, in case something goes wrong with your wallet.
Aesthetics and design
The Ridge Carbon Fiber wallet is structured in a way that provides you with a sense of simplicity, elegance, and usefulness. It is minimalist, small, and one of the slimmest wallets overall. You can carry your cards and cash in a wallet that is not bulky and heavy at all. You will be surprised by the light weight, as well as the comfort that this wallet can give you.
Colors
The Ridge Carbon Fiber wallet comes only in black color. The Ridge series in general offers some different materials and colors, if you are interested you can check out some of our other Ridge reviews (Ridge Aluminum review, Ridge Titanium review, Ridge Premium review).
Clothing style fit
The Ridge Carbon Fiber wallet is universal, and you can wear it with any type of clothing.
Features
The Ridge Carbon Fiber wallet is simplistic and minimalist at its core, which comes at the price of not having that many features, but still, it fulfills the purpose of a minimalist wallet very well.
Its main features are RFID blocking, cash strap/money clip, and the customizable nature of the product, which can be adjusted however you want.
Weight, size, dimensions
The dimensions of the wallet are:
- width: 3.38 in / 8.6 cm
- height: 2.12 in / 5.4 cm
- depth: 0.23 in / 0.6 cm
The wallet weighs approximately 2 oz / 56 g when empty, which means it’s lighter than most minimalist wallets. This is mainly due to its carbon fiber plate that gives you a great rigidity-to-weight ratio.
Customizing build
The Ridge gives you the option to choose between the money clip and the cash strap, as to which one you would like to use for your cash bills. Both can be attached on the outside of either plate, and you can have them both simultaneously if you need more space for your cash, or detach them all together and use the wallet just as a cardholder.
All of these parts can be separately ordered from the Ridge official website for an additional price of around $9-$12.
RFID blocking
The combination of carbon fiber and aluminum plates gives you great protection against RFID hacking.
If you want to buy a wallet that will protect your information then you should shortlist this wallet.
Is the Ridge Carbon Fiber TSA-approved?
The Ridge assures that all their wallets are TSA-approved, but since it is built from metal, if you don’t want any trouble, you should put your wallet aside, in a box next to the scanner, when you try to pass the TSA scan.
Carbon fiber
The carbon fiber of the Ridge wallet is a 3k Carbon Weave. Since a single strand of carbon fiber is only 5-10 microns thick, a 3k tow comes in around 125” thickness.
How many cards can the Ridge Carbon Fiber wallet hold?
The Ridge Carbon Fiber wallet can hold up to 12 cards. This has been tested and proven by many owners. That makes the Ridge Carbon Fiber one of the best wallets for many cards, at least when it comes to minimalist wallets.
How much cash can the Ridge Carbon Fiber wallet hold?
It is not specified by the manufacturer how many cash bills you can carry with the Ridge Carbon Fiber wallet, but it will fit up to 5-6 cash bills, probably more.
The cash strap has rubber dots inside and will provide a good grip between the bills and the wallet, so you can be sure that they won’t come out and you will not lose them.
Is the Ridge Carbon Fiber wallet waterproof?
The Ridge Carbon Fiber is not waterproof. It is an open wallet and if you put it in water it will soak your cash and cards, but you should not worry about the overall condition of the wallet because the carbon fiber won’t rust.
If you drop your wallet in the water, you can just wipe it with a towel and everything will be fine.
Build quality
When you hold it in your hand for the first time, you immediately recognize how solid and well-built the wallet is. It is very strong and it won’t bend under the pressure of your thumbs.
This is probably one of the strongest wallets on the market, and if you drop it or step on it by mistake, you will not damage it at all.
The metal plates are very well built, but the elastic strap that holds the plates together can be a point of weakness, as some people have reported that after a year or so, it loses its composure and becomes loose.
Durability and lifespan
The wallet is made to last a lifetime, and that’s why Ridge gives you a lifetime warranty.
Still, we have to be realistic and acknowledge the fact that the elastic strap probably won’t last for decades, and you will probably have to replace it when the time comes.
Ridge acknowledged this problem. They make the elastic strap from elastic leather, unlike the elastic straps of other similar minimalist wallets, which are made from rubber. This makes the straps much more durable, increasing the life expectancy of this critical part several times.
Materials
The materials used in the Ridge Carbon Fiber are:
- 3k Weave Carbon Fiber plates
- Elastic leather
- Stainless Steel (for the screws)
- Aluminum plates
This is one of the very few carbon fiber wallets (that don’t suck).
Known issues and problems
There are not that many issues that come with the Ridge Carbon Fiber wallet. If you find something that is not right with it, you should contact the manufacturer and they will help fix the problem in a short period.
One issue that people often complain about is that the money clip breaks down easily, so the safe choice for you would be to buy the wallet with a cash strap.
This is not a cheap wallet, but if you are willing to pay for it, you will probably use it for years, or probably even decades.
Ridge Carbon Fiber vs Trayvax Element wallet
The main difference between these two wallets is in their size and price.
The Ridge Carbon Fiber gives you that premium look and it is as thin and simplistic as they come.
Also, this is the most expensive version of the Ridge wallet series, and the price can be an issue for some people.
The Ridge Carbon Fiber wallet is quite smaller compared to the Trayvax Element, although the weight difference is huge, as the Trayvax Element is quite bulkier and heavier.
On the other hand, the Trayvax Element gives you that sense of modified but still a conventional wallet. It is definitely for people who want leather and the elegance that comes with it. It is also cheaper, and additionally, it comes with some quirky features like a bottle opener and an attachment point.
These two wallets are different in their core, so it really boils down to your personal needs and preferences.
You can see my detailed review of the Trayvax Element wallet if you are curious.
Reviews and ratings of the Ridge Carbon Fiber
If we base our opinion on this wallet solely on the reviews, we will come to the conclusion that this is, without a doubt, a great wallet. People absolutely love it, in fact, 98% of them would immediately recommend it to their friends. Its Amazon rating is 4.6 out of 5 stars, based on 12.500 reviews.
Who shouldn’t buy the Ridge Carbon Fiber wallet?
If you are a budget-oriented person then this is probably not a wallet for you, since this is a premium wallet with a higher price. This wallet justifies its price, but not everyone wants to pay more than $100 for a wallet. If you are more of a pragmatic person then you should see my guides on the best wallets under $30 and the best wallets under $50.
The wallet doesn’t provide a lot of room for cash, so if you use a lot of it, I suggest checking out my guide on the best wallets for cash.
Who should buy the Ridge Carbon Fiber wallet?
If you are looking for the best minimalist wallet, super thin and light, and a higher price point is not a problem for you, then you should definitely consider the Ridge Carbon Fiber wallet. It is one of the best minimalist wallets on the market right now. If the design and style suit you then you will enjoy this wallet and you will, as many other people have, recommend this product to your friends.
Where to buy the Ridge Carbon Fiber from?
Ridge Carbon Fiber Specifications
| Type | minimalist |
| Max n. of cards | 12 |
| RFID blocking? | yes |
| TSA compliant? | yes |
| Materials used | 3k Weave Carbon Fiber, elastic leather, steel |
| Height | 2.12 in / 5.4 cm |
| Width | 3.38 in / 8.6 cm |
| Depth | 0.23 in / 0.6 cm |
| Weight | 2 oz / 56 g |
| Features | RFID, cash band/money clip, elastic strap, customizing plates |
| Water resistance | no |
| Warranty | lifetime |
| Return period | 45 days |
