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I like carbon fiber, there’s no way around it! Why is that? Mainly because I’m a car guy, and that really is where carbon fiber has made massive strides in performance. It’s lightweight, high quality, can be molded into any shape, and is extremely strong.
Of course, that enjoyment of carbon fiber has leaked into the men’s gear side of my life, as it has started to revolutionize our more normal gear in awesome ways! So, in this article, we’re going to discuss my favorite carbon fiber gear that we have tested and reviewed here on the site (and on our YouTube channel).
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1. Groove Life Groove Belt OG Carbon Fiber
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- It’s the perfect amount of magnetism.
- They thought through how stretchy it should be
- The belt buckle doesn’t release on its own
- It doesn’t store in drawers well.
- The material looks cheap (but isn’t)
Groove Life has been making some fantastic gear for years! While they may have started in the silicone ring game, they’ve expanded over the years, revolutionizing gear as they go. One of my personal favorites is their Groove Belt (which we now retail, because I like them so much)! While I tested the Groove Belt Ultra (you can read about my experience here), Adam had a chance to test and review the Carbon Weave version of their original belt after the brand gave it to us.
The buckle portion of the belt features a carbon weave pattern, which looks truly awesome! While that may be the stand-out feature in this article, it backs that up with a bit of stretch to the belt, an easy-to-clasp magnetic belt, and some fantastic quality.
The only real downsides Adam found was that it doesn’t like to roll up in the drawer for easy storage and that the elastic belt material looks cheap (even if it isn’t), which means it doesn’t make a great dress belt.
2. Ridge Forged Carbon Fiber
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- Extremely simple design
- It's quite durable
- Forged carbon with green looks awesome
- Cash strap is one of the best
- Great card capacity
- Comes with both a money clip and cash strap
- Still not the easiest wallet to get cards out of
- It's really expensive, with no additional utility
- Dimensions: 0.24" by 3.39" by 2.13"
- RFID Blocking: Yes
- Card Capacity: 1 to 12
- Cash Organization: Strap or Money Clip (both included)
- Coin Storage: No (accessory available)
- Weight: 45.3 grams
When it comes to carbon fiber, I haven’t seen a wallet handle it quite as well as Ridge with their Forged Carbon wallets (which the brand gave us to check out)! While some other brands’ carbon tends to wear and tear, the Ridge has stood the test of time. The aluminum green flakes look awesome and add a lot of interest to it.
As for the non-carbon fiber parts of the wallet, I’m always impressed by Ridge’s quality. The sandwich design is simple yet effective, and the cash strap is the best one I’ve ever seen on a wallet. The only real downsides to this wallet are a combination of its high price (50% more than their aluminum variants) and the fact that interior cards can be a bit of a pain to get out of the wallet.
3. ISLE Pioneer 3 Paddle Board
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- The carbon fiber paddle!
- Easy to deflate, and put back in the included bag
- It's quite large, with lots of area to be on
- Plenty of accessories came with it
- So much better than kayaking
- Pumping up with the hand pump can be a pain
- It's quite expensive
Why is there a paddle board on a carbon fiber list? Well, that’s because the most surprising bit of carbon fiber I’ve ever experienced happened here. It wasn’t until I started un-packaging this impressive paddle board that they lent me that I realized the whole handle of the paddle was made of carbon weave! This is also one of the few instances that I have found carbon fiber to actually make a weight difference in a product (most are for styling).
As for the overall usage of the paddle board, I very much enjoyed it! It’s easy to set up (I’d recommend getting an electric pump), easy to tear down, and it was quite stable on the water. You’ll have everything you need with this kit as well, as it comes with everything you could want (including a seat). The only real downside, outside of its higher price point, was that hand-pumping this thing is a workout!
4. Ridge Carbon Fiber 3K Rings
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- It's extremely comfortable
- The carbon weave actually looks like carbon
- The 6mm width is perfect.
- These rings have an incredible warranty
- I wish the silicone ring came in half sizes.
- The carbon fiber ring was scratched.
Yep! I’m wearing these carbon fiber rings that Ridge gave me right now. I have been super impressed with the quality, fit, and finish of these rings since putting them on months ago. Sure, they may have an MSRP of around $250, but when compared to other wedding rings, that’s a reasonable price. The carbon in these rings looks awesome, and it truly feels like there is depth to them. It’s all backed up with a replacement warranty, where you can replace it up to two times if you lose or grow out of it.
The only things I didn’t like were that I was able to scratch the ring while working on my car with it (that’s what the silicone ring should have been used for) and the fact that you can’t get the silicone ring it comes with in half sizes.
5. Fantom M Extra-Slim Carbon Fiber Wallet
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- Ease of access to my cards
- It's extremely compact and slim.
- So many different options
- The optional money clip isn't the best.
- Lack of Android Phone Support
Carbon fiber is becoming incredibly popular in the minimalist wallet game, with just about every brand launching its own version! That said, this weaved carbon fiber found on the Fantom M that John reviewed (and was given to us by the brand) was impressive!
John liked how easy it was to access his cards (you can read the full article here), as they are fanned out horizontally; he also liked how compact they were, and of course, that it was MagSafe! He did not like the money clip (which I found and agree with on my Fantom M I reviewed over here), and he prefers the fact they don’t have much Android support.
6. Aviator Slide
- Extremely high quality
- Great card capacity
- Easy access to card with pull strap
- Comes with coin tray
- Fabric pull strap is loud in your pocket
- Dimensions: 0.41" by 2.12" by 3.37"
- RFID Blocking: Yes
- Card Capacity: Up to 20 Cards (Chosen at Purchase)
- Cash Organization: Cash Strap
- Coin Storage: Yes
- Weight: 42.4 grams
While the whole wallet may not be carbon fiber (at least in this variant that Evermade gave me), the cash clip was a true carbon fiber weave on this wallet! I also found that the wallet was poised to be one of my favorites (a big reason why we retail it now). If you are someone who has coins on you, this wallet is for you! As it’s one of the few that come equipped with it. You might also want to consider it if you have a lot of cards, as this one maxes out at 20 cards!
The only thing I didn’t overly care for was the fact that the pull strap for pulling the cards outware was tipped with metal, as it jingles around in your pocket a bit more than I would prefer.
7. Ekster Forged Carbon Fiber
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- Dimensions: 0.29" by 4.1" by 2.3"
- RFID Blocking: Yes
- Card Capacity: 1 to 15 ( 1-6 in main cardholder, additional 9 in backup storage)
- Cash Organization: Strap
- Coin Storage: No
- Weight: 59 - 87 grams (depending on material)
- Extremely easy to access up to six cards
- High quality build
- Expandable storage
- Easy to access cash
- A bit larger than competition
- Moving parts can wear
Ekster makes some of the best cardholders out there! Their standard wallets can handle up to six cards on the interior of the wallet, which are fanned out vertically out the top of the wallet! You can then add more cards behind the expansion plate and cash on the flip side of the plate.
As for the carbon fiber side of things, it looks awesome! However, I found that the finish wore a bit more than I would prefer, and scratches were quite evident in whatever finish they had over the carbon. The other major downsides to the wallet are its size (it’s taller than a lot of the other options) and its moving parts that likely wear as they are plastic (the Pro series fixed that, though).
