Recycled Firefighter The Fire Hose Sergeant Wallet Review

Recycled Firefighter started as a side hustle. The company’s founder said he wasn’t making enough money as a firefighter to support a family, so he tinkered with a sewing machine and some old fire hose. Months and numerous failed products later, the Fire Hose Sergeant Wallet was born.

These days, Recycled Firefighter offers a plethora of everyday carry products, a lot of them made from recycled fire hose. The company says it has recycled and repurposed over 15,000 feet of decommissioned fire hose from around the U.S., which is both eco-groovy and just plain awesome.

With that backstory, how could we not get our hands on the product that started it all?

We’ve been testing the Fire Hose Sergeant Wallet for three months around Detroit, Michigan and have taken it on some trips around the midwest. Before we jump into the review, we want to point out that this is a minimalist wallet. It will only hold a few cards and some cash. If you like to carry coins, receipts, love letters, and good luck charms in your wallet, the Sergeant won’t be for you.

So without further ado, let’s see how this wallet has been performing.

Materials & Aesthetic

In case you glossed over that introduction—the Fire Hose Sergeant Wallet is made from repurposed fire hose. So using this wallet is sort of like living out your childhood dream of becoming a firefighter. The fire hose feels rougher than expected, but also feels like it’ll last decades.

Overall, it has a simple and minimalist aesthetic. Its slim profile—it’s only a little bit taller than a credit card—easily slides into pants’ pockets or the quick-grab pockets on sling bags. But the available colorways add some personality.

At the time of this review, you can pick it up in Red & Black, Red-Hi Combat, Yellow & Multicam, Black & Multicamblack, Green & Black, Yellow & Black, Blue & Black, and Orange & Typhon. We’ve been testing the Red & Black, which is a bit flashy for what we usually go for (which is black), but it’s one of the more subdued colors available.

Note that each wallet is going to be different—that’s the nature of using repurposed materials. The folks at Recycled Firefighter say, “The hose color may be slightly lighter or darker and frequently comes with scuffs and markings.”

We think the scuffs and markings add to the appeal—your wallet will be uniquely yours.

From a branding perspective, there’s a small logo tag on the front. The tag itself is not too big, but because the entire wallet is small, you’ll notice it.

Features & Usage

One of our favorite things about this wallet is that it holds just enough. At least, for us. But our team tends to prefer minimalist wallets. As we said at the beginning of this review, if you’re not about minimalist wallets then you’ll probably want something bigger than the Sergeant.

On the front there’s a card sleeve that holds 4-8 cards. We tend to keep 5 cards in there at a time. The cards easily slide into the sleeve, although accessing them can be a little trickier. Your cards aren’t staggered—they’re all on top of one another. You have to partially slide them out and fan through the stack to see and grab the cards sandwiched in the middle.

That’s why we like to keep the card we use the most on the top and the card we use the second-most on the bottom. They’re easier to quickly grab there.

On the back of the wallet there’s a cash strap for, you guessed it, cash. The elastic strap is designed to hold tri-fold bills, which sit nicely beneath the strap. Unfortunately, we’re more bi-fold kind of people. Bi-folded bills are too tall to fit beneath the strap length-wise, but they fit width-wise—though they stick out on both sides of the wallet.

And tucking your cash beneath the strap can be a bit of a pain—it’s usually a two-hand job. It’s not a huge deal, but it’s something you will notice if you use cash every day.

We do wish there was a better way to carry cash in this thing. Depending on how much cash you carry, the bills can feel a little loose. Plus, we’re worried about the elastic stretching out over time. So far, so good—but it’s something to keep in mind.

That said, we’re willing to put up with these small inconveniences for the clean, slim, and simple minimalist package.

Recycled Firefighter says the wallet will, “Virtually disappear in your front pocket.” And we have to agree. We’ve tossed it in a pocket on pants, daypacks, or sling bags and have forgotten it’s there until we need it. This is a huge plus for travel when you don’t have the room or weight available in your travel backpack for anything cumbersome.

Plus, its minimalist design means you’ll actually have to recycle all of your receipts instead of throwing them in your wallet and keeping them for the better part of a decade (not that we’ve ever done that…).

And, after three months of testing, the wallet is still holding up nicely. We don’t expect that to change any time soon.