REVIEW – Where does your EDC live when it’s not being carried in your pockets or bag? In a pile on top of your dresser, kitchen counter, kitchen table? Hey, I’m not judging. But I do have a suggestion. How about a dedicated tray like the gorgeous Leander valet tray. Let’s take a closer look.
What is it?
The leather valet tray from Leander is a wood and leather tray. What’s a valet tray? It’s a dedicated landing spot for your everyday items like your watch, wallet, keys, pen, and other items like your EDC flashlight, multi-tool. knife, etc.
Design and features
Leander offers the valet tray in 5 variations. The one that I received is their Pacific Blue leather valet tray. They also offer it in black leather, emerald green leather, camo leather, and felted wool.
The tray is made from one piece of 100% natural wood. Depending on the version of the tray, different woods are used like American Black Walnut, and Maple.
The leather used is from tanneries like the La Perla Azzura and Badalassi tanneries from the Tuscany region in Italy.
The leather in the Pacific Blue version of the Leander valet tray has a fine grain with a very fine pebble texture. The color is a deep blue that could be easily mistaken as black in a dimly lit room. The only branding on the tray is the Leander logo stamped into the leather in the narrow section.
The bottom of the tray has foam feet to keep the tray from sliding around.
This tray is pretty spacious. The main section is about 7.5 x 7.5 inches. The narrow section is 1.5 x 7.5 inches.
So what type of stuff can the Leander Pacific Blue Leather Valet Tray hold? All sorts of stuff. My Hobonichi Techo journal and Uniball One gel pen fit in the main section and the Gerber Assert pocket knife in the narrow section.
It also fits a bunch of Pilot Juice Up and Mildliner highlighter pens, and a Kuru Toga mechanical pencil.
If you check the first image in this review, you’ll see my collection of EDC items that include my Swiss Army knife, Pokka pen, Field Notes notebook, NiteCore Tiki flashlight, car fob, lip balm, and my current favorite wallet.
The Leander valet tray fits right in with the rest of the wood products in my office. I have a homemade butcher block desk (check out my story about that), and the wood Balolo Cockpit monitor stand. And I don’t mind that all the woods are different. 🙂
What I like about the Leander valet tray
- Classic style
- Well made
- Roomy enough for all your items
What needs to be improved?
Final thoughts
I appreciate well-crafted products, especially those made from natural materials like wood and leather. I even do my own leathercraft work to create journal covers. The Leander valet tray truly impressed me with its exceptional craftsmanship. Although it may be a bit pricey, I believe it’s a worthwhile investment. I’m confident that I’ll use it for many years to come, making it a buy once, cry once kind of purchase.
Price: $145.00
Where to buy: Leander
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Leander. Leander did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
