Photo: Mike Yarbrough, Wolf & Iron

The "Sergeant" by Recycled Firefighter is a slim, minimalist money clip wallet made from decommissioned fire hose. Handmade by former firefighter Jake Starr, each one holds 4–8 cards plus some folded cash on the back, and is designed to be carried comfortably in your front pocket (which is my preference anyway).

More importantly, they're made to last. Fire hose material (even the retired stuff) is incredibly durable and resistant to far higher levels of heat and abrasion than it's likely to experience in your pocket. For added durability, the wallets are sewn with T90 nylon thread — which sports 15-pound tensile strength, akin to a decent fishing line — and edged with 1" Mil-Spec nylon binding. The 1.5" elastic money clip band on the back is also Mil-Spec. Basically, you're not likely to wear one of these wallets out for at least a decade.

What's cool to me is that the material of each wallet has its own story to tell before ending up in your hands. Rather than going to waste after saving so many lives, this stuff gets to serve a second tour of duty.

There are a number of "Sergeant" colorways to choose from, the most popular being the "Orange Typhon" model. The majority of them are $29 on Amazon.