The 14 Best Valet Trays For Your EDC Essentials

Your everyday carry gear is precious. After all, it is comprised of the tools you’ve carefully curated to haul in your pockets every single day. As such, it deserves respect and care — even when it’s built tough enough to survive the apocalypse. And, in our opinion, that extends to those moments after you’ve gone home for the day and taken that gear out of your pockets for the evening.

Just like you, your EDC gear needs a place to rest when you’re not using this. Not only will this help to keep it safe, but it also serves to keep you more organized and able to reload your pockets at a moment’s notice for further adventure. But, rather than just tossing your everyday carry haphazardly onto a nightstand or countertop, we suggest picking up a valet tray: a designated, specified, countertop storage accessory designed for this exact purpose. But, since not just any will do, we’ve rounded up the best valet trays for the following collection.

What To Look For

Materials: When it comes to valet trays, the preferred materials will largely be chosen based on personal preference, especially when considering your own household aesthetic and that of the nightstand it’s sitting upon.

Surface: Not only will you want to match the design of the EDC tray with your nightstand or countertop but you’ll have to consider its footprint as well. If you have a small nightstand, you’re not going to want a large tray.

Size: Some of you may just want a tray to hold your keys and wallet. Others may want to place entire EDC loadouts inside. Depending on what you keep in your pocket on a daily basis, you’ll determine the size of the inside of your tray.

Device Charging: It’s not essential, but some of you may want a valet that can also power up your phones or watches, either wirelessly or otherwise. For non-wireless charging devices, look for trays with slits cut out of the edges to better accommodate your cables.

Billykirk No. 471 Large Leather Valet Tray

Best Leather: Billykirk has been crafting top-quality American-made leather goods for quite a long time. And while they’re not a household name, they’re well-respected amongst those who have had the pleasure of handling their offerings. The No. 471 Large Leather Valet Tray is one such offering. Crafted from full-grain vegetable-tanned leather, this is the kind of accessory you might hand down to your kids — that way, they can stash their own EDC gear in it long after you’ve hung up your proverbial hat.

Hay Kaleido Tray

Best Modular: Uniqueness, especially in the gear one procures, is often highly sought-after. That doesn’t change when it comes to everyday carry valet trays. Thankfully, there are plenty of stand-out options that are a bit different from the rest of the gallery, like the modular Kaleido Tray from the team at Hay. Available in multiple colors and sizes, this six-sided valet tray is both eye-catching in its appearance, but also its unique construction. Crafted from powder-coated steel, they’re designed to be either stacked or combined to form unique shapes and patterns.

Concrete Project Valet Tray

Best Concrete: If you want a minimalist aesthetic with a brutalist spirit, check out Concrete Project’s Valet Tray, made with a combination of sand, cement, and fiber and available in ten earthy monochromatic tones. Serving as a unique addition to your nightstand, these handmade trays stretch 7.875″ long by 4.75″ wide, with a 1-inch height. They won’t hold every EDC component you have, but if you get more than one color, you can coordinate and organize accordingly.

Holme & Hadfield Nightstand Organizer

Best with Drawer: If a basic EDC valet isn’t for you, you can organize everything that goes into your pockets with this simple yet helpful nightstand companion from Holme & Hadfield. The top of the wooden box features a phone docking station that fits almost every model, a watch holder, and a felt-lined tray for your more prized possessions. Open up the divided drawer to keep items such as your wallet, coins, or keys inside. Of all the options on this list, the Nightstand Organizer makes for a great gift as well.

Jonathan Adler Snake Valet

Best Graphic Tray: Graphic designs aren’t for everyone, but this Snake Valet from Jonathan Adler has a touch of class and beauty that it just had to make it onto our list. Made from real porcelain and featuring stylishly crimped corners, this 7″ x 5″ EDC tray features a switchbacked serpent applied in-glaze, with 16K gold accents applied by hand on-glaze. The company says that the valet can scratch over time, so we suggest not placing items such as keys, coins, or unsheathed knives on top.

Tanner Goods Valet Tray

Best Small Tray: If Tanner Goods isn’t a name that’s on your radar, it’s definitely time to change that. After all, we’re talking about an American heritage brand that crafts exceptional carry gear, apparel, and more, all with a timeless aesthetic and from exceptional materials. Their simply-named Valet Tray is certainly no exception with its natural tooling leather exterior, brass rivets, and the maker’s mark applied in their Portland workshop. If quality and craftsmanship are amongst your chief concerns, look no further.

Craighill Nocturn Catch Valet Tray

Best Wooden: As far as wooden valet trays are concerned, the Craighill Nocturn Catch might very well be the most elegant and the most clever. You see, the slope of its design and that little ridge in the center were created specifically to make it easier for you to pick up anything that might otherwise be a chore to pick up — like cards or coins. It’s also made in the USA from solid American Walnut or Maple and is so beautiful, you’ll be proud to display it front and center in your home or office.

Grovemade Desk Tray

Best for Organizing: For those that adore organization, the Grovemade Desk Tray is sure to please. Apart from being perhaps the most individual of the valet trays on our list — thanks largely to the fact that it is built from machined aluminum and natural cork — it also boasts some of the best compartmental organization, boasting a bevy of individual spaces suitable for things like your wallet, pen, phone, pocket change, glasses, and more. It’s even well suited to be used as a tray for pencils, erasers, paper clips, and the like, should you choose to use it more for stationery organization.

Dango EDC Tray

Best Rugged: There’s something to be said about brutalism and industrial design, especially when it comes to present-day architecture and style. And if the ethos of either one (or both) speaks to you, you may find yourself drawn to Dango’s EDC Tray. You see, this valet tray is actually crafted from solid CNC-machined aluminum, giving it a rugged look that makes sense in a concrete abode or garage or workshop. It’s also compartmentalized for exceptional organization — including slots for your phone, pen, wallet, and everything else. And if you’re worried about how it might damage your gear or countertops, worry not; it comes with soft non-slip feet and is available with optional DTEX pads to keep everything kosher.

Killspencer Valet Tray

Best High-End: There is elegance in simplicity, as well as high-quality material construction. And Killspencer’s Valet Tray has both in spades. One of the only trays on our list offered in two or more available sizes, this simple accessory is crafted from premium bullhide leather with hand-painted edges and a raw backing seated in a powder-coated steel tray. This bad boy offers up everything you need in a valet tray and nothing you don’t. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that it looks as good as it does.

Nomad Base Station Apple Watch Edition

Best Tray for Apple Watch: For many folks, their everyday carry gear loadout contains at least one electronic device, but usually more. For Apple loyalists, that most often means an iPhone, AirPods, and an Apple Watch. It would be nice for these folks if their valet tray could keep these electronics all juiced up and ready to go. Well that’s exactly what the Nomad Base Station Apple Watch Edition has to offer. Not quite a traditional valet tray, this desktop tech accessory boasts built-in Qi wireless charging capabilities and even has a dedicated Apple Watch stand.

Courant Catch:3 Wireless Charging Tray

Best Non-Apple Charging Tray: If you have wireless charging tech but you’re not stuck in Apple’s ecosystem, you may be more drawn to the Courant Catch:3. More like a traditional valet tray, this desktop accessory features a recessed slot for your pocket gear alongside a 3-Coil Qi-certified wireless charge pad for your phone, headphones, or whatever else. It’s also built from solid aluminum wrapped in beautiful top-grain leather. Equal parts style and substance, this valet tray is a technophile’s must-own accessory.

Maxx & Unicorn Catch-All Valet Tray

The big problem with a lot of smaller valet trays is that, with modern smartphones seemingly getting larger and larger, they often don’t have enough room for one of the most ubiquitous pieces of everyday carry gear. The folks at Maxx & Unicorn, however, figured out a way around this issue with their Catch-All Valet Tray you see here. It’s small — only 6.5″ from corner to corner on its longest side — but the pair of grooves you can see at its top function as a phone stand. That way you can stash all your pocket gear despite this solid hardwood accessory’s seemingly small stature.

Graf & Lantz Kawabon Valet Tray

If you prefer a bit of structure in your valet tray but like the materials used in the option above, you’ll definitely want to check out the Graf & Lantz Kawabon Valet Tray you see here. It’s built from the same leather and felt, but has a rigid structure with the Italian leather on the outside and the German Merino wool felt lining the inside. Best of all — and like its brethren — it was made in the USA.

The Best Desk Accessories

If you’re spending a lot of time with your everyday carry gear in a valet tray, that might be because you’re now working from home. That being the case, it might be worth sprucing up WFH setup with some of our favorite EDC desk accessories.