Best wallet ever?

[Ultralight]

What is the best wallet you have ever had?

I admit a certain weakness for wallets (I know, I know... I am a socialist!).

I have owned probably a dozen or so over my life. I wear the heck out of the good ones but the ones I don't like I usually don't keep more than a few months.

I was using a woman's hair-tie rubber band for years. Great wallet! It makes you look like a crumb bum though. Also, they break unexpectedly and then you are screwed.

And those huge wallets with a zillion pockets and compartments and all that. They look cool! But they don't have much use to me.

I keep my wallet in my front left pocket and have done so for eons.

[Greg44]

I buy a new wallet this time of year when they are on sale - I buy the bi-fold with center that has a credit card holder extension. I then very carefully cut it out! Then what is left is still a nice bi-fold to donate. I carry only my Costco Visa, Debit, DL and insurance card. It is very thin so I can carry it in my front pocket. I have looked for other "front pocket wallets" but never seen the kind I really like and as thin as this is. When I started looking for ways to be minimalist - I wondered why am I sitting on all these credit cards I rarely use. So I purged my wallet and have never looked back.

[Ultralight]

I buy a new wallet this time of year when they are on sale - I buy the bi-fold with center that has a credit card holder extension. I then very carefully cut it out! Then what is left is still a nice bi-fold to donate. I carry only my Costco Visa, Debit, DL and insurance card. It is very thin so I can carry it in my front pocket. I have looked for other "front pocket wallets" but never seen the kind I really like and as thin as this is. When I started looking for ways to be minimalist - I wondered why am I sitting on all these credit cards I rarely use. So I purged my wallet and have never looked back.

Very cool idea! Nice way of creating a custom wallet. :)

[jp1]

I generally want a basic wallet with the following features. It must "seal" closed in some way. Currently this means a leather bifold wallet with a zipper around it. In the past this has sometimes meant velcro. It has to have space to easily hold $200 cash and a change pocket since I pay cash for a lot of stuff. And it needs to be able to easily hold ten plastic cards. Two personal credit cards, ATM card, work expense credit card, driver's license, health insurance card, work key card, transit pass, transit voucher credit card and HSA debit card. I don't carry the last two with me unless I know I will be using them but the other eight are always with me. My current wallet is also a Faraday cage so that chip cards can't be read through it. It seems that all wallets have this "feature" today. I'm not especially concerned about someone reading my credit card through my wallet, and I'm daily annoyed at having to pull the transit card out to use it. Even the external card pocket is within the Faraday cage. (with my old wallet I could just press the wallet against the turnstile reader and be on my way.)

The one thing that has annoyed me about my last three wallets (including the current one) is the cheapness of the zipper. The pull tab invariably separates from it well before the end of the wallet's life otherwise. On my current wallet this happened perhaps one month into ownership.

[ToomuchStuff]

I probably have a half dozen or so that I need to get rid of, as they have been given to me as Christmas presents over the years. For an excess of 20 years, I used the same velcro locking wallet, so that became a joke around so many people I know. Last year the velcro wore out and I checked with several friends. For about 17 years I have used a money clip that is sharkskin. It has held up quite well and has a larger magnet them most (individual leather worker made it). To compliment that, my new wallet is made of some sort of ray (stingray, or the like), as several friends have had good luck with how that wears.
Having cards separate from a wallet, means in a robbery, I can throw one, one way and have the other. I do clean out the wallet a bit again. I do so often, but with a recent car repair, I was disorganized and had to use my emergency cash.

[mschrisgo2]

I use a leather "card holder" the most recent one came from Amazon. It holds a few cards and a couple of folded bills and slips easily into a pocket.

(I gave up carrying a purse 30+ years ago when I started teaching because they get stolen. I have tried to go back to using a purse since I retired and it just doesn't work for me since I've gotten so used to not having it. I have many things in the center console of my car that might otherwise be in a purse, i.e. comb, hand cream, sunglasses. I put then all in a bag for a recent trip and it was just an annoyance until I dumped them in the console of the rental car. )

[ApatheticNoMore]

they are all junk really, all fall apart after a few years in my experience. I wonder if I was to spend a fortune for one if it would be different. But since I don't use a purse I need something to put cards and cash including change in. I don't like the really small wallets but yes it does need to fit in my pocket so too big wallets are also out.

[Teacher Terry]

My wallets usually last for years. I like a big one. I wait for it to wear out and then buy a new one. My last purse and wallet are Montana West and look new 2 years later. Also reasonably priced.

[dado potato]

The best wallet is one that is returned to its owner after being lost or dropped, with all its contents undisturbed.


I agree that a hip pocket wallet can be harmful to the joints due to sitting on it. I go for a shirt pocket size, leather. Mine last for 7 to 8 years (or so).

[Rogar]

The best wallet is one that is returned to its owner after being lost or dropped, with all its contents undisturbed.

I had that happen last year. My bike bag was not zipped up all the way and it bounced out on a long ride. Panic set in when I noticed it was gone and looked all along on the way back home. When I got home, it was tucked between my screen and entrance door. No note or any idea who returned it with a $50 bill and all the other contents intact. Something a person doesn't forget to pay attention to afterwards.

I got my wallet as a gift. It has some sort of shield so the magnetic strips inside can't be scanned by a high tech passerby crook. I don't know how important that is for security protection, but it was free and I like the idea.

I'm a back pocket carrier but keep the contents down to a bare minimum because it can get to a person after sitting on it a while. I actually prefer the tri-fold Cordura type fabric wallets over leather, but will take what ever comes if it's a gift.

EDTA (Thinking about it, the best wallet is a free wallet).

[catherine]

I did something completely uncharacteristic last year and bought a Coach wallet on sale at Macy's. I bought it because it was a deep discount, and I needed a wallet. Coach gives lifetime guarantees. The wallet is fine, but doesn't fit in a tiny purse. It hold cards and cash and it has a little pocket with a snap closure. I expect it to last a long time.

I'm not fussy about wallets, however. I felt sad replacing the little card case that my favorite boss gave me in 2000. It was a red card case, monogrammed with my initials. I used it until I got the Coach wallet, so that little card case lasted me almost 20 years.

[Gardenarian]

I use a small coin purse with a zipper, with my cards inside in one of those thin plastic card folders that are often inserted in wallets. I have 5 cards I keep with me. My coin purse is Tyvek, lightweight, holds plenty of bills and change.

I don't carry it in my pants pocket, usually my bag or coat pocket.

I have photos of the cards I need once in a while and have them on my phone on the Google Keep app. Things like frequent customer cards - they can just type the number in from the photo on my phone.

Not many stores around here use phone pay apps. That would lighten things up