I'm in need of a new wallet.

What wallet do I need?

What I'm getting at here is: shop for me, peons!

Oh, but watch out!

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/906/do-eelskin-wallets-demagnetize-bank-teller-cards

I've had a Ducti for several years.
I suspect Chuck Norris may have one too

I'll be interested in the results here, as I'm always looking for a replacement wallet. I don't even know how old mine is now (at least 6 years, as much as 10), and I do like it, but I'm always looking for something that does the best job at this.

I'm the type that keeps as light and thin a wallet as humanly possible. I have three debit cards because I don't have a choice, but other than that I have ID, insurance cards, whatever cash I'm carrying, and a $5 bill signed by Mark Arm from Mudhoney (for good luck, of course).

I have a bi-fold, but it's sort of a cross between a bi-fold and a tri-fold. It's hard to explain, but it looks like this (except a lot nicer and leather and the cards on the right slide out toward the middle of the wallet). Oddly, it appears to be extremely difficult to find this style of wallet online. I like it because it's deceptively good at maximizing carrying capacity while staying nice and thin. If I take everything out of it, the whole wallet is 5/16 of an inch thick.

So I suppose one of my questions would be how much stuff you usually carry. I'm on the light side, and I regularly see gentlemen with 2" thick wallets, which I think is crazy.

Bitt, why don't you make your own?

http://www.rpi-polymath.com/ducttape/index.php

Unbelievably (to me at least), I've had the same wallet since September 1997. I don't know if I would have remembered exactly when I'd bought it if it weren't for the fact that I did so while in Kingston about to check out the 1000 Islands. It's a pretty straight-forward affair which just folds in half and is made of leather by Guess.

My wallet requirements are pretty simple, but I'm sure I could have upgraded to something nicer/better in the past few years. It's still in decent shape though and I honestly haven't really given much thought to retiring it yet.

Maybe a Big Skinny or all-ett model?

I've been looking, around, too. For the last 4 years. :-p

I have what I consider to be the perfect wallet going on 10+ years, and it is holding up physically but it is discolored so I went looking to see if the company Bosca still offers it. Nope

It is much like this bifold 12-slot model but with 10 slots so it is smaller -- almost square.

http://www.bosca.com/mens-wallets-12-pocket.html

After buying that wallet, I'd have no need for it. I'd have nothing left to put in it...

tanstaafl.

Wait, we get this kind of power with red names now? Hmm...

Okay, first off, I hate duct tape. Gaffers tape is where it's at. I can't imagine that the slickness of duct tape wouldn't cause the wallet to squirt out of my hip pocket all the time.

Second, I thought I'd try something a little different than the norm. Here's what I've found so far:
Resist Today (art print)
Big Skinny (thin)
Super Slimmy (thin)
All-Ett (thin, eco-friendly)
Alchemy Goods Franklin (alternative materials, eco-friendly)
Used Rubber (alternative materials, eco-friendly)
Stewart/Stand (alternative materials)
RaggedEdge (alternative materials)
Carbon Fiber Gear house brand (alternative materials)
Rogue Wallet (nonstandard design)
Mighty Wallet (alternative material, art print)
DIFRwear (alternative materials)
Stretch (nonstandard design, minimalist)
Money Band (nonstandard design, minimalist)
NilesZ (hard case, art print)
Jimi (hard case, eco-friendly)
ACM (hard case, alternative design)
Cassette "wallet" (DIY, hard case)
Keyboard printed circuit wallet (DIY, alternative materials)
various DIY wallets (DIY)

Comments about those: I don't want a front-pocket wallet; my front pockets are already filled. I don't want a hard case wallet; I don't want to sit on a solid lump. I'm questioning of the durability of rip-stop nylon as a wallet material; I'm even more questioning of its non-tackiness. I'm questioning of the durability of stainless steel mesh as a wallet material. I'm concerned about some of the wallets having pockets that seem less than fitted to a regular credit card.

Failing something kinda wacky like one of those, I'd like something super-traditional, but maybe slightly quirky. This Ettinger wallet exemplifies those criteria, though it would leave me with little to put in it.

In general, I tend to prefer a large bifold wallet. For the record, this is my current wallet. (Though I'm pretty sure I paid nowhere near list price for it.)

Things I dislike include: showy logos, especially external ones; "flip"-type wallets, where it's designed like a bifold, but with an additional flap sewn on as if an afterthought; positive closures, like snaps, zippers, velcro, etc.; nylon exteriors. I'm sure there's more.

And, in case someone can find one of these for me, there's a style I've been lusting after for ages; an acquaintance of mine used to have one. When folded, it's the size of a traditional bifold wallet, but there are three sections. I'm pretty sure that it was a European-style checkbook wallet, and the third section had a band on it to attach one's side- (that is, not top-) bound checkbook to. It provided a large number of card slots, but since you didn't have to open it up all the way, the less used ones were kept hidden. I'm pretty sure he told me he got it in Brazil, but I might be totally misremembering that.

Okay, Jim. That's just weird. That's the exact wallet in my pocket right now. Swear to FSM. (Well, okay, in Cognac, not Black.) The only reason I need a new one is that the stitching has worn and is just coming apart. I could/should probably just repair it.

I like these... they are nearly immortal and made of fish.

http://www.amazon.com/Stingray-Leather-Bi-Fold-Wallet-Black/dp/B001VNI9US

If you want your next wallet to be your last wallet, you might consider one of the heavy-duty models from Saddleback Leather. Unfortunately, what I really wanted in a wallet was a coin pocket, which they don't offer (and refused to do custom).

My previous solution to this was a wallet I bought when I was in Tokyo in 2000 that lasted up until earlier this year. (Theory: if you want a wallet with a good coin pocket, go to a country where they've got coins worth as much as $5.) About a year ago, I started looking for a replacement and never found something really done right. Instead, I ended up poking around Etsy.com, where I found a vendor willing to make me a custom wallet to my specs (who has since disappeared from Etsy, so I don't know what happened there). I'm pretty happy with the result, and I expect it will last for many years to come.

I like the iPad case!

I thought that's what I needed in a wallet as well, until I was given a wallet as a gift which did not have a coin pocket. Not wanting to disappoint the gift giver, I gave it a try, and I'm quite happy now living without the constant burden of coinage.

So much of what I do is done with debit card, I hardly have the need for cash, let alone change.

I have a coin drawer in my car, for occasionally making fast-food change at the drive thru, and a small pile of coins at my desk at work for the vending machine. Once in a great while I'll have a quarter or two stuck in the wallet next to the bills, but I never keep anything smaller than a quarter on purpose. Every other coin I try to get rid of as change, or it goes into the tip jar at the counter (in addition to paper money as tips, where appropriate of course).

Much happier now.

It's similar to the day I stopped wearing a wristwatch and just depended on my cell phone to tell me the time when I couldn't see a clock. Much happier about that, too.

Excellent links Bitt! I hardly ever find wallets I like (I am on my second in 25 years, but it is wearing a bit) so this is all useful.

On a normal day I have about 25 cards I need to carry (which does increase sometimes) and photos of the family and a range of other bits and pieces, but I never carry money in a wallet, so I guess my needs are a little different to most.

Woah! And sometimes you have to carry more? Wow, that boggles my mind. Are there seriously 25 cards that you HAVE to carry with you at all times? How many of those are things like grocery club cards? I have those at two grocery stores, but I have never once used the cards that came with the membership. The tiny hassle of entering my phone numbers on those occasions is more than made up for by not carrying around those additional cards.

Perhaps you need an audit of those cards sometime?


I of course would never tell someone to not put photos of their family in their wallet, but I find that this is another thing that can be accomplished better with a phone. I just keep an album on my phone of photos like the type you'd keep in your wallet. So when someone asks to see a photo of my wife, I can use my phone and show them my favorite photo from our wedding. And they don't take up physical space in my wallet.


No wonder! I don't think I'd be able to fit a single bill in a wallet like that


I jest, though. My father was someone who kept a fat wallet. He had at least that many cards on hand all the time, along with a month's-worth of receipts and such. I never knew how he was able to keep that in his back pocket and still sit down!

Pretty much all the trousers I now buy are the Rohan brand, I'm not sure that you have those in the US, but thay have a double right hand pocket with a zip on the inner one, which is ideal for keeping odd change safe

Looking back, I'm pretty sure I got it in 1997, so I'd get another. Unless they reintroduce the 10-slot model, I might have to make it go another 13 years.

And I seem to remember that it was on sale at Macy's

I think mine *used* to be Cognac, but it been in the ocean a few times, so it's hard to tell. I *may* break down and get a 12-slot, but I really like the square size of the 10-slot.

Right, no flippy things, no coin pocket (I want a wallet that makes it through metal detectors) and super-simple: 8-10 cards and some bills.

Yeah - every trip away I reassess, but usually that involves taking out a couple of cards and immediately replacing with others more appropriate to the country I am going to. No grocery cards. No membership cards (other than a couple of get out of jail free cards to, well, stop me being arrested for some things - just access passes, ID cards, varying cash and credit cards (personal and business)...

The 4 photos I have in are all printed onto thin paper, and at passport photo size, so they aren't too bad.

I agree - I couldn't put the wallet in a back pocket, but even if it was empty I couldn't really do that. In fact I don't think I use the back pockets on my trousers for anything, as it would be uncomfortable sitting anywhere.
My phones and wallet go into my jacket, along with pens, passport (that's another thing - passports needed to fly within the UK with some airlines...grrrrrrr...okay, rant over) etc.

Yeah... I never understood how people could put their wallet in the back pocket, and then sit down. My wallet goes in my front pocket.

Yeah, I'm not a back-pocket guy either. I think the only time I've ever put a phone or wallet in my back pocket is if I'm walking around as a tourist and my front pockets are full of other stuff.

Sadly, guys just don't have a good analogue for the purse. Perhaps a European Carry-all?

Thankfully we have pockets, a concept that seems largely unknown in the world of women's clothing.

I keep my phone and my wallet in the back pockets of my jeans, I can't imagine keeping them in the front pockets, that would be very uncomfortable when I sat down.

Right hip pocket: wallet
Left hip pocket: notepad
Right front pocket: keys and keychain, including flashlight, pill case, earplugs, flash drive
Left front pocket: multitool, phone
Fifth jeans pocket: coins
Breast pocket: pen

The pockets on my jeans (Levi's) are deep enough that when I sit, the wallet rests on top of my thigh. I've yet to find a pair of pants where, if the wallet is in the back pocket, it doesn't end up under my butt when I sit. I do have a smaller tri-fold wallet, though, rather than one of these big square things being bandied about in this thread. I find those uncomfortable no matter which pocket it's in.

I'd amend that to read "we have useful pockets." Most of my wife's pants (skirts/etc are another story) have pockets, it's just that they're barely large enough to hold a couple of wadded up kleenex.

I've taken to purchasing carpenter pants (both full-length jeans and shorts), mainly because the side pocket is a perfect place for putting my phone. I can't stand to have something as big as my wallet or whatnot in my back pocket, although I do have a smaller card wallet that I keep with my business cards, my driver's license, and my main credit card. That way, for the majority of times I might need my wallet, I can reach for the small one rather than the big one.

I just keep the wallet in the car. And in my front right pocket I keep a roll of cash to balance out the bulge that's already on the left side.

TMI

? That's where I keep my kangaroo skin coin pouch.

Okay, so I'd recommend staying away from the Ducti wallets.

For my birthday, a family friend sent me one of those duct tape wallets. I was expecting to replace my wallet, but like I said it might be over a decade old at this point and it's getting a little worn, so I thought I'd give it a try.

I removed all the stuff from my old wallet and started putting it into the new one when I ran into one very odd, very stupid flaw: essentially the front two card pockets are completely useless.

You can see in the attached photo that the rivet on the bottom clearly prevents the right-hand side of the cards in the two front pockets from sitting flush in their pocket. In that photo, that is the absolute farthest I can jam either of those cards into the wallet. Those both looks terrible and is not very functional on a day to day basis. It's so odd! It just seems like such an obvious design flaw.

I'll be going back to my old wallet, which is still holding up well enough for me...

Tell me about it. They could have easily solved the problem by putting another rivet on the left side.

Huh. You'd expect them to have actually tested it with cards. Thats a pretty big design flaw if so.

Next thing you'll want mobile phone manufacturers to test reception before putting their products on sale. That's preposterous.

I didn't know about that, but I have the tri-fold design which doesn't have that flaw.

Well, dummy, you just cut the bottom right corner off of each of your cards and then the wallet will work just fine.

tanstaafl.

Good point! The strip is, after all, at the top, so I should be fine

I took a more practical approach: don't use the stupidly designed wallet I was eventually able to get a card into that pocket, but with a force just shy of bending the damn card in half. So yes, it fits, but the design still blows.

At least they used that really cheap super-low thread-count duct tape.

Maybe you have to buy a premium version which has the better tape and comes with the use of the 2 card pockets.

Did you ever decide on a wallet, Bitt? I might actually be a little curious for my self now. I hadn't thought about how worn my wallet was, and it's looking pretty ratty...

No, not yet.

Shame there aren't any cheap online custom wallet sites like you can get for bags.

FYI, I emailed the folks at Bosca and they promptly and politely replied that, no, they did not expect to offer the 10-slot bi-fold again. So I guess I am stuck with my discolored Bosca for the duration. The fact that it isn't falling apart is some sort of advert for them, I guess.

I've had a Ducti wallet for about 8-10 years now. Nary an issue with it, and no rivet where shown in your photo.

Cheers

OK, after 17 years, the Bosca is getting just a bit ratty. I am thinking about getting a Bosca 12-slot model.

Jim