I want to replace my wallet, but finding the right one is difficult.

My requirements are simple but hard to combine:

• small enough to be carried in my front pocket together with my keys
• protection for my cards
• carry (paper) cash, without folding

For cards I want to a least carry the following:

1. main debit card (embossed)
2. main credit card (embossed)
3. ID card
4. drivers license
5. health insurance card
6. organ donor card

Ideally I'd like to carry two additional (embossed) credit cards, but that's optional.

So here's the wallets I tried so far.

This is the wallet I carried for years. It's great. You can not go any slimmer, it's barely thicker than the stack of cards itself. It's also inexpensive.

So why do I want to replace it? The soft material means that cards will always move against each other a little whenever the wallet moves in your pocket. Over time the rubbing causes damage to the cards.

• 9mm thick
• 88mm tall
• 57mm wide
• $25

The Trove looks really nice and the functionality seemed like a good compromise on protecting the cards, maintaining a small profile and still have an okay option for cash.

I did like the quality of the leather and the idea of a pull strap. The elastic made wallet feel very secure.

However in reality accessing cards other than your two most used ones was rather awkward and accessing the cash wasn't a super straight forward operation either. It barely fit my six base cards.

• 19mm thick
• 91mm tall
• 59mm wide
• £38

Researching a bit more I came across box wallets. First popularized by Secrid. A box wallet holds your cards in a box and a mechanism allows easy access. But for cash you need something else. The Pularys Solo solves that by adding a leather bill fold to the box.

The aluminium ejector box was really nice. The cards felt secure, the mechanism very smooth. It held all my minimum required cards plus one additional credit card.

The bill fold is available in different colors - I'm not sure it's genuine leather. The stitching seemed fine. It has three additional card slots, so adding my second additional card and even a few business cards wouldn't be a problem.

However in the end it felt just too bulky. Especially with the closing clasp and ejector handle sticking out even further.

• 21mm thick (27mm at the clasp)
• 97mm tall (without the 5mm pull handle)
• 66m wide (71mm at the clasp)
• €35

I think I have an idea on how to do a slim wallet that does what I want by combining features from the Trove and Pularys wallets. Over the last weeks I made several prototypes and am slowly making some progress. I hope to reveal my DIY solution in another blog post soon…

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