In recent months, I made the decision to get rid of my old, bulky, back-pocket wallet and look at a minimalist front-pocket wallet. There were three primary things that led me to this point:
- I was intrigued by a minimalist wallet that a member of my team has backed on Kickstarter
- I was tired of sitting uncomfortably on my wallet during my long commute
- I was carrying less cash and fewer cards (including business and reward cards) in this increasingly digital world
As usual for me, this became a quest to find the right product at the right value point, so I ended up spending several months buying and trying a variety of wallets. Here are my reviews of the wallets I tried, in the order I purchased them. (I’ve also included Amazon affiliate links for each product, as well as links to alternate products from our TwoCentsOn shop. Purchasing items from these links helps support this site.)
Radix One Slim Wallet
Quality: 
Usability: Capacity: 
Average: 
The first wallet I purchased was the Radix One wallet, since it shared some design elements with the wallet my teammate purchased through a Kickstarter campaign: two flat pieces held together with rubber. Although it is primarily designed for holding credit-card-sized cards, it can also hold paper money, either between the two covers with the cards, or probably more conveniently under the rubber strap.
I liked the simple design, and it not only held all of my cards, it could have held several more.
Unfortunately I had three problems with this wallet:
- Other than separating the cash from the cards, there was no good way for me to organize the contents
- When carrying more than a couple of cards, getting the right card out of the wallet was a struggle for me
- After carrying the wallet for just a couple of weeks, the rubber strap was stretched out enough that the removal of one or two cards left the wallet loose and floppy
Travelambo Front Pocket Wallet
Quality: Usability: Capacity: 
Average: 
The second wallet I tried was a more traditional leather wallet, which — if I recall correctly — I purchased because of positive reviews on Amazon and YouTube. (Spoiler alert: this is the wallet that I still carry primarily at the time of this writing.)
The Travelambo wallet provides several separate pocket in various configuration (horizontal and vertical), which is helpful is organizing the contents, and fits comfortably in my front pants pocket. However, I do however sometimes feel the space is too limited, and it is sometimes difficult to remove the cards.
The wallet also has a pocket with a plastic window, which in theory should be useful to show (for example) an ID without having to remove it from the wallet. But in reality, in situations where I have to show a card, I’m almost always required to remove it, something that is not as convenient as I would like with this particular design.
DASH Minimalist Wallet 2.0
Quality: Usability: Capacity: Average:
Everywhere I looked, it seemed like there were positive reviews for the DASH wallet, and since the price was right, I had to try it out.
There was a lot to like about this wallet. It appears to be well-made, and has three pockets, including one with a window to simplify removal of a card. Two of the pockets open from one side of the wallet, with one pocket on the other side (for cash) that uses the space between the other two.
Again, the wallet seemed very tight with all of my cards in it, though the manufacturer does say that it takes some time to “break in.” It is likely I will try this wallet again in the future.
Jocose Moose Wallet
Quality: Usability: Capacity: Average: 
Since one of my recurring problems with the wallets I was trying was the difficulty in removing my cards, I decided to try the Jocose Moose RFID minimalist wallet.
Functionally, the Jocose Moose works well: there is a magnetic tab that keeps the wallet closed, and when the tab is opened and pulled, it fans up several plastic dividers to hold cards. There is also a slot in the back for cash. It was wider than most of the other wallets I looked at, so there is plenty of room for the cards.
However, I unfortunately purchased the fabric model (which it appears they may no longer be selling), rather than leather, and the wallet is not very attractive. I’m also concerned about wear-and-tear on the plastic dividers over a longer period of time. I do think I would have been happier if I had purchased one of the leather ones.
iPulse Boston Series Wallet
Quality: 
Usability: Capacity: Average:
This iPulse wallet is another wallet with a combination close and pull tab, in this case with a snap instead of a magnet. It is also the most complex design of the wallets I evaluated.
On the front, the wallet has an elastic strap and a small pocket at the bottom. Together the strap and pocket could hold a single card comfortably, and the strap could also be used to hold cash. On the back, there is a larger pocket with a window at the bottom to allow pushing up any card that is held there.
Although the main pocket has pull tab functionality, the tab on the iPulse (unlike the Jocose Moose) just pulls all the cards up at once, without fanning the cards. So I ended up having to pull all the cards out, sort through them to find the one I wanted, and put all the others back in the pocket. As with some of the other wallets, after a period of time of “breaking in” the wallet, it might have been easier to use, but during the time I was testing it, the fit of the cards was incredibly tight.
Quality-wise, the iPulse wallet appears to be the most well-made of any of the wallets in this review. But it also was the most expensive.
Crabby Wallet
Quality: Usability: Capacity: Average:
The final wallet I examined was the Crabby wallet. It, like the Jocose Moose wallet, was made of fabric, though whereas the Jocose Moose was some stiff, RFID-blocking material, the Crabby wallet is essentially all elastic.
This wallet only has two pockets, with an elastic band that can be pulled over the top to secure the cards. This limits the ability to organize, but because of the elasticity, it’s easy to fit a lot into it. (The elastic band could also be used to hold cash.) The quality and design areĀ very good; I especially liked the red crab logo embroidered on the front. But overall, pulling aside the elastic band and digging out the right card seemed more complicated than it should be.
So that’s my two cents. Have you used any of these wallets, or do you have other recommendations? Share your two cents in the comments!