- [Adam] Who makes the best minimalist wallet under $30?
Here’s my top 5 list in this video review,
learn how to save a little money on a purchase,
plus I show you how to upgrade your existing wallet
to stop digital thieves scanning
your tap-and-go contactless credit cards.
First up, the Travelambo
Front Pocket Minimalist Wallet.
I know you guys are buying these,
so I bought one too,
to find out what all the fuss is about.
And I totally get it!
This one is their coffee color,
crazy horse leather wallet, nice.
What’s the big deal?
Well, this type of full-grain leather
will patina as it ages,
making the wallet even more unique
and interesting over time.
We’ve done crazy horse wallets in the past
which can be expensive,
but this offering from Amazon
cost me less than a cheap fast-food order.
It’s a thin leather, but good value.
For discloser, all other products which follow
in the video were sent to me for free.
I purchased this Travelambo wallet myself.
I didn’t get the gift box as pictured
on the product page,
it arrived in just a clear poly pocket
and this protective paper.
I believe the wallet is part handmade; hand-cut,
and machine-stitched.
Look at the silver embroidered lining,
this blocks RFID signals,
and protects your cards
from digital theft from card skimming.
You’ve got six card slots in total,
with storage for cash too.
With many leather wallets,
the card pockets will be a little tight when new.
I’m able to insert one embossed card in each pocket,
and still retrieve them comfortably.
It could be made better
if it had at least one quick-access pocket
benefiting from a pull tab eject system,
like on this wallet that we’ll see in a moment.
On this side a clear polymer window for your ID card.
I’m thinking the leather could last a long time,
but will the poly window get scratched
much more quickly?
I’ve not had the wallet long enough to find out.
If you have one, please let us know in the comments.
This wallet is a great unisex offering,
available in lots of colors.
Your materials choice is crosshatch leather,
napa leather or oil wax leather, enjoy!
Second on my list
is the FUNKY RFID wallet, from Pularys.
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and don’t stretch them out,
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Covered in a soft, high-quality
Italian full-grain leather is the core part
of the FUNKY RFID wallet,
an aluminium card holder
with a clever eject mechanism that pushes out,
and separates your cards for selection.
Most bank cards have embossed writing,
and I find four of those cards fit perfectly,
and are protection against theft
or unauthorized scanning.
You can fit more, if less of them are embossed.
And, even with just one card
in the RFID blocking aluminium card holder,
it fits securely, without falling out.
The mechanism is Pularys’ own registered design.
It’s a satisfying operation,
with no rattles, works great!
You could put a non-RFID protected card here.
That’s great for a door access card,
where you don’t won’t to block the signal.
Although, this part is actually designed for cash.
You also have a coin holder here
for a limited amount of coins.
And, take a closer look
at the fantastic soft Italian leather.
A big level up from the first wallet we looked at.
Made with vege-chrome tanning,
it gives a natural look and shine.
The chrome tanning adds strength
for resistance to pulls and rips.
Pularys are a Polish factory,
producing leather products since the 1930s,
continuing a family tradition.
So lots of heritage here,
and they ship to most countries.
If red is a little bold for you,
then check out the wide selection
of more traditional colors.
And if you don’t want this wallet
with a leather exterior,
then you can just buy the aluminium
RFID credit card holder as a stand-alone product.
Pularys call this the ZEN wallet.
You’ll find lots of colors and printed designs
to choose from on the Pularys web store.
Third on my list, one more wallet from Pularys.
This is the HOBBY wallet.
The CEO of Pularys,
whose grandpa started the business,
personally uses the HOBBY wallet.
Here’s his very own beaten-up wallet,
which has seen lots of use.
Tomasz tells me he has an office drawer
full of HOBBY wallets,
and occasionally gives them as gifts
to friends and business partners.
He watches their reaction
to this little piece of folder leather,
and challenges them move all necessary stuff
from their current wallet to their new HOBBY wallet,
asks them to live with the HOBBY wallet for 24 hours,
and report back.
He learns many people
are still using their HOBBY wallet
long after the 24 hours.
So, let’s take up that same challenge.
I normally carry at least a couple of bank cards.
And I’d likely throw some kind
of RFID blocking card in here,
as this wallet isn’t RFID blocking.
Pularys offer this anti-skimming shield card,
which is a perfect companion
to add to your HOBBY wallet order.
See the video links for this product,
and all of the wallets featured.
They are affiliate links,
which means I may earn a small amount
from that at no extra cost to you.
That helps me make more videos.
The HOBBY wallet has a fantastic coin holder.
You can get a decent amount of coins in here,
and it’s secured here with a double snap closure
so that they don’t fall out.
There’s room for keys, cash, a SIM card,
maybe some anti-septic wipes,
a curtain hook, buttons, and some legos.
See, you thought there wasn’t gonna be anywhere
for your lego, how wrong was you?
And this super soft, supple Italian leather,
kinda expands to swallow all of that.
Making this wallet very versatile,
and perhaps the most practical wallet today,
despite its modest design.
I did put more sensible things in here afterwards,
from my actual wallet
to complete the 24-hour challenge.
And, I like it a lot.
Next up is the Vaultskin Chelsea Card Holder.
This is a product I reviewed last year,
which really impressed.
What I like is the premium look and feel,
and fast-access pocket in the middle.
It has a pull-tab eject system with a small magnet
that ensures the elastic tab automatically retracts
without having to push the cards back in.
I find about five to six cards fit best,
without compromising the pull-tab eject
by overloading the wallet.
Inside here you can see the anti-theft RFID insulation
that prevents electronic pickpocketing.
There are additional non-RFID pockets,
one on each side of the wallet,
which you can use for other cards or bank notes.
The Vaultskin Chelsea Card Holder
is made from a high quality top grain leather,
available in up to 10 different color finishes.
Take a look at this one that I got in red leather,
and you’ll get an idea of the unboxing experience
if you’re thinking of buying one
for somebody else as a gift.
Vaultskin wallets hit you with that leather odor
that makes you want some more.
They come with this nice seal
which gives confidence your wallet is brand new,
and not a returned item.
As you can see, your choice of color
comes with matching stitching.
I sometimes use this wallet myself
if I only need a take a few cards out with me.
Perfect if you’re leaving your jacket at home,
and everything needs to fit in your jeans pockets.
At the time of making this video
there’s an active 10% OFF Voucher
that I secured for you.
Again, expand the description below
for that and any other offers.
My fifth wallet is the the Vaultskin CITY card holder.
If the other wallets were just a little too minimalist,
then this could be your best choice.
It currently creeps in under $30
if you use the discount code mentioned.
The Vaultskin CITY wallet looks grown up,
with its rich Italian leather
and its simple one-fold design.
The wallet allows easy access to all compartments.
You have one, two, three, four, five, six
dedicated card pockets, and a cash compartment.
All pockets feature RFID blocking,
as you can see again
from this gold-colored RFID insulation.
The outer leather has a nice textured finish
which gives good grip,
and I like the detailed leather stamping
of the Vaultskin motif.
Now sometimes I just throw a couple of credit cards
loose in my pocket.
But I might still want RFID protection.
In the past I’ve reviewed and tested
RFID card blockers like this one.
They work great but need to be fairly close
to the credit card.
Today, I have two card jammers,
which work a little different.
We saw the Pularys product already.
I’ll use this one from Vaultskin,
to show you how they work.
It’s called Vaultcard.
Instead of using metal foils or similar
to shield your tap-and-go card
from electromagnetic waves,
Vaultcard instead uses sophisticated
electromagnetic jamming technology
to create a signal that blocks RFID readers.
Vaultcard switches on automatically
when it senses the electromagnetic wave
emitted by the RFID scanner.
Vaultcard harvests power from the scanner,
so that no battery or charging is required.
In this demonstration, here’s the difference
between a cheap card blocker,
and the Vaultcard jammer.
I made this dummy credit card for my test,
using an NFC sticker.
This only returns a weak signal,
because unlike your credit card,
it doesn’t have a bigger antenna
built into the perimeter of your card.
So, we have to get a little closer.
Using the card reader app on my phone,
you can see we can detect the unprotected card.
Now let’s try with the Vaultcard,
which can be up to 4cm away, in any direction.
We’ll do it this way.
And the card is undetected.
And now, with this regular card blocker,
we see it’s not affective from this far away.
We have to bring the RFID card blocker
a lot closer to make it work.
So, basically, you can just throw the Vaultcard
loose in your pocket with your credit cards,
and be confident your data is protected.
Or place one in your wallet or purse.