Searching for the slim wallet – Machine Era

machine era slim wallet 薄い財布

One thing good that came out of quitting my job was “I stopped caring about a few things”.

This applies to several topics but today I’m going to focus on the “wallet”.

I’ve always liked looking for “good stuff”, especially with things that I use everyday.
Carry-ons are one of such things that I care about and so are wallets, which I’ll be talking about today.

I also like showing off so I get really excited if it’s “good stuff” and also has a “brand”.

So what do I look for in a wallet?

 

The attributes of a good wallet (when you’re not wearing a suit)

It would be perfect if you could use the same wallet when you’re “on” or “off” but it usually doesn’t work that way.
When you’re in a suit, you don’t want to have things in your pockets because that’s going to ruin your look.

When I’m in a suit, I leave my wallet in my brief case.
The wallet’s going to be in the bag so size is not going to be much of a concern.

In that sense, finding the perfect wallet when you’re in a suit isn’t so difficult.

What’s difficult is finding the perfect wallet when you’re dressed down.
I put my wallet in my bag when I’m in a suit but I would rather have it with me if I could.
Having it with me just lowers the risk of losing it.

So for me, I like to put my wallet in the front pocket of my pants.
For the wallet to fit snugly in the front pocket, it’s gotta be thin.

I also want to feel excited owning the wallet, so it can’t just be thin, its gotta look cool.

Lastly, it’s gotta have a “brand” in case someone asks “where’s that wallet from?”
I want to avoid mega brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada though.

So to summarize, a wallet that’s

  • thin
  • cool looking
  • has a brand

would be the best wallet for me.

Luckily for me, I found the perfect wallet about 10 years ago.

 

Valextra Money Clip Wallet

The wallet that I’ve been using for the past 10 years is the Money Clip Wallet by Valextra.

It’s super thin.

valextra-side

Valextra has been making this model since 1956 and a lot of brands have tried copying it.
Nothings comes close to being this thin.

It’s thin but it’s tough.
This one is already 10 years old but still going strong. Not once did I have trouble with it.

valextra-inside

The wallet will even hold six cards which is super handy.

It also looks super sexy.
Like I said, a lot of other brands try to imitate this wallet but no one comes close to being as slick and sharp as the Valextra.

Lastly, Valextra is a super brand from Italy. Elegantly prestigious. 
It’s well known in certain circles but it’s not like a Louis Vuitton or Prada which everyone knows about. Just what I aim for.

For a long time, the Valextra Money Clip Wallet was the perfect wallet for me.

I say that in past tense because I’ve had a change of heart recently.

 

 

I stopped caring too much about the brand part

Since quitting my job, I stopped caring about the wallet having a brand.
Perhaps its because I don’t meet people that often anymore.

Relaxing the brand criteria meant that I could focus more on the first criteria (being thin) so I began looking for a thinner wallet.
I still want to feel the joy of owning a cool looking wallet so the second criteria is still important to me.

That’s when I found the Slim Wallet by a company called Machine Era.

 

Machine Era – Slim Wallet

Machine Era is a company that came out from Kickstarter.
I found them as I was going through past Kickstarter projects.

The first product that Machine Era came out with was the Machine Era Wallet and this is what caught my eye (the brass one).

The one I ended up getting was the Ti5 Slim Wallet, which was recently released as an upgrade to the original model.

I kind of dug the looks of the original but trusting that the Slim Wallet was an improvement, I decided to go for it.
The noticeable change from the original is that the corners are cut off on the Slim Wallet.
From what I understand, there were reports that the corners on the original would rub against your pocket and eventually lead to holes in them.
No corners, no holes.

Let’s do an unboxing of the Slim Wallet that arrived in the mail!

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Ta-da-

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Got some extra rubber bands, just in case they stretch.

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Let’s move everything over from the Valextra.

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It was compact to begin with but look how tight it got!

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The Machine Era Slim Wallet comes in two sizes. I got the slim size.
The slim size holds six cards.
I have 3 embossed cards and 3 flat cards in there and fitting is not a problem.

The build quality is good and I am totally satisfied with the product.
It’s made out of titanium so if something is going to wear, it’s the rubber band. Other than that, this bad boy will last for decades.

One small issue is that I have to store my bills where it’s exposed.

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I don’t like touching the bills every time I reach for the wallet so I’ll have to think of ways around this.

 

So there you have it, the Slim Wallet by Machine Era.

I really like it so far and I have a feeling that I’m going to be making the switch from the Valextra.
I’m still holding on to it though, just in case I start caring about “brand” again.

As I was looking around for slimmer options, I found a few other interesting products so I’ll be sharing those soon!

 

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