Name:
Basics Wallet
Website:
http://www.basicsproducts.com/
Summary:
I’ve tried quite a few small and minimalist wallets, and this one is the best. It has the best design, structure, weight and features. I still smile every time I take it out of my pocket to use it, marvel at how inventive the design is.
The company was also great to work with, I had a problem with my initial order and they took care of it for me without a second thought. That kind of service is better than gold.
The Story:
I started out like everyone else, with a huge bulky wallet that folded open, held bills and papers in the top and cards in the front. Multiple layers of cards usually, in either inserts, or pockets or wherever I could cram them.
Over time I’ve pared down my card portfolio, and moved my cash to a money clip. My money doesn’t need padding, it doesn’t get bruised from flopping around a bit loosely in my pocket.
That has allowed me to progressively slim down my stack of cards. Originally I was carrying quite 
a large billfold so that I could have easy access to all my cards. But that is quite bulky and difficult to carry in a front pocket. I moved my cards to my front pockets when I stopped wearing a lot of pants with rear pockets, and didn’t like the sticking out lumpy look of having a wallet there anyway.
From there I moved to those aluminum cases style wallets that the cards fan out when you open them. Easy to use, compact, one hand operation and sleek looking. I used them for years, but they were far from ideal. For one they always slipped out of my pockets, so I was forever in a panic and checking to make sure they were still there. They also broke relatively quickly and easily. The single pins holding the pieces together would fall out of break, or the inside plastic sleeves would tear and break apart. Nice idea, but cheaply built and badly implemented.
Eventually after several other options I found the Basics wallet. It’s slim, small, fabric, easy to use and stays in my pocket.
The elastic fabric stretches to accommodate as many or as few cards as I need. Having two sides, with four outward facing cards allows me to put my four most commonly used cards on the exterior and hide the others. If you use more than four cards regularly you must be carrying more rewards cards, I just don’t bother much with those.
There is a small pocket for a loose key or cash, I’ve never used it but I can see how it could be handy if I needed it.
The best part, is the whole mechanics of the wallet are designed around pulling on the tab to open it, or pushing the cards together to close it. I’ll find myself rythmically doing that just to keep my hands busy every now and then. It’s somehow soothing and relaxing at the same time.
If you’re looking for something different, unique and well designed and put together, I highly recommend taking a look at this product.