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We’ve tested a lot of wallets over the years here at Gear43! I have something totalling around 60 to 70 wallets sitting next to me as I write this article. While many new wallet companies look like carbon copies of the big players (think Ridge and Ekster), others do their best to set themselves apart and create something truly unique. So I thought I would give props to those companies, and compile my favorite unique wallets I’ve ever used and tested.
Just a heads up, every wallet on this list was given to me by its respective brand! However, I honestly don’t care and am more than happy to offer the good and bad of each.
Jump to:
1. Distil Union ModWallet
- Completely modular and customizable
- High quality, full grain leather build
- Pull tabs eject most used cards quickly
- Longer build than it needed to be
- Falls apart a bit too easily
This is the #1 wallet that nobody asked for, but everyone should at least try to fit it into their life. If you want a place to house your individual keys, a place to store large amounts of cards, or even a place to store large amounts of cash, this wallet will do it well. However, each of those components is completely modular. That means each part is magnetic and can be removed and added at will, in just seconds. It’s a very cool function for a cool wallet.
Of course, modularity brings its own host of problems. The magnets require the wallet to be longer, so you still have capacity for cards, but a place for the magnets, resulting in this being a back-pocket wallet. I also found that the magnets weren’t quite strong enough, meaning the wallet liked to fall apart when I was just trying to use it normally. Either way, if you are looking for a wallet that stands out with fun, fancy party tricks, this gets that conversation going.
2. Axwell Carbon Fiber Wallet
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- Can easily swap out cash strap and money clip
- Carbon fiber works well with the wallet
- Simple, easy to use design
- Much like its main competitor, its challenging to access interior cards quickly
and rhymes with “smidge”, this Axwell wallet brings its unique take on the horizontal sandwich wallet design. Keeping to the minimalist design, which offers essentially a two-plate and an elastic band design, the Axwell has taken it a bit further. The outer plates on the wallet are completely removable, which means you can swap out the cash strap and money clip (which it comes with both). This also makes it easy to customize this wallet’s styling, if you decide to change up the plates with many of the other colors they offer.
The notch for your thumb to push the cards out is slightly larger in this wallet, making it slightly easier to push the sandwhiched cards outward, and the quality is top notch, especially with this carbon fiber, which is real carbon fiber and not just printed.
3. LORZOR Wallet PRO
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- Completely trackable via iPhone's FindMy network
- Spring loaded mechanism works well
- Looks extremely cool - very unique
- Durability of the spring mechanism is in question
I did not in any way have high expectations for this wallet when the brand offered to give me one. However, more than any wallet ever, it surprised me! This wallet is well made, works well, and is the only wallet I have that offers a spring-loaded card ejector mechanism (rather than a push button).
The thing that makes this wallet truly unique, though, is its FindMy (iPhone only) tracking mechanism that is built into the wallet. Not only is it integrated well into the wallet, with only a bit of added bulk, it also uses a clear tech design, meaning you can see the interior chip, and well, that’s just cool and unique. Who doesn’t like clear tech, right?
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4. Groove Wallet 3.0
- High quality build
- One of the best money clips
- Satisfying ejector mechanism
- Lower than average card capacity
It’s taken me three generations of the Groove Wallet to truly recommend it, but we are finally here, a truly awesome wallet from one of my favorite overall brands. The Groove Wallet 3.0 is unique in that while it is a standard push-button wallet, the mechanism you use to eject the cards is the entire face of the wallet that pushes upward.
This movement feels high quality and essentially is a fidget toy in its own right. It’s truly fun to use. The only thing I really didn’t care for in this wallet is its lack of card capacity.
5. Proof Wallet Leather
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- The leather is high quality and feels great
- The pull tab works extremely well, and is held in place
- It seems to be very durable
- Fantastic card capacity
- It’s very compact
- It doesn’t fan out your cards
I am a HUGE fan of Proof Wallets. We’ve tested five different ones from the brand, all of them are awesome, but this leather version is my personal favorite. It has some of the best leather I’ve seen on a wallet, along with an extremely usable, yet compact design. Carrying just a few cards or up to 25 cards is a breeze, and the cash strap easily allows for your cash to both be put in and taken out without being a pain about it (this isn’t a given with most wallets).
The only real reason that I don’t have this wallet higher on this specific list (as it regularly tops my lists) is because its pull tab design is somewhat similar to a few other wallets in the industry, making it not quite as unique as some others on this list, but is well worth a mention in this context.
6. Fantom M Wallet Bamboo
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- The bamboo feels and looks great
- Side ejecting is really nice!
- The ejector tab is smooth and easy to use
- MagSafe - just yes
- The bamboo gets marks on it easily
- I still don't like money clips (cash straps are better).
- Cards sometimes get stuck, or are hard to insert
There aren’t many side-ejector push-button (or, in this case, a pull-lever) wallets out there, but this is one of the few! This side-ejecting wallet is the perfect recipe for a MagSafe wallet (which this one is), as the cards don’t interfere with your phone’s cameras, and they don’t awkwardly eject out the bottom.
These are incredibly high-quality wallets that I was well impressed with, and the bamboo version that I tested out feels and looks great. The only real downsides I found with the wallet are that the bamboo material tends to scuff from your keys over time, and the available money clip is just a bit too tight to easily put cash in quickly.
7. Double Oak Slim Leather Wallet
- Aluminum cardholder is magnetic
- Leather feels fantastic
- Very high build quality
- Lockable cardholder (cards don't fall out)
- Not much card storage outside of the cardholder.
If you want a unique, well-thought-out, MagSafe, ejector wallet with plenty of leather to go around, I haven’t found a better option than this slim wallet from Double Oak. This was one of the first ejector wallets with a 7-card interior capacity, and is the only ejector wallet that I’ve seen that is just as at home as a leather wrapped minimalist wallet, as it is being magnetized to the back of your phone.
There aren’t many things I can say that aren’t great about this wallet, outside of the fact that the leather outer portion doesn’t have much usable storage, and I wish the ejector mechanism were metal, rather than plastic.
8. Trayvax Contour Lite
- Extremely high quality build
- Adjustable to your needs
- Made in the USA
- Uses top-grain oil-tanned leather
- Sometimes struggles to release your cards
This is one impressive wallet. USA-Made, Well-Built, Stainless-Steel, Fully-Adjustable, Lightweight, and the list goes on. It does an amazing job, truly blending a metal design with top-grain leather. It is also one of the most unique wallets in my collection, with its simplistic yet tactical design.
It’s easy to store both cards and cash (cards are a sandwich-style wallet, cash is hidden behind a top-grain leather strap). The only thing I can complain about is that the cards sometimes have a hard time leaving their sleeve, which can be a bit frustrating.
9. Ridge Wallet Lite
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- Incredibly easy to access your outside two cards
- Doesn’t add much bulk to your pocket
- It’s built with the same quality as the other wallets
- Cards in your pocket are more prone to damage
- It’s considerably more expensive than the competition
Built to be the main competitor to a rubber band (no, seriously), the Ridge Wallet Lite is the most contentious wallet from one of the most contentious wallet brands, and I like it. The only real function that this wallet gives is keeping your cards together. There isn’t a cash strap, money clip, or really anything else.
However, that also leaves this as being the most minimal and least intrusive wallet you can have in your pocket. I was surprised to find that I barely felt it in my pocket, and due to the fact that your cards are exposed, you can get cards out of the wallet one-handed.
10. Dango M1 Maverick
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- Quite large capacity
- Very high quality leather and metal design
- Included multi-tool
- Can be a bit difficult to get cards in and out
- Bulky and heavy
I have to admit, the Dango aesthetic and design isn’t exactly my cup of tea (or coffee). However, I have to say, their wallets are incredibly well made, and are very well thought through, and ever-so unique. The M1 Maverick is a bifold design wallet, with a built-in removable multi-tool, and a sandwich design cardholder on the interior.
Again, while I prefer a more minimalist design, I think anyone who prefers a tactical-looking bifold minimalist wallet, this is going to be the go-to, and is one of the most unique-looking wallets I’ve ever had the chance to use.
