Wallet Shapes & Functions

Y’know how much we love wallets here, some of our contributors create them for a living. Add to that everyone needs one or uses one at some stage and you have a whole world of people who aren’t entirely educated on what wallet to pick for what purpose. Which is why we created this little guide (which is quite similar to the Backpacks one we did a while ago)

We aren’t saying this is the be all and end all, but we do hope it helps clarifies a few basics about wallet shapes and understanding the link between shape and bulk. And if you want, here’s a link to the hi res version of the full image.

In case, you can’t be assed to read the poster, I’ve sliced the text up from the poster and dropped it below.

Tri Folds.
Tri Folds wrap. This wrapping gives a feeling that the wallet will hold its content well. However the amount of leather used, creates the most unefficient of all wallet constructions. The wrapping idea can be a nice way to interact with your wallet, if the balance between storage and cards access is well designed.

Bi Folds.
The Bi-Fold is one of the most popular constructions in the wallet world.  Generally designed with a lot of access to all cards but coupled with very poor storage space. The benefit of this construction is how we can prioritise the cards from ‘used a lot’ to ‘used rarely’. If a Bi-Fold is designed with storage vs access in mind, the profile of the wallet can be reduce significantly.

Zipped Sleeve.
If you are after an option for you wallets contents that offers protection and security, then a zipped sleeve is probably the best option. Perfect secondary wallet for discount/loyalty cards as well. Storage vastly outweights accessibility with this style.

Sleeve.
Sleeves are great if cards and business cards are all you carry. Cash can be tricky if you don’t like folding notes (bills). The slim flat design is great for reducing pocket bulge in well fitted suits or jeans.

Clip.
The anti-wallet tool, or for those who need to carry lots of cash. No fuss, no hiding, what you carry is held by a clip. As much as the reducing bulk idea is gone to its minimum, this system is not amazing for protecting, and the opportunity for losing cards/notes increases.