Nimalist’s wallet is one of several newer wallets to incorporate Apple’s puck-shaped, rounded-top tracking device-sold separately-into its design. The Ridge feels more like survival gear than men’s fashion, but that may be exactly what you’re looking for. We don’t do complicated,' an insert reads. Packaging is utilitarian and rugged: 'Instructions are complicated. But the tiny form has its advantages: It feels lighter in the pocket than you’d expect, and its unique looks make it a conversation starter. And like a lot of the cardholder wallets reviewed, it doesn’t do well with oversized business cards or anything else larger than a standard-sized credit card they stick out noticeably. This style of wallet takes some time to get used to coming from a leather wallet. There are seven tiny screws attaching a plate on each side removing them with the tool is easy, but getting them back on is a little more challenging and time-consuming. The Ridge doesn’t come with any extra plates. An included screwdriver tool and extra screws allow you to swap out the aluminum plates on both sides to a different color or material, such as carbon fiber or plated gold. That stretchy material allows for a lot of cards (up to 12), but of course the more cards you add, the thicker The Ridge will get. A thumb-sized indentation allows you to push the cards out of the cardholder and fan them out to pick the one you need. Ours had the strap, which features a nicely textured logo-embossed metallic piece to hold cash on the outside of the cardholder. The Ridge comes with either a cash strap or cash clip. It’s a minimalist among minimalist wallets, with its two slaps of curved aluminum held together by a stretchy nylon strap. Material: Aluminum with elastic cash straps The $95 price has it tied for the most expensive wallet in this roundup, alongside The Ridge. Great quality all around, but the price difference between the Secrid and the excellent Ekster wallet doesn’t justify itself, even with the elegant leather wraparound. Of all the wallets I tried, it offered the most seamless transition to a minimalist-style wallet, with the leather wraparound providing some of the feel of a more traditional styling. The leather case feels sturdy, the Cardholder switch has a satisfying pop, and even when filled with RFID-protected cards and a Tile Slim tracker, the whole package was still much smaller and thinner than my old 2-inch wallet. The Slimwallet arrives in a sleek foldup black box that contains several sample cards, a fake piece of currency to display in the wallet, and a folding paper with information about the company. A plastic switch at the bottom of the wallet, which sticks out past the rest of that side’s surface, pops the cards out and fans them out, making them easy to access. The Slimwallet combines Secrid’s popular Cardprotector with a leather wraparound to keep items such as dollar bills secured by a plastic holder and additional cards (about 3 to 4) on top of the 4 to 6 cards that are held in the main compartment. Secrid’s wallets have also taken inspiration from the iPhone-specifically with the introduction of the 'Cardprotector' wallet in 2009. Material: Leather, aluminum, stainless steel, and plasticīased in Holland, Secrid has quietly been building an empire of minimalist card carriers and slender wallets since 1995. The pricing puts this right between those other cardholder options, but the overall design and exquisite packaging makes it my top choice, especially because it’s regularly discounted on the company’s website. The cardholder comes with several user-friendly heavy cardstock infocards, including a QR code for the user manual, the company’s story, and a 10 percent discount code to give to a friend. Thoughtfully, the company includes an extra strap without the cardholder, to slim things down even further, inside a very beautiful box. The Ekster also includes a very elegant-looking cash strap and single cardholder to hold your bills on the outside with the company’s logo emblazoned on the front and keep a card on the outside, such as a Metro card for tap-to-go.

It doesn’t jut out of the bottom as the switch does on the Secrid and Vulkit, making them more likely to catch a loose thread in your pocket or the edge of the pocket itself.

Unlike the popular Secrid and the ultra-low-priced Vulkit, however, Ekster’s Senate Cardholder features a design that keeps that pop-up switch level with the aluminum cardholder. Three wallets I tried have the cardholder form factor, where a lever or switch pops a set of credit cards out from the top, ideally arrayed in a fan so that you can quickly grab the one you need. Material: Aluminum with leather and elastic strap

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