Ridge Wallet Titanium

Let me paint you a picture. For about fifteen years I carried a leather bifold wallet that looked like a deli sandwich. Loyalty cards from stores that closed in 2014. Receipts from gas stations in states I no longer live in. A gift card to Applebee's with maybe $2.37 left on it. Insurance cards from two providers ago. The thing was three inches thick and I was sitting on it eight hours a day, five days a week, like a human-shaped question mark. My chiropractor was thriving.

Then I got the Ridge Wallet in titanium and my entire pocket situation changed overnight.

The concept is simple. Two titanium plates held together by an elastic band, with a money clip or cash strap on the back. It holds up to twelve cards and some folded cash. That is it. That is the whole wallet. And honestly, that is all you need. The forced minimalism was uncomfortable for about three days while I sorted through my old wallet and realized I had been carrying around eleven cards I had not used in years. Once I pared down to my driver's license, two credit cards, debit card, and insurance card, I wondered why I ever carried more.

The RFID blocking is a nice bonus. Do I think someone is going to electronically pickpocket me at Target? Probably not. But it is there and it cost me nothing extra, so I will take it.

At 1.2 ounces and barely thicker than a stack of credit cards, this thing sits in your front pocket and you genuinely do not notice it. No more back pocket bulge. No more wallet-shaped tan line on your jeans. No more shifting in your chair because you are sitting on a brick of expired coupons.

Build quality is excellent. The titanium has a nice weight to it without being heavy, and mine still looks great after months of daily carry. A few light scratches that honestly just make it look better. The elastic bands are replaceable if they ever stretch out, and Ridge sells them for a few bucks.

My one complaint: the cards can be a little stiff to pull out at first, especially when it is fully loaded. Your thumb will learn the little fan-out motion within a week. After that it becomes second nature and actually feels faster than digging through a billfold.

Ninety-five dollars for a wallet feels like a lot until you realize you are going to use it every single day for the next decade. That math works out to about two and a half cents per day to not sit on a sandwich anymore. Worth it.