For years, I carried a bulky wallet in my back pocket. About 10 years ago, someone gave me a minimalist wallet: a metal tray with a nylon strap to hold credit cards. (It did have a built-in bottle opener.) To reduce bulk when visiting Iceland in 2019, I gave the minimalist wallet a try—I really liked it. It was light, comfortable, and freed me from carrying extra stuff; I’ve used it ever since.
Recently, Peak Designs asked if we’d like to try their slim wallet. Peak Designs is a monolith in the photography world, offering premium camera bags. But they also offer non-photo products, including the Everyday Slim Wallet. Will this be my new EDC card carrier?
Everyday Slim Wallet Specs
When closed, the Everyday Slim Wallet is 2.44″ x 4.13″. When empty, the thickness is just 0.16″. With seven cards and one folded bill, Peak Designs says it’s 0.39″ thick. The weight is 0.7 oz. The company says it’ll hold 2–8 cards and some folded cash. They recommend carrying a minimum of two cards to prevent them from coming out of the wallet.
The wallet’s sides are made from TerraShell Ultra 210D material, offering “extreme tensile strength, weather resistance, and rip resistance” according to Peak Designs. The sides are TerraShell Ultra 70D, which provides elasticity. There is UHMWPE ripstop woven throughout, and the wallet is PFAS-free. There’s also an embedded RFID protection layer.
The Everyday Slim Wallet is available in black, “eclipse” (e.g., brownish), or “ibis,” which is orange, and our tester.
How The Wallet Works
To load your cards, pull out the center tongue, which is sewn into the wallet. I usually carry 13 total cards, five of which are plastic credit/debit-style cards, and the rest are thinner laminated paper. Initially, I didn’t think my card collection would fit, but it did … tightly. You may need to stuff them in the first few times you use this wallet.
To remove the cards, pull out the wallet’s tongue. You must keep the tongue’s color-matched metal tab above your cards, or it’ll be hard to pull it out. I put my fingernail under the tab and then pull, which works. Once out, only one side of the wallet’s cards come out. I put the cards I use most on that side. The cards on the opposite side stay securely in the wallet. To access those, you’ll need to dig around a bit, which can be difficult at times. Like when you need to quickly access your ID.
The 90-Day Evaluation
I’ve used the wallet for about 90 days now and it’s stretched out a bit—a good thing. Getting the tongue in and out is easier and I like the lightweight, flat feel in my pocket. Normally, I don’t carry much (if any) cash. But when I do, I keep it outside of this wallet due to lack of space (same with my previous minimalist wallet). If Peak Designs added an elastic band around the Everyday Slim Wallet, bills could be housed on the wallet’s exterior.
In the three months I’ve used the Everyday Slim Wallet, I’ve seen no visible wear. It’s been more durable than expected, but I wonder how it’ll be in a year or two. Will the TerraShell Ultra fabric hold up?
My old minimalist wallet, a Trayvax Summit, required you to have your cards stacked on top of each other and secure with a nylon strap—also not ideal. Once you cut the strap to fit, there’s no lengthening it. Then again, there’s no bottle opener on the Peak Design’s wallet.
For now, I’ll be sticking with the Peak Design Everyday Slim Wallet. It’s light, minimal, and simple. Plus, I’m a sucker for orange. Now, where’s my bottle opener?
Price: $39.95 USD
Andy Lilienthal is an award-winning writer and has written professionally since 1999. He has over 13 years in the automotive aftermarket working at companies including Warn Industries, Bushwacker, and Lund International. Editorial works include writing and photography for off-road print magazines, to new-car reviews online. He’s a photographer with images in multiple magazines, blog sites, and The New York Times.
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