Updated – 2/14/2015 at 5PM PST: Added more versions of the Allett (leather, velcro, and women’s versions) to the bottom of the post.
Good evening everyone, let me tell you about a cool wallet that I learned about at my recent OC Meetup. As we discussed gift cards and credit cards, an attendee pulled out his wallet and started looking for a specific card. Then another attendee pulled out his wallet and noticed that they had the same wallet. They both had the Allett, a super thin wallet capable of holding cash and up to 24 credit cards. I decided to buy an Allett and test it out myself (Amazon).
After ordering the Allett from Amazon, it arrived in a small, padded envelope a few days later. Inside the envelope, I pulled out the Allett pouch and was immediately surprised by how thin and lightweight the Allett was.
The outside of the Allet is sweat and water resistant and feels like canvas or thin Kevlar. The Allett is 5 inches long and 3.75 inches tall. There are no markings on the outside (or inside).
The inside of the Allett has 4 pockets that face toward the center. Supposedly, you can insert 6 cards per pocket. Gift cards fit a lot better than credit cards since most credit cards have embossed letters and numbers, while gift cards are perfectly flat. On the inside of each pocket, there are rubber grips that prevent the cards from accidentally sliding out.
There are 2 separate money pockets at the top of the Allett. There is a deep pocket that is roughly 5 inches long and 3.75 inches deep and there is a shallow pocket that is roughly 5 inches long and 2.5 inches deep. Each pocket can hold cash, receipts, or money orders.
I wanted to test the Allett’s holding capacity, so I grabbed a bunch of $20s and placed them in the shallow money pocket (if I had more cash, I could have put more inside). I was able to fit 5 gift cards into the first pocket. I was able to fit 3 Chase United Credit Cards and 3 Southwest Airline Companion Pass cards into the second pocket (all are very thin cards with no embossed letters or numbers). For the last 2 pockets, I was only able to fit 4 credit cards. My final tally:
- 16 bills (plenty of extra room)
- 3 loyalty cards (thin)
- 5 gift cards (flat)
- 11 credit cards (embossed)
Total capacity: 19 cards. After using the Allett a few times, I’m sure I would be able to squeeze 1-2 more cards in there.
After folding the Allett in half, the total thickness was around 1.5 inches. When the Allett is closed, it is impossible for the cards to fall out since they all face toward the center of the wallet.
I tried the “butt test” by sticking the Allett in my back pocket. When it is half full, I can barely feel the Allett. When the Allett is at “full capacity,” I could definitely feel it. Full disclosure, I do not carry a wallet with me normally, I have an iPhone case that holds my drivers license and 2 credit cards. Since I am not used to carrying a wallet, I had a few of my friends complete the “butt test.” They were all very impressed by the thinness and amazed by the storage capacity. Whenever I go on a long trip, I usually bring along 8-10 credit cards and lounge membership cards. I can easily place all the cards in the Allett.
The Allett reminded me of this short Seinfeld clip showing George’s exploding wallet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoPf98i8A0g
You can purchase the Allett on Amazon for $19.59 (link).
There is also a nylon version with velcro and a coin zipper pocket for $24.95 (link).
There is also a leather version of the Allett for $34.95 (link).
There is also a nylon women’s version (purple or red color) of the Allett for $31.95 (link).
If you have any questions, please leave a comment below. Have a great evening everyone!
Hmmm…nice gift idea!!! :D
Its a decent gift, nothing special though.
meh
Who do you say meh? Do you have a better wallet that you recommend?
http://www.flipsidewallet.com/ this is what i used. love it. rfid blocking
There are so many thin wallets these days, it is hard to keep track of the all.
ouch looks cool but must feel like a hard lump on your butt! do you store that in your front pocket?
My tri-fold leather wallet holds same amount of cards and looks a lot better. But once COIN is released I hope to banish most of my cards to my sock drawer.
What are you doing with the MC vgcs?
I think I bought those at Staples when the Visa gift cards were sold out. Loaded them to Redbird.
NO RFID???? When I splurged on a new wallet, I made sure it was RFID…No more getting info zapped on a crowded train!! It happened to me twice in DC!!! Bank told me to get an RFID wallet.
Yikes, that is scary. Which credit card got zapped?
ALL-ETT does make several one with RFID.
Is RFID a big deal? Do most credits cards transmit a signal?
I’ve been on the hunt for something small & lightweight to keep all of my cards in. I think this might just be the answer. Too bad it doesn’t come in a nice girly shade of hot pink!
Haha, no hot pink (luckily) :)
No hot pink. But how about red or purple? Maybe Grant could put his Amazon link for the “ALL-ETT Nylon Women’s Original” here.
Good morning TN, is this the item you had in mind? If so, I’ll add it to the post.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GYCZ6V6/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00GYCZ6V6&linkCode=as2&tag=travwithgran-20&linkId=IZZIMGJZNAUJXJJR
That is the one. Also, the one I have that I showed at OC Meetup is “ALL-ETT SoftTech Nylon Coin Pocket Wallet” it has Velcro and zipped pocket.
I did like the little velcro pieces, wish mine had that feature.
No RFID, no passport pocket, no deal. I use a Samsonite, which at the moment is home to a US passport, driver’s license, about two months worth of travel receipts, 13 pieces of currency, 21 credit/debit/gift cards and airline lounge passes and has held up well over the past year. Paid about $20 on Amazon. By the way, carrying a wallet in the butt pocket is asking for it to be removed. I keep a dummy wallet in my hip pocket full of dead gift cards. Real wallets belong in your front pocket.
Wow, that sounds like a big wallet. Is it pretty bulky? I’m all about minimalist in my front pockets.
Minimalism, schminialism. It’s hard to take it out of your pocket, and nigh on impossible to do so surreptitiously, which is exactly what I want a wallet to be. Put all your eggs in one basket and you only got one thing to watch.
That is true. I leave all my cards home unless I know I will use them today or for an upcoming trip.
Nice write up. Thanks. I wanted to add my vote for durability. I’ve had my All-Ett Original Leather wallet (leather on the outside, nylon on the inside) since 2010. As mentioned, they do make RFID blocking versions and versions with passport pockets as well. I bought mine before they offered those options. I’ve been eyeing a replacement but it keeps on ticking! And as to the total “worn-in” width, here’s my tally right now: 13 credit cards, 3 ID’s, 3 insurance cards, 4 pix & misc, plus 21 bills, 13 receipts and my backup plastic car key. Maximum width is just at 3/4 of one inch. Bonus tip: to get 6 typical credit cards in each pocket, alternate the numbers normal and upside down. Keeps the embossed numbers from piling up. Cheers.
Thanks for sharing your experience with your Allett. For my iPhone case, I have credit card numbers facing each other, one upside down. Fits perfectly.
ATM card zapped presumably on DC Metro. Bank says not all that unusual! Direct deposits/pmts all had to be set up with new bank accounts. TWICE. They were able to hack account without password/ATM CODE. Bank advised getting RFID. Credit cards pretty safe as chase caught test amounts. Amex ate a $6k charge, tho
Yikes, that is pretty scary and very annoying. I feel like the credit cards made with contact-less chips are not going to be around much longer if they keep getting hacked.
awsome post… i will get it
Excellent, let me know what you think when yours arrives.
Too big. I will wait for plastc!
What is the scheduled release date for Plastc?
Perfectly timed post, Grant.. My wallet is on its last legs.. And was thinking about getting a wallet that can fit a decent number of cards.. But typical wallets can’t fit more than 8 cards. I can put about a dozen in mine now. Bulky but I like think that way.. Hard to lift out of my back pocket.. Didn’t even know these types of wallets exist, so thanks for the heads up…
Please let me know if you do decide to purchase one and let me know what you think. Have a great weekend Victor!
All the wallets in this story are so ugly, do people actually carry all of their cards around with them on a daily basis?
Some people do, but I’m more of a minimalist, so I only carry 2 credit cards (Citi Forward for restaurants and AMEX OBC for groceries and pharmacies).
Why would anybody want to carry 24 cards in their wallet? Seems a little extreme, if you ask me…I usually carry my Barclay Arrival Plus, my OBC, my Driver’s license and my Target RedCard. When I travel, I carry my Amex platinum and my priority pass card as well…
There are definitely too extremes: the minimalist and the maximizer. I am definitely a minimalist and carry only 2 credit cards and my drivers license with my iPhone.
Thanks Grant & TN. Guess purple will have to do since pink is not available (or I could mod the black version with my hot pink duck tape).
The comments about minimalists & maximizes also got me thinking – I guess i can’t decide which I am. Some days/places I go I carry just a few cards & other days I carry the mother load. On the minimalist days I still feel like I have quite a few cards – drivers license, insurance card, aaa card, Sams Club card, Costco card, credit card. Then, the main reason I think a wallet like this would come in handy – all the gift cards I tote around! Heck, I could probably fill the entire wallet up with just gift & rebate cards. I think an interesting blog post would be on how people store/organize & carry/don’t carry on a daily basis all the various cards they accumulate on the quest for cheap travel.
I keep my 2 credit cards and driver’s license inside my iPhone case. Then I keep all the other credit cards on my desk or in my drawer. When I do MS, I grab all the cards I need and keep them in my pocket. Then after I get home from MS, I put the cards away and through away the gift card packaging and receipt, but I keep the physical gift card.
Very interesting. I bet there may be a bit of difference between the way men & women do this. Many of my pants don’t have pockets, or the pockets are so tiny that cards would fall right out. I carry a tiny purse (actually for of a wrist wallet type thing), but since starting the MS game, I’ve found I’m needing something a little larger. Still haven’t found the ideal fit for me yet, but I’m working on it.
Keep looking, I’m sure there is a perfect wallet/purse out there for you.