I Use Peak Design Products To Safeguard My Cameras. Now I Use Them for My Credit Cards and Phone.

In pursuit of protecting my back, I’ve been trying to reduce the size and weight of everything I carry, from keys to backpacks. Among the most important scale-downs I’ve made is with my wallet.

Determined to go as cashless as possible and tote around only the items I really need day to day — like my most useful credit cards, driver’s license, public transit card, and zoo membership — I started using a phone wallet after having to downgrade my phone after a near-hurricane took my last one out. But I wanted to see if I could upgrade from Wallet Slayer and tested out Peak Design mobile wallets. Let’s look at how the Peak Design wallets work in everyday life.

Wallet Slayer vs. Peak Design

I’ve used the Wallet Slayer Vol. 2, and it’s a fine combination phone case and wallet, making it easy to keep my cell phone safe and my favorite credit cards at hand.

But I wanted to know if I could still trim down even more, especially when I had to peel the Wallet Slayer off of my phone to charge it on my wireless charger, or when I wanted to use my phone without having to pull my wallet or vice versa. For example, when my 7-year-old stumbles across a Galarian Moltres he wants to chase after in the virtual landscape of Pokémon Go, and I want to make sure my Chase Sapphire Reserve^® and The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express don’t go with him past sewer grates, over yawning boardwalk slats, or through valuables-gobbling creeks.

I’ve become a big fan of the company Peak Design, which has come up with creative ways for people to lighten their loads both in their professional and civilian lives, often by using an ingenious, magnet-based modular system. I started with a better, streamlined replacement for a hand strap on my mirrorless camera, then started adding Peak Design camera clips to my kit, which let me avoid a bruised sternum and get unplanned shots off so much more quickly than before.

So when I discovered that Peak Design had also created 2 versions of a lightweight, low-profile wallet that attaches to a phone case, I knew I had to give them a shot. Thus, I found myself with the Peak Design Mobile Wallet, both the Slim ($49.95) and Stand ($59.95) versions.

Size

Peak Design Mobile Wallet Stand

• Dimensions: Folded, no cards: 3.9 x 2.6 x 0.2 inches (9.8 x 6.6 x 0.6 centimeters)
• Weight: 2.65 ounces (75 grams)

Peak Design Mobile Wallet Slim

• Dimensions: No cards: 3.6 x 2.6 x 0.15 inches (9.2 x 6.6 x 0.375 centimeters)
• Weight: 1.41 ounces (40 grams)

I was impressed by how small these wallets looked when I unwrapped them.

Looking at both wallets from the side, it was immediately apparent that the Stand was thicker than the Slim. That was because the eponymous phone stand took up an additional 0.05 inches (0.225 centimeters).

The Slim, on the other hand, is slightly thinner and shorter and weighs almost half as much as the Stand.

Both are made from recycled, weatherproof nylon canvas that has, so far, seemed to resist normal wear and tear.

Card Storage

Both cards hold around 5 to 7 regular-sized cards, including my thicker metal cards like the Platinum Card^® from American Express or the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.

However, the Slim (the green one in the photos) seems to hold about 1 fewer card than the Stand (the yellow one).

When I have more than 5 or so cards in the wallet, they don’t all sit flush against the bottom of the wallet along the short side opposite the flap (not the long side that rests against the phone back). Putting in more than that means either end of the wallet becomes somewhat slanted, with the credit cards straining very slightly against the flap, but never so much that the flap’s magnetic strip pops open on its own. In other words, in the rare cases my son manages to take my phone and the wallet, I don’t worry too much about my credit cards falling through the sewer grate and being flushed out into the Hudson River.

Since I don’t use my phone to watch videos and my whole purpose in getting a mobile wallet was to cut down on weight, I’ve started to favor the Slim over the Stand.

Modular and Interchangeable Design

Regardless of the specific version, one of the key features of the Peak Design wallets is that they use the company’s modular and interchangeable MagSafe-compatible design for magnetic attachments, allowing you to mix and match Peak Design components for various situations.

For example, I have a bicycle attachment that allows me to keep a map going at a visible but unobtrusive point on my handlebars with my hands free while I ride without having to worry about it bouncing out of a bike basket or being at an awkward angle that makes it more of a distraction than useful.

Since the Peak Design designs essentially revolve around the phone cases (as do our lives these days, sadly), you only get the most benefit of the Peak Design wallets from also having a Peak Design phone case. In other words, you’re not buying into a wallet or a phone case so much as you’re buying into Peak Design’s concept of MagSafe magnetic interchangeability and modularity, and the idea of swapping out one component for another on the phone.

In my case, it’s a no-brainer, since I want to minimize the number of things I need to carry. The Peak Design interchangeable design principle, for practical purposes, turns my wallet into part of my phone, reducing the count of my core everyday essentials from 3 (keys, wallet, phone) to 2 (keys and phone-wallet combination).

It’s also worth noting that I already use Peak Design’s Capture camera clips as part of my standard kit when shooting something with my DSLR cameras and possibly more than a single lens. They have an intuitive, easily interchangeable design that saves me a ton of physical strain and lets me easily secure my camera or cameras to a chest strap within easy reach or anywhere else I might need to switch out cameras quickly — a huge relief when I know I’ll be shooting for several hours that day. That made it much simpler for me to get and adapt to the interchangeability that’s key to how the company’s mobile wallets were designed.

And though it’s a particular use case, the modularity of the Peak Design wallet has made it so much easier to counter the challenges of one of the more unexpected sources of frustration I’ve had in trimming down what I carry: Pokémon Go. Before, with wallets that were integrated into the phone case, I had to yield all my credit cards, driver’s license, and various forms of ID to my son (who, again, is 7) when he suddenly wanted to play the game (and was allowed to). Now, if he wants to battle a Mega Kangaskhan in Central Park, I snap off my wallet and let him have it without worrying about losing everything if he walks right into the Turtle Pond.

And the magnets are strong. I’ve never had to worry about the components coming apart by themselves or as I slide my phone in or out of my pockets. Of course, that can lead to other issues, which I’ll get into in a beat.

What I Don’t Like About the Peak Design Mobile Wallet

Besides having to fully commit to the Peak Design philosophy to reap the full benefits of the Peak Design wallets, I have had a couple of other minor issues with both of them.

The first occurs if the flap isn’t fully closed or isn’t snapped tightly down. The issue isn’t the cards falling out — they still stay safely in place, thanks to the tension on them from being stacked together. No, the problem with the flaps is that if they pop up or aren’t down far enough (as can happen if I pull my phone out of my wallet too quickly), they can easily get in the way of any photographs I take with the phone.

You can see this in the photo below, where the flap completely obscures the right 10% of the photo, making much of the person there disappear.

And then there are the MagSafe magnets. Remember how I said the magnets are strong enough that I never feel worried the wallet will pop off on its own? They’re also strong enough that I’ve found myself with occasional metallic hitchhikers on my phone.

The biggest problem is in my car, where I set my phone down inside a little cubby under the dashboard — you know, where most people keep loose change, parking receipts, and the other little knickknacks you pick up on every trip. I like to cut down on the clutter by keeping loose change for old-fashioned meters in little mint tins.

With the Peak Design MagSafe system, though, half the time I put my phone in the cubby, it comes out with a mint tin or a Super Mario Super Star. On the plus side, though, I could now store my wallet on the side of my fridge when I’m at home, if I wanted to. (Peak Design assures its customers that the built-in magnets won’t demagnetize your cards.)

Though I’ve come to embrace the Peak Design modularity concept, which makes it easy to attach and detach components as needed, it also makes it easy not to attach my wallet in the first place. Perversely, the downside of the wallet becoming so unnoticeable when it’s attached to my phone is that I also don’t always notice when it’s not attached to my phone. I can’t count the times I’ve been out only to realize I can’t tack on a trip to a coffee shop or store because I left my wallet — and thus all my cards — at home.

Finally, I used both the Slim and the Stand for a couple of weeks before settling on making the Slim my permanent wallet. (I keep my less-used cards in the Stand now.) Besides the slight extra bulk, I disliked how the lighter, yellow Stand I got seemed to pick up grime more easily and become discolored. If you get either of these wallets, I’d avoid the lighter, brighter colors if you’re worried about them starting to look too weathered.

Pros

• I can separate my phone from my wallet as needed.
• They’re the most lightweight and least bulky wallets I’ve ever had, especially the Slim version
• It’s easy to take cards out without damaging them.
• They fit all the cards I typically need in a day around town.
• The Peak Design phone case works with wireless charging (when I take the wallet off).
• The modular and interchangeable Peak Design system allows me to use it in other ways, like mounting my phone to my bike handlebars.

Cons

• You must have a compatible Peak Design phone case to get the best use out of it.
• Lighter colors like yellow pick up more dirt and get grimy-looking quickly.
• They don’t come in a wide variety of colors.
• The flap can get fiddly when I’m reinserting cards.
• The flap can obscure the phone camera lenses if it isn’t down.
• They fit fewer cards than a bigger wallet (about 5 to 7).
• I’m more likely to leave my wallet behind by mistake than with built-in wallet phone cases.
• Metal objects like mint boxes stick to it.
• They’re not really suitable for storing cash.

Final Thoughts

The Peak Design Mobile Wallet Slim has completely replaced traditional wallets for me, and I haven’t regretted ditching the leather back breakers at all. I’ve also found it more helpful than integrated phone case wallets, which don’t let me easily remove my credit cards and ID when my kid has to borrow my phone to capture fantastical creatures to participate in morally questionable gladiatorial combat with other enslaved beasts.

Is this the right wallet for you, though?

That depends on whether you’re willing to invest in the Peak Design system, how pared-down you’re trying to get, and how many mint tins you keep around.