Review: Binder Clip As Wallet
I like to travel light. This means not only packing light for trips, but for walks downtown or to work, as well. If I need to bring a paper book with me on a walk, or an umbrella or camera, I’ll carry a small satchel, but my personal ideal is to carry a phone and wallet and nothing else. (Side note: we have two cars, and I always prefer to drive the older one, because it doesn’t require that I stuff a key fob the size of a croissant into my pocket. In this era of miniaturization, why should car keys and key fobs be any larger than a USB drive? Somebody needs to solve this problem.)
And really, even a wallet is a failure. For many years I used a checkbook-sized leather billfold as a wallet, and it lived in my right front pocket. It was never ideal—it flexed awkwardly when I sat down—but once I started carrying a phone, it became unacceptably annoying. I eventually realized that most of the information my wallet contained—membership cards, and the like—could be stored on my phone (the amazing 1Password is what I use for this purpose), and all I really needed to carry was a handful of cards and some cash. I spent a few weeks looking for a money clip that worked well and didn’t look douchey, but none of them proved as effective or attractive as a 1-inch binder clip.
This is what I carry in my left front pocket. It’s small, strong, and effective, and more secure than a back-pocket wallet. When I need to spend cash, I move the clip to the corner of the card pile. Then I accept my change, reorganize the bills, and replace the clip. I keep my two most-used cards on the outside of the stack and can slide them out without loosening the clip.
The binder clip solution isn’t perfect, though. I can’t put it in the same pocket as my phone, should I wish to; the metal would scratch the glass. More significantly, when I’m in line at a coffee shop or something, and there are people waiting behind me, I can’t stand there and put the wallet back together—which is sometimes a time-consuming process, as I am one of those people who needs all the bills to lay in the same direction and maintain correct denominational order. So I end up having to just scoop up the whole bunch of junk and find some empty table or length of counter to work at. Change sometimes gets awkwardly stuck between the credit cards, too.
I’m at a critical juncture now, because I have grown a little tired of taking notes on my phone and would like to start carrying a notebook again. But my ambulatory life does not wish to accomodate another class of object. So I have ordered one of these. If I like it, I may retire the binder clip.
Three and a half stars.
★ ★ ★ ½
