Looking for a Thin Leather Wallet?

Here's a unifold type of wallet design from Frontpocketwallet.com. It claims to be the thinnest leather wallet in the world. I'm not sure about that, but its unique design does reduce thickness. It took me awhile to understand the design. There's no folding. That's why I call it a unifold as opposed to the typical bi-fold or tri-fold designs. It seems it's made by stitching together 5 square pieces of leather on each of their two adjacent sides.

I would prefer something like this over a typical money clip wallet. There's no metal clip that could be a hassle at airports.

Slim Wallet Comparison

I wonder how this is skinny wallet compares to the nobulges wallet that I discussed in a previous post? The nobulges wallet is made of a thinner material than leather. Also it seems to form a larger square. If you have lots of credit cards, this might make nobulges a more slender wallet. However, if you want a leather wallet, the Front Pocket Wallet would be better.

History of the Front Pocket Wallet

The history behind this wallet is interesting. I found this article about the guy who invented the wallet and founded the company. The idea of this wallet came to him as a friend was fumbling through his pocket for money. He built a simple prototype and patented it. Then he trademarked it as the Original Front Pocket Wallet and began to manufacture it. First he marketed locally, then he expanded to the web. To further market it, he developed the Captain Williams brand which was based on his first name and the fact he use to be a military officer.

Wallet Patents

I did some research on his patents. The first patent was issued in 1991 and describes his Original Front Pocket Wallet. I'm surprised he waited so long before starting to sell it on the web in 2002. The abstract sums up the idea well:

A wallet suitable for front pocket storage having a plurality of square sheets and binding along two adjoining edges. The pockets have two edges open or unbound. Currency and cards may be organized in the individual pockets. The plurality of square sheets and binding are made of pliable or flexible material so that the wallet may easily fit within a man's front pant pocket.

Later in the patent description, some of the advantages of the design are explained:

... wallet does not have to be folded to be inserted in the front pocket of the pants, the wallet does not create any unsightly bulges or increase the wear of the pants due to the constant deformation of shape of pants.

His second wallet-related patent was issued just recently in 2004. The patent has the title Tethered Wallet and seems to describe the Caribbean Wallets that he sells on his site. Here's the patent abstract:

A wallet includes a pocket portion defining a front panel, a rear panel, a bottom, side edges, an open top, and a flap portion that extends from the rear panel for folding over the open top to engage the front panel. The wallet comprises male and female fasteners for engaging the flap portion with the front panel. The wallet includes a tether that extends from the rear panel of the pocket portion. The tether includes a plurality of fasteners, spaced from one another for folding the tether upon itself to define loops of different sizes, i.e. different configurations for various attachments.

The current prices listed on the Frontpocketwallet.com website are $34.95 for the Front Pocket Wallets and $14.95 for the Caribbean Wallets. I haven't found any selling on ebay.