Vaultskin CHELSEA Mens RFID Blocking Slim Leather Card Wallet - Minimalist Front Pocket Cardholder

Summary: Great wallet for anyone, perfect for me. I've been using it for 2 months now. Easy to carry in the front pocket of your slim fit jeans, looks exactly like in the pictures, very elegant. I recommend this wallet if you don't use much cash, ideally if you only carry 3 bills with you, and if you can reduce the amount of cards you carry to 10 or less, including ID and memberships. I keep rarely used cards in the car (like membership cards that I use once a month). The down side: the card kept in the front pocket is hard to pull out because the "smart strap" above it stops it from sliding out if you use your thumb to drag it out with friction. You have to use your index finger get a grab along with your thumb, that way you can raise it and pull it out; that's not an option if you have chubby fingers. You can also pull the "smart strap" and hold it up with your left thumb, then with your right thumb you pull the card out with friction. Neither option is confortable enough to keep your most used card in there, but you can use it though, it's not a deal breaker. About the amount of cards it can hold. I keep exactly 10 cards in my wallet: 4 credit cards, ID, License, Memberships, among others. I keep 2 cards on back pocket, another card on front pocket (less frequently used), and 7 cards in the middle pocket (including 4 credit cards which are thicker than normal because of the raised numbers). So far it hasn't stretched and the cards remain in place even when I hold the wallet upside down; If I shake it while upside-down the cards do slowly come out, but there's no scenario in real life where you put your wallet upside down, holding it on the sides to avoid having a grip of the cards inside, and shaking it. About the leather. It is high quality leather, I really recommend you buy this one instead of cheaper $10-15 dollars options because of this. It is showing signs of wear, but in quality leather wallets like this one, that only adds to its beauty. Regular (bigger) wallets get worse in less time, because the corners start to bend, plus the friction of pulling a bulky wallet out of your tight pockets damage further the leather. About the "smart strap" and middle pocket. I quote "smart strap" because it's a simple elastic strap which retracts back to its place when released. It's easy to pull, it has a good grip and gets the job done. The middle pocket is easy to use, you can put the most used cards on front and back of cards in middle pocket, that way it's a matter of: pulling the strap, pulling the card, pushing the rest back into the pocket. You do have to spread the cards to get the one you need in the middle, but again, not difficult, not messy and really, how many times a day you use each one of your 10 cards. You can organize it so the top 4 most used cards get really accessible. About the RFID protection. The middle pocket is RFID protected, and works as advertised, I tried using my subway card with the RFID reader and it didn't work, I had do pull the card half-way out of the middle pocket so it could read it. I tried putting the card in the front pocket, weirdly enough it didn't read it. I tried it with the card inside my old wallet and it read it inmediately. They claim only the middle pocket is RFID protected but in my experience, the front pocket also was protected. Don't take my word for granted here, perhaps my case is an exception, perhaps the back pocket isn't protected and there you can keep your RFID card, and perhaps it was a one time event, but the wallet in the middle pocket is consistent because I've tried it several times on different readers, including my work RFID reader. I'll get back here with an update after 5 months. Let's hope for the best.

Well made and has a quality, soft leather feel. Fits a license + 3 credit cards perfectly. Highly recommended for those who carry multiple singles cards in their pocket.

I love this wallet. I bought the same one about 7 years ago. Nothing lasts forever. Fits in my front pocket perfectly. Plus RFID, I feel safe. Thank you for an awesome product.

CONS: - The more cards you put in, the looser the wallet becomes - Leather stretches out easily and doesn't return to its' original shape - Placing the wallet upside down can cause all the cards to slide and fall out from the inner pocket, and this is especially noticeable when you hold a lot of cards initially, then hold fewer cards later (the leather stretches out and doesn't return to original shape) PROS: - Very lightweight, slim and portable - The strap tab has held up well (this may vary for others, don't pull aggressively) - Looks very nice - Relatively high capacity for cards (about 7 in the inner pocket, 2 in the front pocket, and 3 in the back pocket; be mindful that the more cards you store, the more lose the wallet becomes) I've used this for a year and it's held up reasonably well. The biggest issue is that cards may fall out especially if you downsize the number of cards you carry later on. Be mindful to not aggressively pull the strap tab, that will damage the wallet over time.

**1 Year Update** : My precious!!!! I have no doubts declaring this the best wallet I have ever owned. Assuming they have maintained their quality over the last year; anyone looking for a slim wallet right now, you can stop looking, you found the one. --------- 6 Month Update: Still very snug, holding very well, this wallet is only getting better with age. I can find no signs of any form of stretching that would be out of normal. Holds my ID, debit, credit, sporting, Off Highway Vehicle, and health cards. Still leaving enough room for a small fold of bills for when I do carry cash. It is about 1/3 the thickness filled as my leather tri-fold is now empty making it is a significant decrease. In terms of quality, it is made of decent leather and is fairly tight initially. I will watch closely for the extreme stretching others have said to experience, although all natural leather will stretch to some degree. If anything out of the ordinary happens I will simply update the review. The sewing is my 'out of the box' concern with a seemingly odd choice to keep the same thread on the entire wallet. This is odd because the thread is fairly fine. While I have no doubts about its ability to hold the backing to the leather on the inside, piercing single layers of leather, it is also used to hold the entire wallet together along the edges. This means the thread is passing through a layer of leather, backing, leather, backing, backing, leather. The wallet is very slim, but compared to the fine thread used, it seems as though a more robust thread would be appropriate on the edging holding it all together.

*UPDATED* I recently noticed that the manufacturer/seller asked if I'd be willing to submit a video to demonstrate my proclamation that the wallet failed to block a 13.56 MHz RFID signal. I no longer had all of the original equipment I used in my tests. But I did get some things put together this weekend (5/4/17) after purchasing a shield to use with an Arduino Uno knock-off (Elegoo Uno R3.) I was unable to replicate any of the issues I said that I observed in my initial review. Although I was not using the exact hardware as I did for my original review, I'm not seeing that this would make any difference. So I'm currently at a loss to explain why I reported that I could detect cards that were inside the RFID blocking compartment. It is puzzling to me. For the sake of integrity and honesty, I have to retract my original review indefinitely. Should I encounter anything of importance or any other curiosity/explanation, I will update this review accordingly. I apologize if there was some sort of flaw in my original test that yielded false reports. Reviews are important resources for the consumer and vital to the success of products on Amazon. I've adjusted my star rating and added this update with the intent of communicating the doubt that I now have regarding my initial criticisms. If I made a mistake, I must apologize. I very much hope that if this was the case, my review did not affect a purchase of the product by a consumer who read my review. It may have represented an inaccurate portrayl of this product. I've left my original review below unchanged, only to not white-wash my post history. Please interpret accordingly. ******* End Update ******* The sleek efficiency of the design (including the material and elastic card-removal function,) are nice. I will not deny that. However, curiosity had me testing this (and a few other products) with redirect to their RFID-blocking claims. This wallet failed miserably, no matter where the card was positioned. The testing I ran was from the mid kHz frequency up to the advertised 13.56 MHz range. The wallet fared no better at blocking my reader than a piece of folded paper. (And this was using a low-power Arduino RFID scanner.) As far as build goes, it's a nice and convenient wallet. Though I wouldn't recommend putting much stock in its ability to attenuate the advertised RF.

I grabbed the Vaultskin Chelsea wallet for my husband because the man will walk around with his cards basically hanging out of a worn-out bi-fold from 2009. This one finally solved the problem. It’s slim, it looks sharp, and it slides into his front pocket without that bulky brick feeling. The RFID blocking is the real reason I bought it. I mean, who wants their husband’s credit card getting skimmed while he’s out shopping or filling the tank? He doesn’t think about stuff like that, but I do, and this wallet keeps everything protected without turning into a tech gadget. The pull-tab is actually useful, not gimmicky, and the leather feels like it’ll age well instead of cracking in six months. He likes it, I like that his cards aren’t exposed to the world, and it’s one of those gifts that’s both practical and actually looks good. Would buy again.

I love this card holder! The quality is excellent and can securely fit 5 cards in the main slot. 1 card in the front and 2 thin cards (drivers license, insurance card etc) in the back! I especially appreciate the elastic pull out goes back in once pulled. No dangling piece! It can pull out all 5 cards including an amex gold card with ease! However, after only 5 months of use, the pull out fabric got unsown from the wallet. It is unfortunate because the same fabric sewn into the elastic is sewn well but for some reason, it is not on to the wallet itself. I thought I finally found the ONE wallet to use for years and years, but sadly, this one didn’t last.