When I introduced the world’s thinnest wallet almost 10 years ago it was just called a “SlimFold” because that was the only model. Then we introduced the “MICRO” to have a smaller footprint. Meanwhile, many Original Tyvek customers were finding that they liked to double fold it to reduce its footprint, yielding one thicker stack the size of a credit card.

Many of you may know that I started selling the SlimFold at design street fairs in San Francisco, but what you may not know is that my main challenge during that time was to keep my samples flat and crisp.

See, once cards were inserted, the whole surface was reinforced by the cards but the seam in the middle would be sort of floppy. So people would fold it there and BAM- my sample was ruined... I even created a display stand and put a piece of plastic inside the wallet, screwing it to the stand so it couldn’t be removed!

Well, it turned out that if you folded both sides towards the center and then folded it along the spine, it was totally usable. In fact, many folks preferred this method. I used it this way myself for a few weeks to make sure it worked well and then embraced it as an alternative. However, when we introduced the MICRO wallet, I found that inserting very thin rigid plastic improved the longevity of the Tyvek by evening out the wear over the whole surface. This plastic is actually included in all other models. So now I’m circling back and trying it in the Original Tyvek too.

Original v 3.0?

In almost 10 years there’s only been one other design change to this wallet, which was to incorporate a slash slot into the ID window instead of a larger rectangle. So I guess this is version 3? or if you consider those minor changes maybe this is v1.2. Either way, it reinforces the notion that it’s a bad idea to name any product “Original”. A close second would be to name sizes with vague comparative size descriptions like Micro and Nano 😉

To get feedback from folks, I’m introducing them as a Beta. I’m especially interested in hearing from folks who have had Original Tyvek models before. For folks who single fold their wallets, my hope is that this will improve your experience by making it more rigid and improving wearing.

What about double folders?

This has been a concern of mine because folks who double fold the Original wallet are part of our core group of initial customers and I don’t want to disappoint anyone. But I think this will help serve the primary use case better. We now also offer the Nano minimalist wallet which has the footprint of a credit card so hopefully that will help ease the pain?

FAQ

Does it make it thicker?

The thickness difference is barely noticeable because the inserts are offset from where the stitching is… so you can’t really tell. In addition, the plastic itself is less than half the thickness of a credit card. In other words, the thickness difference is negligible and if I handed both of them to you, it would be tough to tel the difference except that the center seam feels stiffer.

I’m a double folder, which model is best for me now?

In terms of footprint, the Nano Soft Shell offers the credit card size. You just need to double fold your cash to put it in the pocket.

Otherwise, the Micro Soft Shell or Micro Tyvek wallet is a good option for anyone except those who carry tall foreign currency. In that case, The Original Soft Shell or Original Tyvek will work well but can’t be double folded.