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I never got one as a gift I really wanted to use. Care nothing for style, but look for practicality for me. After much trial and error have found a trifold made of sailcloth to be most lasting and useful for my sloppy wallet needs.
YOU CAN BUY YOURSELF ANYTHING YOU WANT ESPECIALLY A WALLET
srry this just reads as “duh my bros is it geyy to git yerself a wallet” NO JUST BUY ONE
When I was younger, yeah.
I think wallets are for people nobody knows what to buy for. Like getting them a tie. No hobbies, no interests, no personal declarations of what they might like. Or people just don’t know them well enough to get anything other than some generic gift like a wallet.
I bought mine
Works well as a lanyard too, ADHD would be having me leave it everywhere if it weren't strapped to my noggin
I have bought most I think but I have received some as gifts too.
I keep getting wallets as gifts even though everyone knows I don't use a wallet, I have a collection of wallets that will never feel the back of my ass.
I've never bought a wallet for myself
I really should get a new one. I think I bought one when I was 16, and another at 20. 15 years later it is falling apart but still have the same one. I wonder if that means I haven't had a good friend or family member to buy me a wallet for 15 years. Sobering thought haha
no. i have had the same wallet since 2006
How did you know
I got several wallets as gifts ages ago, but I got sick of carrying fat wallets and found a slim wallet to buy for myself and have used it for as long as I can remember now. I would never trade it out unless I somehow found an even skinnier one (or it gets lost or destroyed).
I checked out of curiosity, its an Allet Original (was called classic leather when I bought it) and I've had it for 9 years. Its still in great condition, but apparently they cost almost twice as much now (I paid $35, they're $66 now).
What's it look like that makes it thin? I don't have a change pocket or such, but I still think my wallet is larger than needed. Tri fold wallets I never liked because they are thick as well.
Its a very thin layer of leather on the outside and very thin layers of fabric on the inside. It is 2 credit cards tall, so depending on how many cards you have, you distribute them across 4 pockets. The billfold section is split into a shallow and a deep compartment, so you can arrange things at 2 levels, if you want. I rarely carry cash, so that part usually just has some small notes or receipts or nothing at all.
So it is partly the layout and partly the materials that keeps it thin. "Nice" wallets are usually all leather or mostly leather, which makes them much thicker and tri-folds are the worst.
I have only gotten one wallet as a gift ever, it was a family heirloom of sorts. All my other wallets I have used I have bought myself
I bought a Ridge over a decade ago before they went all crazy political, and beyond some wear around the edges it's held up great. Which it should, it's fucking aluminum and titanium. The elastic cash band got stretched out pretty bad over time but I contacted em for a replacement last year and they just sent me one for free.
I don't think anyone's ever bought me a wallet, which tracks with my wishes for everyday carry items honestly.
I know I bought my last couple of wallets from the same place, usually because I walk past the wallet display stand, see a new one that I fancy, and decide on a whim to buy it. I get good mileage out of them, and they are generally inexpensive so even if I trade in every few years, it's still nice to have a fresh wallet every now and again. I occasionally swap between bifold and trifold as well. One thing I know is I can't do the minimalist design ones, I have too much shit in my wallet that I need just often enough to warrant carrying them around all the time (lest I forget them when I actually need them) but the desire to have the slimmest and most compact shape is definitely strong too. The two forces battle each other in my mind, and I usually settle for larger size in the end for convenience rather than comfort.
I'm not sure if I've ever received a wallet as a gift before. Maybe when i was a kid, and it would have been one of those nylon ones with the zippers for pocket change and the velcro for the money section.
I think my next wallet is going to be a really fancy one. Only thing I'm hesitating on in regard to that is I think cheaper wallet brands actually have the pulse of the everyman when it comes to design, whereas the fancier leather ones are somewhat impractical with fewer card slots, or very tight tolerances for sliding cards or money in them. I have to find just the right one, but I'm in no rush to replace my current wallet.
Yes, my family gifted me my first and second wallet.
I've definitely gotten more as gifts than I have bought for myself (I'm a guy in his mid-40s).
I was taken to the store by my step father and he made me spend my money on a wallet that I no longer had money to put inside of. I have bought all of my wallets myself.
I tend to be particular about my everyday carry equipment and so I think I've killed that kind of gift out of my circle. My current wallet is entering its 12th year of service in surprisingly good condition. A Big Skinny L-shape. I'm not in the habit of carrying all my airman certificates around with me anymore so if I were to replace it I'd just go with their basic nylon bifold.
Seems to be a cool company; when I bought my wallet in early 2013 the price was $26, it's now $30. I think that's slower than inflation.
I dunno, it tends to happen more when people are forced/tricked/want to provide a gift without really knowing what to get.
It's a reliable generic gift because wallets wear out, and there's usually room to switch between several.
It gets less common as you age, but it still happens unless you have the habit of refusing to switch wallets, or have talked about exactly what you want in a wallet and people realize they're better off going a different route.
I'm really particular about my wallets. Right size, right pocket configuration, right materials. I want my wallets the be able to be pulled out and I can find what I need blindfolded because of decades of familiarity. I like a licence window. I want durable materials over pretty materials, when the choice is necessary.
So, I buy my own damn wallets when one is wearing out. Nobody buys me wallets any more because I show the new ones off. Since I'm also known for saying "oh man, that's a nice wallet, that'll be what I use when this one wears out", it kinda makes it a disappointing gift to give, even though I would never say that and it not be true.
I got tired of replacing wallets and just bought a quality saddleback one probably a decade ago. Been through the wash multiple times and still holding up great. Probably last me the rest of my life as long as I don't lose it.
Haven't had a wallet in years. It's all on the phone now
I always buy mine, and I would never ever tell anyone to buy me a wallet. I am pretty picky these days on what I want for a wallet. My wife is the closest person that could go buy me wallet and generally get the right kind, even then she'll run it by me before pulling the trigger on such a purchase, to make sure I would use it
I've received one. I've bought three, one of which was a custom made leather dealie. Ymmv
Considering I have a very specific and uncommon (within normal people day to day) type of wallet, no I would not agree. I have been using this style of wallet for almost a decade. No idea if I'm representative though.
Not for the one I actually use.
As an adult? Never as a gift
I'm pretty sure I bought my first one or two wallets, but they were low quality. I got a good/name brand wallet as a gift 20 years ago that I'm still using.
This is likely the case for a lot of items that the common guy wouldn't give a second thought about.
Me? Bought the one before, wife gave me the present one. The third one down the line might have been a gift from my boss. Clearly some truth there.
My last 3 wallets I bought for myself. I don’t think I’ve been gifted a wallet since my teens. I’d definitely advise against anyone I knew wanting to buy me a wallet, I’m very particular in the kind I like and chances are very high I wouldn’t use the gifted wallet, or I’d try to return it.
Have a weird / old wallet and people will try to upgrade you.
I had a gaffer tape wallet for many years.... People couldn't resist trying to replace it
I had a very different reaction to my duct tape wallet. I saw a slim, front pocket design online that was exactly what I was looking for in a wallet but I was unable to find one to buy. This was around the time that front pocket wallets just started to become a fad with the mininalism community so they were still quite uncommon.
Used an old thin plastic board as a frame and duct taped the outside. One pocket for cards, one for money and a stretchy band to slip over to prevent things from accidentally falling out.
Everyone loved it because it was so unique I guess. Kept adding more tape to repair it as it aged but eventually I retired it because the old glue was smearing all over my cards and money.
I made many great memories with that wallet since it travelled with me around the world for a good number of years.
If you want a good wallet you buy it
I don't want gift wallets, there are like 0 chances I get what I want. Sometimes even for the ones I buy by myself.
I don't know, the pockets, the flatness... everything needs to fit right.
I'm recovering from a wallet disorder. While searching for the perfect wallet I probably collected 20 or so. I've been using the same wallet now for two years so I think it's under control.
I prefer not to receive wallets as gifts.
Not for me.
I currently have three wallets, all made by Saddleback Leather^1^. They're expensive but the company's tagline is 'your kids will fight over it when you're dead'.
I have a standard bi-fold which I have actually semi-retired in this modern age of pinging payments with my phone, a classic tall, slim wallet for an inside suit jacket pocket, and my everyday carry card wallet which has three bank cards, my driving license, and £100 emergency 'shit they don't take phone pinging payment' situations.
Edit to add: I don’t anticipate ever needing to buy another wallet in my life. These are solid.
[1] Saddleback leather is owned and run by a guy called Dave Munson who is a self-described 'faith driven entrepreneur'. I don't care what the dude believes.
No, I saw a wallet that was exactly what I was looking for and bought it. I've carried it for years. The last time someone else bought me a wallet it was just a generic bulky one.
No. My wallet is...fucking hell... 20 years old.
Wallets are good gifts until a guy is like 25-30. Then he'll buy the style he likes for himself.
A friend made me a duct tape wallet in high school. My brother hated it, had won a contest, and spent some of.his winnings ona new wallet for me. It's been close to 20 years.
I made some amazing tape wallets back in the day. One of them was so well made it lasted more than 1 year.
Funny enough I recently ended up finding a brand that makes paper "leather" slim wallets. Mine is lredy a few years old https://www.andersundkomisch.de/
Do men tend to ask for wallets as gifts? If so, it makes sense they would tend to get them as gifts then. My dad certainly did. He was very particular about brand and model, and he showed genuine appreciation when I tracked one down (especially prior to internet shopping being what it is). It made for a good gift.
I have never had a wallet bought for me. Probably wouldn't want one either, because I don't use traditional wallets, but rather a card wallet that keeps them all flat so they don't crack down the middle.