Bandit Wallet Review

by Julie on February 28, 2010 · 17 comments

in Gear, Reviews, Wallets

I have a thing for wallets and I’m always looking for  minimal designs that I can use when I’m traveling. In my regular day-to-day life, I use a Waterfield wallet, but when I’m at a trade show, on vacation, etc., I only want to carry a few bills and a couple cards with me. I don’t need a bulky wallet that requires me to carry a bag. My usual MacGyver solution has been a binder clip, but I think I have found a worth alternative with the Bandit Wallet.

The Bandit Wallet is made in the USA and has a very simple “Why Didn’t I Think Of That?” design.

It’s a stretchy elastic band made of Black nylon.

If you turn the Band inside out, you’ll notice that there are strands of rubber incorporated into the fabric.

The Bandit Wallet is about as minimalist as it comes. Grab some credit cards, place them into the fold of some cash, slide the Bandit around them and there you go. The band is stretchy but strong. It can hold up to 2″ of cash and / or cards.

The rubber strands on the inside of the Bandit keep a grip on the contents, so that they won’t slide out accidentally. The outside of the band is smooth so that you can easily insert the bundle into your front or back pocket.

There you have it, a simple review of a simple product that does its intended job simply. Oh, another plus is that they will donate $1 of every sale to current relevant charities.

Product Information

Price:$7.99
Manufacturer:Bandit
Pros:
  • Light weight
  • Rubber lining keeps contents from slipping out
  • $1 of each sale given to charity
Cons:
  • None
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{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }

1 thenikjones February 28, 2010 at 3:35 pm

For a minimal wallet, have you tried All-Ett? Amazingly thin, even the leather-bound version [I have the plastic-only passport wallet and found it too 'floppy']

2 Julie February 28, 2010 at 3:40 pm

@thenikjones Yes I have: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2007/10/16/all_ett_world_s_thinnest_wallets/
The All-Ett is nice, but too wallet-y (is that a word?) for me.

3 Jackie Cheng February 28, 2010 at 11:01 pm

Is it easy to put the paper money in and out because of the rubber grips inside?

4 Sam February 28, 2010 at 11:58 pm

That’s pretty cute. Looks like the same kind of webbing as used in the bands on a Cocoon Grid-It.

I doubt the All-Ett is thinner than a Dynomighty Mighty Wallet made from Tyvek (http://www.dynomighty.com/mighty-wallet/).

5 Julie March 1, 2010 at 7:30 am

@Jackie You have to take the band completely off to add or extract cash or cards.

6 Michael March 1, 2010 at 8:59 am

Have you ever looked at the MoneyClamp ( http://www.moneyclamp.com/ )? It works pretty well for the “usually use a binder clip” crowd.

7 Hai March 1, 2010 at 11:54 am

Here is the poor man version of the bandit:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2737/4398102155_63ff3d3285.jpg

Joking aside, I think a clip is more usable: you can access your cards and cash faster.

8 Andy Simmons March 1, 2010 at 1:41 pm

Julie, thanks for keeping the wallet reviews coming. My traditional leather bifold wallet just isn’t cutting it anymore, and I keep hoping that one of the non-traditional wallets that you review here will meet my needs.

I keep coming back to the Dosh polymer wallet that you did a spotlight piece on last year. Have you tried to get one of those to review?

9 john March 1, 2010 at 2:41 pm

i been using this as a wallet for a bunch of years now and it works great. http://www.instructables.com/id/the-anti-wallet/

10 Julie March 1, 2010 at 7:33 pm

@Andy I haven’t tried – yet. :)

11 chriszzz March 2, 2010 at 1:39 am

Er, why not just use a rubber band ? $1 buys you a few hundred. I occasionally do that when moving around without a wallet ( which is admittedly, rare for me ).

12 Andy Jacobs March 2, 2010 at 10:04 am

I’m looking at this thing and wondering if it could be used as a sport watch band. Because that’s what it looks a lot like to me. ;-)

13 Julie March 2, 2010 at 10:54 am

@Andy very true and yeah, it could!

14 deslock March 6, 2010 at 8:19 am

For years, I’ve been using a credit card holder (that came as a removable section from inside a regular wallet) as my wallet. I keep money secured to it with a rubber band.

Have been meaning to come up with a better system, so thanks for posting this review. Though the Bandit wallet doesn’t interest me, the Mighty wallet and All-Ett mentioned in this thread look nifty. I couldn’t decide, so I ordered both.

15 LOVEIT April 29, 2010 at 4:00 pm

DUDE DYNOMIGHTY WALLETS ROCK AND ARE ECO FRIENDLY

16 Randal Schutt January 17, 2011 at 9:41 pm

The Bandit is fine but the Wag Wallet does it better! It holds your cards, Drivers license, room keys and a spare car or house key in much the same way without releasing the cards or key when you access your cash. I’ve been using it for years and can’t go without it! If you are tired of sitting on a fat wallet and your Chiropractor told you to get off it, you need to check out the Wag Wallet today. WagWallet.com 2 for $15 bucks! Share it with a friend and they will thank you. Rubber bands break when you least expect it and the Wag seems to last forever. Best deal on a wallet as far as I’m concerned. You can access your cards without opening it and it’s made in the good ole USA!

17 James December 10, 2011 at 6:31 pm

Was turned onto money-band and once I got used to it, I’ll never go back to a regular wallet. Site is http//www.money-band.com

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