Tuesday, March 9, 2010

initial product review: the JIMI wallet

This past weekend, I bought a JIMI wallet for $15 from Recycled Cycles in Seattle near the University of Washington.

The JIMI is see-though plastic wallet, or more accurately, as described by the manufacturer's web site: "Jimi™ wallet is a really handy and stylish way to carry your essentials and free yourself from the clutter and bulk of the traditional wallet/pocket book. It's compact, water resistant, and translucent - as much at home in a hipster's pocket, a busy Mom's diaper bag or around the neck of an exec. breezing through airport security!"



You can easily see the cash through the wallet and also the photo ID too. [I guess I should have blurred out the ID photo too, as I looked kinda porky back then].


When open, you can see where the money slides into a clip and the cards slide behind a card keeper - you can store up to 4 IDs or credit/debit cards in there.



The loop on the end is for either fitting to a neck lanyard or I suppose you could attach a key ring to it too.

The reason I wanted one of these was I was tired of either fishing for dollars or IDs in my rear jersey or jacket pocket [I may have lost a debit card this way] and also the alternative I had been using was a Ziploc baggie [to keep things gathered together and also keep them dry] which while it does serve a purpose, makes you look a little impoverished at the local Safeway when you stop in to buy a pick-me-up post-ride. So I'd say my reasons for buying this have been two-thirds practicality and one-third style.

The only issue I have is in today's society, there are too many cards! Grocery cards, credit cards, wholesale club warehouse cards, bike club cards, frequent flier cards, etc. I have a "home" wallet I keep most things in and generally travel only with the essentials because of this reason.

So, we'll see how this trial goes. I principally want to see: 1) how dry it keeps the contents, 2) how long the hinges will last, and 3) how much can be stuffed into it. More or less, conduct a real-world commute test for a few weeks or a month and then do a Myth Busters style assault on this wallet to see what it takes for it to fail.

Stay tuned...

[Note: I am not affiliated with JIMI and not receiving any compensation for this blog post. I paid for my wallet out-of-pocket.]

[Also note: I coincidentally live in the city where Jimi the world-famous rock-n-roll guitarist is buried. Though there is likely no affiliation between the wallet makers and the musician's legacy.]

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