WHY A WALLET MADE WITH DYNEEMA® ?
Why a wallet made with Dyneema® ? Not for weight savings, but strength-to-thinness. If you dislike wallets, then one of my wallets is a good way to go. They are as thin as it gets, so you’ll be more comfortable. These hold cash, but not cash the way a wallet designed 100 years ago does. Several bills, not a big wad of cash.
These wallets can be thought of mostly as a card slip--- with a cover to prevent the cards from falling out--- a bit of a hybrid. These wallets are designed for comfort. Practical and rigorous minimalism.
I designed the Hawbuck Lean wallet back in 2017-2018 because no matter how vigilant I was about de-cluttering my leather wallet, it never felt comfortable. I cycle to work, so my old wallet would go in my bag rather than my back pocket. At work, I'd put it on my desk rather than sit on it—back at home I'd realize I left my wallet on my desk. This wasn't working!
So I emptied out my wallet and pulled out my calipers—9.8mm thick, empty—3/8 inch. That’s crazy. It also weighed 55 grams--- not lightweight. This is an ordinary bi-fold leather wallet from a well-regarded leather company. So I began prototyping wallets made of Dyneema® that were stripped down to the minimum.
In this application, we are exploiting Dyneema® not so much for its strength-to-weight ratio as much as its strength-to-volume ratio, and low stretch. We want a thin wallet that doesn’t blow out or stretch too much.
After becoming accustomed to this extremely minimal wallet, there was no going back.
I've continued to refine the design, and am proud of where it is now. I've pared the design to the essential, the least.
These wallets tend to last folks between 2-4 years, they don’t last as long as traditional wallets. I have heard of them failing, but it’s very infrequent, usually they are retired for cosmetic reasons while they are still going strong functionally.
Over time, to keep them looking good, and extend the enjoyable lifespan of the wallets, please consider “flame-polishing” the edges. Find the tutorial here.
I’m proud of this design, and the way it puts 5 grams of material to work. The best thing as designer and as a maker is to hear stories of how much folks enjoy these. It’s a wallet that's almost not there.