The three formats
ID/card case. A clear window on one side holds your license face out, so you show it without digging it out. Airports, bars, job sites, anywhere you're asked for it repeatedly. Tumbled glove leather at $72, hornback croc embossed calfskin at $115, American bison at $117.
Gusseted card case. Gusseted means the sides are folded so they expand, like the sides of a paper bag. It holds noticeably more than it looks like it should and it stays flat when it isn't full. Tumbled glove leather at $92.
Business card case. Built for your own cards rather than your credit cards, in the exotic skins. Genuine ostrich at $195, genuine alligator at $297, lined in calfskin.
On business card cases
Handing someone a card out of a worn bifold and handing one out of an alligator case are two different gestures, and everyone notices the second one without being able to say why.
It's also the reason these make good gifts. Anyone who still exchanges cards at conferences, in sales, in law, in real estate, does it a hundred times a year, and almost nobody buys one for himself.
If you do carry one, keep your cards clean and facing the same direction. The case only works if what comes out of it looks as good as the case does.
Why a card case instead of a wallet
Three reasons, and only one of them is about money.
You carry less than you think. Most men use two cards, a license, and occasionally an insurance card. Everything else in a bifold is sediment.
It goes in a front pocket. Flat, small, no fold, so it sits against your leg instead of wedging into your back pocket. Nothing to sit on all day.
It costs less. Our card cases start at $72 against $122 for the least expensive bifold.
What you give up is cash. A card case holds a folded bill or two, not a stack. If you carry real cash, look at a cash cover or a money clip.
The leathers
Tumbled glove leather at $72 to $92 is full grain calf, drum tumbled until it's supple. The best value on the page and the one to start with.
American bison at $117 has a natural open pebble grain that hides scuffs, which matters more on a card case than a belt because it lives in a pocket with keys.
Hornback croc embossed calfskin at $115 is calfskin pressed with a crocodile spine pattern. Real leather, borrowed pattern, and we say so every time.
Genuine ostrich at $195 is the quill pattern, soft and unmistakable.
Genuine American alligator at $297 is the top of the page, lined in calfskin so your cards wear against smooth leather rather than fabric.
Care
Cards are abrasive and pockets are full of keys, so a card case takes more surface wear than a belt does. That's fine, and on bison and tumbled calf it looks better for it.
Wipe with a dry cloth. Condition lightly at most twice a year with very little product, and less than that on exotics, which are finished at the tannery.
Don't force a new case full. Leather relaxes to what you put in it over the first few weeks, so start with what you actually carry and let it shape itself.
Related
For cash as well as cards, see Cash Covers and Money Clips. For the traditional format, see Bifold Wallets. Everything is in all wallets, and the ones under $100 are in Gifts Under $100.
Questions we get
What is a gusseted card case?
Gusseted means the sides are folded so they expand, like the sides of a paper bag. It holds more than a flat case and lies flat again when it isn't full.
What is an ID card case?
A card case with a clear window on one side that holds your license face out, so you can show it without taking it out.
What's the difference between a business card case and a credit card case?
A business card case is sized for your own cards and built to present them well. A credit card case is sized for cards you carry and use. Our exotic skin cases are business card cases.
How many cards fit in a card case?
Fewer than a bifold, by design. A gusseted case holds the most. Don't force a new case full, since the leather relaxes to what you carry over the first few weeks.
Can you carry cash in a card case?
A folded bill or two, not a stack. For real cash, a cash cover or a money clip is the better format.
Is a card case better than a wallet?
If you carry a few cards and rarely use cash, yes. It's flatter, it sits in a front pocket, and it costs less. If you carry cash daily, it isn't.
What's the least expensive one you carry?
The tumbled glove leather ID/card case at $72, which is the least expensive wallet we sell.
