The Anson Calder MagSafe card wallet is a great alternative to the Apple MagSafe leather wallet used with Apple’s iPhone 12+ phones. It’s made from high quality French calfskin leather, but is it too expensive?
(if you want to see all the features and how many cards and cash it can hold, please watch the video)
The Anson Calder model iPhone MagSafe card wallet is rather a long name, kind of a mouthful, and it is this review’s wallet. The magnetic box is very consistent with Anson Calder. Their boxes are all the same, however, the difference lies in their inserts, which qualifies as a great manufacturing idea. The wallet we reviewed is orange, one of their most attractive colors, it also comes in two other colors, black, and navy. It did get slightly dirty after I have been carrying it for over a month, and I will share my carry experience after the review.
This wallet comes in a French calfskin, or a sports leather. Our reviewed wallet is a sports leather, which is still a fantastic Italian leather. The sewing is done well and is a little thicker at the top. They have a painted edge. It is very rigid and it looks like, not just the MagSafe magnet, but the entire back is made of rigid material. It is equipped with an external thumb push slot that gives front access to the cards, therefore, you do not have to take it off the phone. The internal card slot has a capacity of up to four cards and maybe one note, which is a little bit of cash. On the back, there is the MagSafe capable magnet that allows it to attach to an Apple iPhone 12 or better.
We have been looking at MagSafe wallets and I carried this one for over a month. It measures 4.5 x 3.25 x 0.6″ and weighs 41 grams, equivalent to 1.45 ounces. This wallet is leather and it is not pre-molded, so it will stretch. I had three cards in it but you can get up to four cards as that is the maximum that the company recommends, a reasonable carry would be one or two cards. Otherwise, you could fold cash and put it in. I did not do so to avoid stretching the leather out too much, which would have ruined its look, still, it is good to know that there is a possibility to stretch it. It is designed and made in the United States. Most Anson Calder wallets are available in the two types of leather that I mentioned, the French calfskin and then the other one called sports leather, which both are full-grain vegetable-tanned leather. The French calfskin leather is from France and calfskin has wonderful characteristics where it will contract slightly. Meaning that if you overstuff a wallet, even though it may expand a bit, it will contract instead of leaving you in a stretched-out wallet situation. Sports leather is an Italian leather that has a special coating that allows it to withstand more active lifestyle options, in addition, it is resilient to water, salt, it is stain resistant, and it keeps the vibrant colors longer. Moreover, all the Anson Calder products we have reviewed have impeccable quality and construction, they are a joy to use and to hold and they feel awesome. the drawback is that it has RFID, but we have already talked about why this is okay because when you attach it to your phone, you do not want to have the tap Apple Pay option, so interfering with a card does not matter.
Unlike the Apple MagSafe wallet, you do not have to remove it from your phone to get access to cards thanks to the thumb push slots which is something that the Apple wallet lacks. The little thumb push is slightly difficult due to the leather needing to break in. But once that happens, it becomes easy. Also, it does not overstretch very well because of the calfskin, which is awesome. The vertical alignment magnets that are found in the Apple wallet are a little bit better than in this wallet, but it is based on my unscientific example and testing. It fits nicely in the pocket on the phone or off the phone, besides, it works nicely as a standalone wallet. It feels and smells of leather and it is very attractive to carry and use. In addition to Apple cases, it works with the Anson Calder iPhone cases, or just on the phone itself. Anson Calder have their better way guarantee, which provides 100 day capability of using their products. So if you do not like it, you can send it back. They also warranty all their products for 10 years with a “repair it” or “replace it” promise, which is quite nice.
The final score of the Anson Calder model iPhone MagSafe card wallet is five for the quality because it is just fantastic; two for the price, that is because it is a bit pricier than competitor wallets with more capabilities; features scores a four, because it can fit four cards in cash with a thumb push slot, so you do not have to take it off your phone if you do not want to. Usability scores a three, because there is still the concern that if the leather overstretches, cards can fall out, but it still works as designed. Perception scores a five owing to the company standing by its products. I have visited their shop and they are very good people. This wallet gets a final score of 3.8 out of 5.
I carried this wallet for over a month, I had four cards, which I feel was a perfect balance. I had my ID, two credit cards, and my work access card. Those who have been following my other reviews or watched my videos know that I generally carry lots of cards in wallets, 8 to 10, so I had to downsize to make it work. However, over the six-month test, I did with the Apple MagSafe as well as the Distil Union Wally Junior wallet, graduating to four cards was quite nice. I wish Apple would come up with something like that. It quickly began to develop the patina as I used it, it did not take long, and it still smells good. It did take a few days to break in by way of the leather stretching a little bit to allow usage of the thumb push slot, but it broke in quickly within just a couple of days. It just feels good in the hand and looks good.
My likes for this wallet include the four cards capacity, one better than the MagSafe and that makes a big difference. The leather feels as it should, it is high-quality and it works much better as a standalone wallet. It just could be a nice slim wallet than anything else, being able to attach to your iPhone is almost a bonus, otherwise, it is a great standalone slim wallet.
My dislikes or suggestions are explicitly related to the fact that it is still problematic like similar MagSafe wallets, where it can strip off your phone, thus, the problem is an issue with the magnets, nothing with the wallet. These are the specifications that Apple gives manufacturers of how they can use it. So, if you wear super tight pants, it strips off. I still think that this is weaker than the Apple MagSafe wallet by way of the magnet strength. I do not know if it is just a design piece that Apple has maintained for themselves but, overall, it still worked great.
Pairing our cutout with Apple's innovative MagSafe technology makes it easier than ever to access your cards on the fly: fan your cards and select which you want, leaving the rest in place.
