The most recent product from Fantom wallets was delivered to me from their Kickstarter campaign. This is called the Fantom C slim wallet. It’s a standalone wallet, but also Magsafe capable, so it can be used with your iPhone 12 or newer. This model begins to remove my concerns about the size and usability of their original wallets.
Compared to the R model, it’s significantly smaller. The Fantom C achieves this by removing the level mechanism to fan cards and decreases the height of the wallet so all functions with cards are done with your hands, and only comes in carbon fiber as of now.
First thing we notice is the main card slot. The entry point is on the side. It also has a fanning slot on the back. This is where you take your thumb or finger and you push cards out. On the front is where there’s also a thumb opening in order to slide a card out.
The Fantom C is also MagSafe capable, which allows it to connect to the back of your iPhone 12 or newer phone or to Apple certified iPhone cases. I was able to insert 5 flat cards and 4 embossed cards. The company recommends 3-5.
From a quality perspective, this is designed in Canada and made in China. The C model follows all the material goodness from the R model. It’s an all aluminum chassis, which has been ceramic coated and is durable. It does have RFID protection. I believe it’s very drop proof due to how the cards are inserted at an angle. The size is impressive as it’s the same size as the Apple wallet, which is also another MagSafe wallet for use with the iPhone 12. That makes the Fantom C just larger than a credit card except for depth. The wallet suffers from a no cash carry option unless you abandon a couple cards and fold the cash in thirds or fourths. I would hope a future option would provide a cash clip as there’s no way to attach one currently due to the MagSafe feature.
It measures 3.7 x 2.5 x 0.3”, it’s all metal and weighs 61 grams. My perception is that Fantom wallets have always been too big for me when compared to the capacity you have available, but with the Fantom C, we’re seeing the company move in a new direction with more streamlined, compact wallets, while still keeping their unique design elements.
Now onto the final score, for quality of 5, this wallet is built really well. Price a 3 as we’re pushing that upper boundary of price versus value, but it’s still acceptable. Features a 2, missing the ability to carry cash was an oversight which I hope is rectified in the future. Usability a 3 and perception a 4. That gives us a final score of 3.7 out of 5
As small as a credit card and with MagSafe support, the Fantom C is an excellent slim wallet option.
