Look no further, you’ve found the BEST wallet Fantom has created so far, the Fantom X. It takes all the learnings from the Fantom C MagSafe and Fantom R wallets into a small, easy to carry, minimalist wallet.
I compare the Fantoms R, Fantom C and Fantom X to show why the Fantom X wallet is the best Ansix Designs has ever made.
(if you want to see all the features and how many cards and cash it can hold, please watch the video)
In this review, we will see the Fantom X, the newest Ansix Design wallet in their Fantom lineup. I will show you why this is their best wallet yet as we see the difference between this one and the Fantom R and the Fantom C.
Fantom X has the capacity of four to seven cards, it also comes in a 5 to 10, and a 7 to 13. The one we reviewed is the carbon fiber version, but it also comes in bamboo and Walnut. If you watch the video, you would be wanting to tell me, “Mark, this looks just like the other Fantom wallets.” Well, it does, but it does not, and you will see why as we get into the details. It is very well constructed, and a little flexible. Furthermore, I love the size of this wallet.
Why is this one the best wallet Fantoms have ever offered so far? The size is the answer. Compared to the R and the C, that is quite noticeable.
From a feature perspective, it has an interior card slot plus the main one which provides the card storage that is based on the size, 4 to 7, 5 to 10, and 7 to 13. It has got the fanning thumb slot as well as the traditional lever that is seen on the larger Fantoms, and this helps the card extraction. One thing that is not unique, as it is also in the C, but it is interesting for this wallet, is a little pass that is an insertion slot.
The new Fantom X measures 4 x 2.5 x 0.4” and weighs 45 grams or 1.6 ounces. I would like to remind you that I buy all the wallets I review, which means I can say what I want.
How does the X compare to both the R and the C models? Well, watch the video if you want to find out.
Being that this is the four to seven card model, I put five cards in but you can get upwards to 11 or 12 on the larger capacity. The company recommends seven, 10, or 13 cards as the max. But every wallet I have ever tested can only handle up to one before the last card. For example, this has a maximum carry of seven. I put the six in first and that worked just fine and looks good. The seven can barely fit in, but in this case, we are still able to get the full amount, which will be an issue in the case of embossed cards. With embossed cards, meaning raised numbers and letters, it can accommodate six cards that might be difficult to get out, but you are able to make that work.
This is designed and made in Canada, and has two pieces of CNC’ed 6061 aluminum.
Fantom wallets are very durable, but the X has an Achilles heel point, which is the pass or gap that I mentioned earlier. The gap exists at the top, if you look very closely, you can see that it is connected at only one point below. The point of mentioning this is where this involves a bit of a risk since this is not one piece of CNCed aluminum but two that are connected together, so the question is whether or not this would break if it was dropped and happened to hit just right.
Finally, compared to the C, and the R, the most prominent thing you see immediately is the size, and as I mentioned before, the R is just way too big, to fit in my pocket. When they introduced the C, which is a Magsafe wallet and has a full review available that you may look at if you are interested, the difference in the Magsafe wallet between the R and the X is primarily that it is missing the extraction lever which is provided in both the R and this new X. Another thing to point out between the X and the R is the accessory holes. If you are interested in the R version, we did a full review of all the accessories, and there are three holes on the R and two on the X that are noticed immediately. Moreover, due to the insertion given point for cards on the X, we lose the ability, like with the R, to have a cash clip.
The final score of the Fantom X is 5 for quality, 1 for the price, that is because it is incredibly expensive, even compared to the R. Features score 2 because it misses accessory for cash, however, this score will improve once those accessories come out but I am sure they will charge you for those as well. Usability scores 5, which is well-deserved for the no-brainer and multiple ways to get cards out. Perception scores 4, as the quality is very high and the engineering is impressive. This gives this wallet a final score of 3.8 out of 5.
The compact, modular design of the Fantom wallet makes it so you can fit all your essentials – right in your front pocket.
