This is the Grid wallet here. It’s got a nice silver aluminum front and back, but as I open the box. I can see there are some scratches on it already. That’s interesting, because I remember reading some of the reviews on this product, and they said that it does have a tendency to scratch up quite easily. Looks like ours came like that.
Regardless, let’s pull this out of the box and see what we’ve got. Along with the wallet you have a screwdriver. The box is a nice, foam box cut out specifically for the wallet and screwdriver. The screwdriver is used to take care of the screws that hold the front and back portions to the interior plastic pieces. Between the plastic pieces lie the elastic fabric. If you look at this wallet, you can tell that it’s got a very thin exterior of aluminum on both sides, with plastic on the inside where it’s screwed into. It has a money clip on the backside aluminum piece.
(if you want to see all the features and how many cards and cash it can hold, please watch the video)
On the bottom we have a notch which is the push point that allows you to access the cards by pushing the cards up and then do a “pinch” action which flairs the cards so you can access the one you want.
Let’s demonstrate that. The company says is has a capacity of 12 cards. It is a pinch style. I do like the fact that the pinch point, or the push point, is right in the middle. There are others, like the Ridge wallet, that are offset. I like this in the middle, so that you have the ability to push this up, grab the side, push it up.
I placed a full 10 cards in the wallet. I imagine that this is more comfortable with about eight, but it can handle it just fine. As you can see on the edge here, this is where we have the elastic that’s holding the cards on both sides and a small piece that wraps the bottom to keep the cards in. The elastic bands go in between the metal and the plastic, so if they ever broke, there is the ability to get in here by taking off these screws and replacing the elastic.
Now, if we talk about the features of this wallet, it has RFID capability. As I’ve talked several times, I don’t really believe in the RFID threat. It’s not really a threat anymore. Near field communication (NFC), it’s more encrypted and while a possible problem it’s not. RFID is really a marketing tool these days than anything else. Don’t believe the RFID threat.
The wallet is very simple, but very efficient. I wouldn’t say it’s elegant, but it does exactly what it was designed to do, which is nice. Like other wallets, GRID was crowdfunded, and they take customer service very seriously, they provide a full wallet replacement for two years if you have any problems, and that kind of customer service speaks volumes to how much they back their products.
Let’s get into the review of the GRID band silver aluminum wallet. On quality, I’d give it a 3. It came scratched, so that was kind of a problem. It looks like the metal is quite thin. It’s not as resilient. It could just be that it is the aluminum, but I have seen better in other bands. Pricing, I’m going to give it a 1. This really is a comparison of are you getting value from the quality, features, and usability from the price. And in this case, I’d say no. I’d say this is more around a $30 wallet, maybe $45 at the most.
For features, I’m going to give it a 3. Very normal for what it provides and what you would expect from this wallet. Same thing for usability. I like the push slot more in the middle for the pinch access, but that’s a 3. It’s what you would hope for. And by way of perception, I’m going to give it a 3 as well. It came in a nice package, but you know, it was scratched, and it looks like the elastic band is also starting to fray a little bit, so that gives us a final score of 2.6 out of 5.
This is our review and overview of the GRID silver aluminum band wallet. Look below in the notes for links to look at this wallet, it comes in other colors.
This wallet has been discontinued, a like wallet is below.
The Ridge wallet is an excellent band wallet. It’s materials and presentation provide a great experience.
