Trayvax: A Different Kind and Minimalist Wallet that offers Unconventional Performance

Wallets...as far as history goes, they are relatively new and were not created until paper currency emerged.  Prior to the utilization of paper currency, coins or nuggets of precious metals were housed in sacks (mostly of leather) with a draw string.  However, as paper currency was invented and accepted, a new form of currency carrier needed to be developed.  If you doubt this historical trivia, step back for just a moment and answer this question -- what's the other name for wallet?  The answer proves the intended use for these new money holders -- billfold.  If you go into any store to purchase a wallet or billfold, you will discover the same designs as we've seen the past 50 years -- a bi-fold or a tri-fold format that is either entirely or partially made of leather.  About the only modifications to those designs have been "accessorization" of the wallet -- slots to hold credit cards and those plastic inserts to carry pictures of your family.  My friends, the design of the wallet has now changed!

Enter Trayvax - an American company based in Bellingham, Washington.

Trayvax has re-imaged the wallet with "rugged sophistication" and produced what they describe as the "wallet for life."  According to their website (www.trayvax.com), these wallets are 100% made in America as they are hand crafted in their facility.  They are a small company -- about 35 employees -- and have potential for growth.  They have many videos on the organization and are running a program now where they contribute a portion of a specific wallet (Original in Jurassic Camo) purchase to "Growing Veterans," which is a nonprofit that helps with veteran reintegration. 

If you know me, you know that I'm a conventionalist because "new things" often cost more.  I purposefully wait in purchasing the newest cell phones to save money.  If I am comfortable with conventional things, then why am I doing this review?  Well, this is a total rethinking of the normal wallet or billfold that challenges the normal assumption of placing the wallet in your back pocket.  While that was interesting, the cool look did as well.  But, there is an even more simple reason...in reading about the company, they stated that their designs are "to withstand the toughest conditions - and offer the most utility of any wallet, metal or otherwise, on the market anywhere."  Well, challenge accepted!!!

The wallet that I am testing is their "minimalist" wallet known as the Summit.  As you have read above, cost is a factor for me and this one is the cheapest in their line-up at $20.  In looking at the picture to the left, you can understand why it is their minimalist line -- just a strap and some metal. If only it were that simple!  They use aircraft aluminum and cold-rolled steel to forge the frame which was then covered in a baked on ceramic finish.


This wallet creation from Trayvax does not have paracord but incorporates a mil-spec nylon webbing.  You can get it in several colors grey, black, green, camo, or brown. The strap is woven through the frame and that creates the binding to hold the cards of the wallet.  Now, as the minimalist or entry line, please understand this will only hold up to 8 cards and no pictures.  This design, just like the others, have a spot for you to tie in paracord or slide in a carabiner to attach to a backpack or belt loop.

Before I proceed with the review, they have several other wallets in their line-up.  You can read all about them at: http://www.trayvax.com/collections.  A short, and I mean short, summary is below:

1. the Original -- aluminum platform, an incorporated bottle opener, finger grips on the side, 550 paracord, and a velcro pouch.
2. the Axis -- similar to the Original with a flip open design, paracord, and velcro pouch; however, you lose the bottle opener and finger grips.
3. the Element -- their top-of-the-line wallet that incorporates a great deal of leather.
4. the Accessories -- replacement straps for the Summit, key chains with bottle openers, carabiner, emergency whistle, and wrist straps.

Now, with some of the basics out of the way, let's turn to testing of this unit....

In looking at the structure of this wallet -- just a piece of metal with a strap -- questions arise regarding the security of your cards.  Yes, there is a slight inset so they fit and have an end piece to keep them from sliding directly out; however, you just wonder.  Well, I decided to give that a try and see just how secure they were; so I attempted three tests to shake out the cards.

1. Shake -- this first test was a simple one.  I held the Trayvax wallet by the the ends, trying to avoid any contact with the 8 cards.  In using my dominant arm, I shook the wallet several times and then took a stronger grip to shake it even harder for a short duration.  The rationale was sound:  a wallet fastened to a backpack with a carabiner would go through quite a bit of shaking.  As it turns out, those cards never moved.
2. Stairs -- with the wallet passing the first test, I stepped it up just a bit.  I put my son at the top of the stairs (15 feet up) and had him drop the wallet.  We did this several times so that he could practice dropping the wallet on an corner rather than landing flat.  All total, the wallet was dropped five times, and I recorded the last one. Here's an important piece of information - after each successive drop, I DID NOT adjust the cards.  What you see in the recording -- that the cards did not move at all -- was the culmination of all five drops. 
3. Sling -- so far, so good for the card security by the minimalist Summit wallet by Trayvax.  In my final test, I stepped it up a bit.  I had a shooting bench tabletop that I threw the wallet into -- once again, trying to hit the edge rather than it smacking the bench flat.  I was about 15 feet away when I threw it and, finally, the cards moved....but not much.  With the force of my throw and the impact into the wood, the eight cards (which are the maximum it will hold) moved a grand total of 3 millimeters.  For some perspective, that is less than the width of Kroger brand Wheat Saltine crackers (it was the first thing I thought of in the kitchen and I was hungry).  Here's what's important about that slight distance -- the entire deck moved as a unit meaning the cohesion protected the bond with the others.  If one card had moved alone, that would have compromised the rest meaning they would have scattered all over the place as I surmised.

When I examined the verbiage on this wallet, I noticed that it claimed to protect you from RFID scanning.  Some of you may not be worried about sophisticated identity theft from the use of high-powered scanners to grab your data, and that's fine.  But for someone that has been scammed in the past, I just have a higher sensitivity to these things.  Trayvax even admits that these types of thefts may be rare but do offer you ease of mind with the structure. 

Okay, we've all seen the "as seen on TV" commercials for the Aluma Wallet.  This unit resembles a make-up compact that women carry in their purses that is, as the name suggests, made of aluminum.  All your cards go inside and it provides total enclosure of the cards.  While this makes sense, how does the RFID blocking work for the minimalist Trayvax Element?  Even though the wallet is not a total enclosure as the one mentioned above, the principle is still the same -- the high-powered scanner emits radio waves to try and capture your information; however, the aircraft aluminum and cold-rolled steel serve as an interrupter.  Pretty cool, huh?

Please let me be clear -- I do not have a way to test this fact!  In reading through the Trayvax website, apparently, they have done some testing and here is there statement:  "Recent testing showed that the Trayvax Original, Element, Summit and Axis are 80 to 95% RFID resistant. The placement of your credit cards and intelligent IDs can increase the resistance to 90-95%.  Simply putting your RFID cards against or closer to the backplate of our wallets will increase resistance to 90-95%. A similar result comes from placing two RFID cards together which causes signal noise. The accumulated signal from multiple cards create a scrambled transmission that overloads the scanner making the information impossible to read. Our tests showed the simple step of how you organize the cards in our wallets,can increase the RFID resistance to 99%."  If you have additional questions about the RFID resistance, I suggest reaching out to them directly. 

In doing some additional reading on the topic, it appears that thieves really target folks that keep their wallets in the normal location -- the back pocket!  They apparently have a scanner in a backpack and bump up against you to be as close as possible to your wallet.  Some have suggested moving the wallet from your rear end to your front pocket as a method of making this more difficult.  Guess what?  The Trayvax wallets are not designed to go in the back pocket.  Again, you may be skeptical and do not think that you could have your identity stolen and you may be right, but these pieces are more than enough to just get you thinking.

This wallet is not one that I would continue to use but it's not for the reason that you think.  This minimalist creation is just a bit too minimalist for me.  I need one that holds more than 8 cards because I have a credit card or two and then all of the other cards you would find with an outdoorsman:  lifetime hunting license, BassPro, Cabelas, and other membership cards for the wallet.  I'm really taking a hard look at the Original Jurassic Camo (because of the donation to a veteran organization) or the Element (because it has leather and looks cool).  If I go for the Element, its going to take some time to save up for it; but I also like helping small companies that are American made.

Am I going to use this wallet?  You bet!!  It will become my "field wallet" for sure because it has the ability to hold my ID and hunting licenses without having everything else with me.  If you're one of "those people" like I am -- you know, the ones that are in the woods during pouring rain because you know the deer are there and other hunters are not -- you have experienced soaking wet wallets and the pains it takes to dry them out.  I do not have to worry about that with this wallet.  Besides, as the pictures below show, it attaches to my TimberHawk pack that is always with me in the woods.

In conclusion, this is a minimalist wallet.  If carry a great deal of cash or want those plastic inserts to display pictures of your family, well, this wallet is not one for you.  Even further with the conclusion, this is a minimalist wallet that offers unconventional performance.  Why do I reference this as "unconventional performance"?   Its design is simplistic and I immediately knew that I can eject those cards from the wallet without issue.  Admitting error is always a tough pill to swallow, but here goes -- I was wrong.  This wallet held those cards just as promised.  This wallet very well may be the last one you ever need to purchase.

So, support a growing American company and give these wallets a try. 

They Grow up Fast but Your Teaching will Last

Last Sunday was a monumental day in our family.  Our third child - the surprise that we call the "Texas Tornado" because of his rambunctious nature -- has become too big for the backpack carrier.  Let's be honest here...daddy, loved (and I mean LOVED) the time with each of the kids in that backpack carrier.  In case you doubt that, look at these pictures below:

 

Not only did that carrier provide great exercise, but it also afforded me precious, quality time with my kids.  The joy of my heart was having the children outside rather than sitting inside in front of a television or playing some video games.  My favorite activity of all is shown in the second picture -- them on my back while shooting my bow.  All three of them learned to sit still when daddy drew the arrow back and they were give their own version of commentary about the success of the shot afterwards.



Here is a short video of that last walk.  Make them feel special by taking lots of pictures or videos with them.  Record your voice and theirs to have forever.  I lost my mom to cancer about 3.5 years ago and miss her terribly.  Quite frankly, I call my dad's cell when I know it is turned off because the voice mail is her voice.  These pictures or videos would serve as constant reminders of your relationship if anything ever happened. 

These little ones grow up so quickly, and this blog is a personal reminder that every moment of every day matters for every child.  We are to be intentional and purposeful in our daily actions.  Why?  Everything that we do teaches those little ones something, so step back for a moment and ask yourself this question -- just what are you teaching your children right now in this moment?  Yes, these children grow up fast, but the things that you have taught them will last.

The Bible tells us in Psalm 127:3 that "children are a heritage from the Lord" (ESV).  Most versions of this verse swap out the word "heritage" and replace it with "gift;" so let's look at that for a moment.  The Hebrew term for heritage references property or possessions that are inherited from a benevolent father.  God is our Heavenly Father and He has entrusted us with something very special in giving us children.  We must make sure that we treat them like the special things that they are.  What we pass along to them, as they grow up and become parents, will be taught to their children; so our moments now will influence future generations.

In conclusion, God has given us one life to live.  We get one opportunity, so let's commit to being faithful to Him and getting it right.  We do that by remaining "steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord" (I Corinthians 15:58).  Stay focused on Him and He will work through you in the lives of your children.



Big thank you to Texas Hog Hunters for the hat (the "Texas Tornado" loves that hat), Bracketron for the camera mount, UltraProX for the camera that recorded the last walk, and Kelty for the backpack carrier that last three children over 8 years.