Building the Perfect EDC Wallet
Building the Perfect Everyday Carry Wallet
Here’s how to make sure you always have what you need close at-hand.
It seems like the stuff I carry in my pockets is always changing. I’m constantly trying out new wallets, slimming things down, and swapping things out.
My old job at Huckberry involved field testing a lot of EDC tools and other everyday carry gear, and I like to think that after all those years, I’ve gotten pretty good at building streamlined kits that have everything you need and nothing you don’t.
Once I created what I think is the perfect EDC keychain, I turned my attention to trying to build the perfect everyday carry wallet.
I wanted to keep all of the essentials neatly organized, while also having space for a few tools and extras that might come in handy. But most importantly, I wanted to make sure I didn’t end up stuffing it to the gills and creating my own back-breaking version of the Costanza Wallet.
Below I’ve broken down everything from the items themselves, to where I carry them in my wallet.
Check it out and hopefully I inspire you to start pulling together one of your own.
The Bellroy Note Sleeve
Bellroy is one of my favorite everyday carry brands. Based out of Australia, their designs are clean and minimal, their materials are durable, and they hold themselves to an incredibly high standard of sustainability.
They’ve become great friends over the years, and after a few years when my wallet finally gives way, I always end up coming back for another.
The Bellroy Note Sleeve wallet holds 4-11 cards, cash, coins, and has a pull-tab for quickly and easily accessing cards that are used less often. The wallet is made from premium, environmentally-certified leather, is RFID-blocking, and comes backed by Bellroy’s bulletproof 3-year warranty.
In the year or so that I’ve owned it, I’ve found the Bellroy Note Sleeve Wallet to have everything I need and nothing I don’t. It offers plenty of space for packing away a few essential items and tools without sacrificing its slim profile.
How It’s Organized:
In the main billfold, I try to keep at least $20 in cash broken up into one $10, one $5, and five $1 dollar bills.
I find it’s good to have those different amounts for when you want to tip the valet or hotel maid with a five, and your barista or bartender with a few ones. Plus, you never know when you’re gonna come across the perfect $10 duck lamp at a yard sale.
I keep one dollar in quarters, a flat roll of duct tape, and a paper clip hidden in the coin pocket.
In the center fold, I’ve clipped a walkie mini pen for filling out custom forms, jotting down notes, etc.
In the RFID pocket, I keep two forever postage stamps, an emergency $20 bill, two alcohol swabs, three nexcare bandages, moleskine for blisters, and a fresnel lens which can be used for both magnifying and fire-starting.
I tuck my less frequently used cards (health and dental insurance etc.) in the pull-tab section so that I don’t have to sift through them when trying to find my driver’s license and credit cards.
The Basics
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
I use a Chase Sapphire Preferred Card as my primary credit card. It offers a bonus of 60,000 points ($600 cash) when you spend $4,000 within the first three months, and 3x rewards on dining, 2x on travel, and 1x on everything else.
Plus, if you redeem your points for travel through the Chase rewards portal, those points are worth an incredible 25% more than cash back.
Those points add up quickly, and because travel also includes Lyft and Uber, be sure to link your card to those accounts to earn the maximum amount of points possible.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card comes with no foreign transaction fees, so it’s a great option for international travel. It also comes with additional travel benefits like:
Primary insurance coverage for collision and theft in the U.S. and abroad
Towing up to five miles
Flat tire changes (provided the cardholder has a spare tire)
Jump-start to boost the car battery.
Lockout service (but key replacement isn't included)
Fuel delivery of up to five gallons (cost of fuel not included)
Winching within 100 feet of paved or county-maintained roads
Assistance is available 24/7 and can be reached by calling 1-800-847-2869
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card costs $95 annually, but that fee is waived for the first year, and I’ve found that in the five years I’ve owned this card, the points I’ve earned have more than made up for that cost.
Plus, you can earn an additional 15,000 bonus points by signing up through this link.
AAA Card
I’ve had a AAA membership ever since I first got my license.
It’s an incredibly useful tool to have in your back pocket, especially if you’re driving long distances, have an older car, or find yourself frequently traveling across the country.
Below are just a few of the benefits to having AAA membership.
Roadside Assistance:
As a AAA Classic member, you have access to 24/7 roadside assistance including free towing up to 3 miles, $50 toward windshield repair or replacement, and emergency delivery of fuel if you run out of gas on the side of the road.
The toll-free number (1-800-AAA-HELP) is available to you 24 hours a day and you’re allowed 4 free service calls per year with the Classic membership.
AAA is a great complimentary back up to the roadside assistance that comes as an added benefit of our Chase Preferred Card.
Identity Theft Protection:
Your AAA membership offers you the below identity theft tools and monitoring services for free.
Internet & Dark Web Monitoring
Social Media Monitoring
24/7 Live AAA Support
Locksmith Services:
For Classic members, AAA’s locksmith benefit covers a cost of $50. For Plus members it’s $100, and for Premier members it’s $150.
If you’ve ever been locked out of your vehicle or had your keys stolen or misplaced, you know just how valuable this benefit can be.
Theft Reward:
There are also lots of other additional worst-case benefits, like the $1,000 reward AAA will pay for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a person stealing or causing a hit-and-run accident involving any eligible vehicle registered in the name of the member.
Car Rentals Through Hertz:
Your AAA card also grants you free Hertz #1 Club Gold membership and special AAA member discounts at all Hertz Rental Centers.
Discounts:
AAA has a number of partner discounts that you can take advantage of all across the country. These include up to 50% off your first Hello Fresh meal subscription box, up to 20% off dog and cat food at Petco, and up to 45% off select apparel and outdoor products at Backcountry.
There are some noteworthy benefits that might lead me to eventually upgrading to the Plus or Premier level of membership, like free towing up to 100 miles, and no payment required for emergency fuel delivery.
The benefits of the Premier membership level are the ones that are most compelling to me: Emergency Medical Transportation coverage up to $25,000, Worldwide Trip Interruption Reimbursement up to $1,500, and Worldwide Baggage Reimbursement up to $500. If you were to lose your bags, have to cancel a trip, or worst-case require airlifting or other emergency medical transportation — the $119 annual fee of a Premier membership would be well worth the cost.
The Chase United Explorer Card
This is the credit card I use for shared purchases and as a back-up in the event that my primary personal card doesn’t work for one reason or another.
The Chase United Explorer Card offers lots of travel benefits like:
Free checked bag on United-operated flights (a savings of up to $140 per roundtrip)
25% back on in-flight purchases of food, beverages, and Wi-Fi
Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check fee credit (up to $100)
Priority boarding for the cardholder and other travelers on the same reservation
Two United Club passes (over a $100 value)
Enjoy complimentary guest privileges, including daily breakfast for two, complimentary Wi-Fi, and more.
Extra Items
Folded 3M Black Duct Tape
I keep a couple feet of folded 3M Black Duct Tape in the coin pocket of my Bellroy Note Sleeve Wallet.
It folds down very flat, and since I always have my wallet on me, it offers the ability to make some quick repairs like patching a jacket, fixing a tear in a tent, or sealing a pair of boots, even if I’m far away from home. Duct tape can also be used to cover blisters, remove splinters, and lots more.
(Check out this article for some clever ways to use duct tape)
A useful trick for folding duct tape onto itself is to cut and attach a small piece of wax paper to the very beginning of the tape before folding it over.
This helps keep the duct tape easy to unfold and tear as needed, without sticking too much to the tape itself.
1969 First Moon Landing Forever Stamps
I keep two of these 1969 First Moon Landing Forever Stamps tucked into the RFID pocket of my Bellroy Note Sleeve Wallet.
They’re flat and compact so they don’t take up much space, and they can be used to mail a one-ounce letter regardless of when the stamps were purchased. I write a lot of letters and often send prints of my photography, so it’s helpful to have a couple stamps close at hand.
These new commemorative 1969 First Moon Landing Forever Stamps ones were my favorite design, but you can check out a wider selection at USPS.
Sterile Alcohol Prep Pads
I keep two of these Dynarex Sterile Alcohol Prep Pads in my wallet to help clean up any cuts and scrapes before using one of the Nexcare Waterproof Bandages.
You can get a whole pack of two hundred for less than $5, and they fold particularly flat compared to other brands — so they’re perfect for keeping your wallet slim and not adding any unnecessary bulk.
Nexcare Clear Waterproof Bandages
These Nexcare Waterproof Bandages are my favorite type of band-aid. They seal out water, dirt, and grime, and they stay on for much longer than your average fabric bandages.
I keep three of these in the RFID pocket of my Bellroy Note Sleeve Wallet so that I can treat minor cuts and scrapes on-the-go.
Walkie Mini Pen
The Walkie Mini Pen is the smallest and mightiest travel pen I’ve been able to find. It’s much smaller than my other favorite, the Zebra SL-F1 Mini Pen, and weighs next to nothing.
It fits neatly into the center fold of the wallet without taking up any extra space, and has plenty of everyday uses from filling out customs forms on flights, to jotting down notes like phone numbers and addresses.
First-Aid Moleskin
These flat pieces of moleskin are incredibly slim, but offer a ton of much-needed relief if you develop a blister and want to keep it from becoming infected or inflamed.
Since I like to hike and live in a city with lots of hills, it’s good to have some moleskin on hand just in case.
Paperclip
If MacGyver taught us anything, it’s that paperclips have tons of uses. You can use them to remove the SIM Card from your cell phone, fix a broken zipper, repair eyeglasses and more.
I like these ones with a black coating as they have the added capability of being an insulated wire for conducting electricity.
Fresnel Lens
These Fresnel Lenses can be used as magnifiers, rulers, and even fire-starters.
When angled the right way, sunlight passes through the magnifying lens and is concentrated into a beam. That beam can be used to ignite flammable material and start a fire anywhere you can see the sun.
The ruler feature on these is also a handy use of space and can be used to measure small items.
The card magnifies up to 4x — useful for reading fine print, looking at small details on road maps, and more.