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The Jimi Wallet - 3 weeks later.
May 16, 2006
Soon after reading about the Jimi wallet on 43 Folders, I decided to take the plunge and move away from my traditional wallet to one less, um, traditional. The Jimi promised to help me cut down on the junk I carry around in my wallet. And it does. So, three weeks into this Jimi trial I’ve decided to share what my experience has been using it - both good and bad.
The Good
Is that your wallet?
The Jimi is the flint and steel of conversations. Almost everytime I pull it out to pay for a beverage or at the grocery store, it sparks a comment from a stranger. It has become a total conversation starter. Mine is even more so, since I use the bright orange Jimi. It’s fun to see people’s reaction to it - even those that don’t say anything but just stare, wondering if you just fell off the Fisher Price™ bus.
Practical
Good looks aside, it’s a usable wallet. After 3 weeks, I don’t find myself wanting to return to the leather ass-wart I had previously. I’ve minimized what I need to carry around and hardly ever find myself needing something from my old stack of junk. I even tried to fit more into the wallet but when you do that it won’t close. Jimi done caught me.
It can also double as a sports wallet for biking, hiking or running. The Jimi has a loophole for a laynard that makes it easy to wear it around your neck. And since it’s plastic, it is at the very least water resistant (but I haven’t tried swimming with it, so your mileage and waterproofness may vary).
How I use it
As I mentioned above, the Jimi has forced me to drastically reduce what I carry with me. Here’s my inventory:
* Driver’s license
* Bank check/debit/atm card
* credit card
* REI Member card (occasionally)
* Cash (occasionally)
From the photos below you’ll see that I store my check/debit/ATM card in the money clip. I do this because I am a member of the cashless society and that is my cash. Occasionally, though, I do carry a small amount of currency with me (especially when travelling to or visiting other cities).
My REI member card can also occasionally be found in my Jimi, but I don’t carry it around regularly. It would be stored behind my driver’s license with the credit card.
Where’s the other stuff you might need?
OK, so my Jimi currently holds about 1/5 of the stuff I was carrying around with me previously. This can be a little confusing at times, since I always knew I had everything I could ever need with me at all times. It’s not that bad, though. It just takes some planning and strategic locating of needed items.
Car: In my car I store any of my store member cards (excluding REI) because I won’t be at the store if I’m not in the car (life in the ‘burbs). It’ just a matter of remembering to bring the card with me into the store, which I’ve forgotten to do several times and had to run out and retrieve it.
Home: The Jimi comes in a cloth satchel. That struck me as kind of weird, since the Jimi is made out of plastic, but who am I to know. Anyway, I repurposed the satchel as a storage place for any other old wallet items that I may need from time-to-time. I placed the satchel in my desk drawer - within easy reach - and have quick access to items like my health insurance card, extra car insurance card, voter’s registration card, important business cards, etc. This keeps these important items from getting scattered and reuses that weird black satchel.
The Bad
OK, it was only inevitable that I had a few criticisims of the Jimi.
First, I think it’s bigger that it needs to be. I am not an industrial designer, but there does seem to be some wasted space on the edges of the wallet. You can see this in the photos below. I would like to see the Jimi closer to the size of a credit card. Right now it’s larger than my RAZR cellphone.
Second, the lid or latch of the wallet it far too large. It it stylish and does sport the loophole for a laynard, but I’m not sure that the extra bulk it creates is worth it. The tallest part of the latch is probably close to 3/4 inch. And it’s all empty space.
Lastly, what is the black satchel for?
All in all...
The Jimi is good. I haven’t yet had the urge to switch back and I’m now comfortable with carrying around less. If they make the Jimi just a wee-bit smaller, I think it would push it from good to great.
Ryan,
I’ve had similar reactions since I purchased mine at about the same time. Mine is the “Sea Glass” nee Green one and I’ve already been stopped a few times asking if folks could see my wallet. If definitely does give you more conversations.
I like mine now that I’m used to it and yet, I’ve ran to my car twice for a Sam’s card and a grocery club card. Same problem. Mine didn’t come in a satchel though. Just a regular padded manila envelope! :)
Good pics - I need to post more myself.
REI (and most places that I have a member card or number - Blockbuster, Barnes and Noble, and the grocery store come to mind immediately) can look up your account with your phone number. I’ve stopped carrying all of my member cards.