The Zippo Stainless Steel Wallet Review

Back in 2012 Zippo released what was probably its most innovative wallet to date. Best known for its array of popular lighters Zippo has branched out to an array of goods including but not limited to the likes of wallets, flashes, and a range of camping accessories. This Zippo wallet wasn’t like a normal wallet. With the outside made entirely from stainless steel with an internal flexible polymer body, the wallet resembled the likes of many modern hardshell wallets on the market today but had a certain luxurious aesthetic that is still distinctive and unique nearly 10 years later. 

Unfortunately, The Zippo Stainless Steel wallet doesn’t exist anymore. It’s hard to know why this wallet failed or why it was removed from Zippo’s product offering. The wallet itself had potential and looking at the way the wallet industry has evolved in the last decade, with the increased popularity of metal and minimalist sized wallets, it’s interesting to better understand why it failed. This article is going to look into the Zippo Wallet and provide a fair impartial review of this innovative wallet. 

Look & Design

To say the Zippo wallet had an unusual or innovative design is a bit of an understatement. The wallet itself is made from a combination of metal but still retained a more traditional bi-fold design. This is odd within the wallet industry as most metal wallets usually take a more minimalist compact design and try to go against the grain by retaining this classic bi-fold look that’s been a staple in wallet design for over 100 years. 

It’s hit or miss whether the reason for the eventual failure and discontinue of the Zippo wallet was down to its design where the metal and bi-fold shape don’t compliment each other. It’s a potential, as I’ve not come across another wallet that uses this design so it’s hard to know. I really don’t see anything wrong with the design. Being stainless steel provided the Zippo Wallet with a strong and protective environment for cash and cards which its internal polymer body, although a little cheap feeling, provided even more protection and a nice balance. 

Functionality & Utility 

The wallet’s functionality and ease of use are probably where the wallet gets mixed opinions. If you watched the review video above (from an actual customer from 6 years ago) then you can probably get a good gauge at where the wallet’s advantages and disadvantages lie. Personally, the layout is quite innovative. Each side of the bi-fold provides storage for an array of different items. On the left, a dedicated slot for storing credit/debit cards. On the adjacent side, is another place dedicated to storing your banknotes. In the middle of the wallet is what can only be described as a swinging panel that protrudes from the wallet and allows for even more storage of credit/debit cards with 4 additional card slots on each side. 

It’s hard to know whether this layout is something that was effective or good in practice. Various reviews across the internet suggest that the wallet had an issue with things being held in place, and you’d often find cash and cards fall out only to be greeted with a rattling sound as cards bounce around inside. People also didn’t like the internal ‘plastic’ material of choice for the inside. Being quite hard it was oftentimes difficult to handle items inside providing a poor user experience. 

Final Verdict

When looking on the way back machine and through various articles across the web, it seems the Zippo Stainless Steel Wallet can be bought at a price tag of around $49.95. considering the unique aspects of the wallet, and the fact metal wallets were uncommon and a new innovation at the time, I think the Zippo Wallet was reasonably priced. 

Overall I really liked what the Zippo Stainless steel wallet had to offer. It was innovative, ahead of its time, and provided great security and durability. I think the biggest factor contributing to its eventual demise can in the fact its larger size was uncomfortable when factoring in its solid design and its satisfactory storage. Since the Zippo Steel Wallet has been discontinued it’s very difficult to find a place to sells the wallet. You may be able to find used ones on places like eBay, but if you’ve got your heart set on this wallet you may be able to find it knocking about on other sites across the web.