The Wallet Shoppe
A men’s wallet with notepad combination solves a specific problem: today we expect our billfolds — like our smartphones — to serve multiple functions, and to make our lives easier by consolidating our everyday essentials in one place.
The Wallet with Notepad Combo
That’s why we opt for the clever combination of wallet + notebook to hold your cards, money, tech, journal, and pen all in one place.
A world traveler trying to reduce clutter in a carry-on bag and a businessman trying to trim down his briefcase end up wanting the same thing: a slim, single object that replaces two.
Some quick notes:
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Most of the covers here take a standard 3.5 x 5.5-inch Field Notes booklet. The writing pads and the KenzaPad use their own refills.
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A Field Notes booklet is close to passport size, so a lot of these double as passport holders on a trip.
For the Adventurer
Let’s take a closer look at this collection of travel wallets with notepads - perfect for the globetrotter with stories to tell:
Dango P02 Pioneer Travel Wallet
Material: DTEX · Card capacity: Up to 8 · Passport capacity: Up to 3
With room for three passports and RFID protection for your credit cards, the Dango P02 Pioneer is the ultimate travel wallet. Its versatile industrial design creates ample storage for your most important travel items, and the DTEX material is water resistant. Though you can pack the Pioneer as a traditional wallet, the attachment points let you tether it to a belt or backpack, or add Dango’s shoulder strap (the strap and pen are extras). The Pioneer even comes with a five function multitool that doubles as the clasp: a 1/4” hex socket, chisel, bottle opener, flat head screwdriver, and a Phillips head screwdriver.
Lifetime Leather Co. Personalized Leather Field Notes Wallet
Material: Full-grain American leather · Card capacity: Up to 15 · Guarantee: Lifetime repairs
Lifetime Leather is a family-owned company with humble beginnings. As the story goes, founder Ty Bowman was short of money for Christmas gifts, spotted a leather couch someone had thrown out, hauled it home and turned it into wallets and bracelets for friends and family. These days Lifetime Leather hand-cuts and stitches this wallet in Phoenix from full-grain American leather, with burnished, waxed edges. Thanks to that leather, the Field Notes wallet has a rustic look that makes it well suited to the rugged adventurer. Three tiered card sleeves hold up to fifteen cards, with a cash sleeve and additional sleeves for a notebook, receipts or passport.
For added flair, you can even customize the front with your initials or a fire-branded design! The wallet comes ready to go with a Field Notes journal and Zebra pen, and the maker offers repairs for life. At 6.25 x 3.75 inches closed, it’s a jacket-pocket or back-pocket wallet.
Hank’s Notesman and Credit Card Wallet
Material: Steerhide leather · Notebook: Built-in notepad and pen
Most of this list is a cover you fill with your own notebook. The Notesman comes with the notepad and pen already in it, and the pad’s sheets are perforated, so a note you tear out comes away clean. Hank’s makes it in the USA from North American steerhide that picks up a patina as it ages. Six to eight cards or a stack of business cards go in the slots, and a small flap holds receipts. Closed, it’s 4.5 x 3.5 inches.
Main Street Forge Leather Passport Holder
Material: Full-grain leather · Use: Passport or pocket notebook · Warranty: Lifetime guarantee
Main Street Forge’s passport holder is hand-finished from full-grain American leather and made in the USA. Passport, tickets, cash and cards go in the interior pockets, and a 3.5” x 5.5” notebook slots in alongside them, which is the whole reason it’s on this list. Seven colorways, from Midnight Black through the reddish Tobacco Snakebite, and the leather takes on a patina as it wears. The maker offers a lifetime guarantee.
For the Entrepreneur
Here’s a few notepad wallets to help you stay organized and take care of business:
Sovereign Gear Leather Field Notes Cover
Material: Leather · Notebook size: 3.5 x 5.5 inches
With an elastic pen sleeve, four interior pockets, and a slot for a USB drive or key, this compact cover is the perfect work companion whether you work at a desk or out in the field. The wallet is made of vintage “crazy horse” leather, a waxed finish that gives the surface a rustic look and shows marks with use. As an added bonus, the maker’s gift set comes with a leather-look pen and a simple lined paper booklet.
TORAKIP Leather Journal Cover for Field Notes
Material: Leather · Notebook size: 3.5 x 5.5 inches
This leather journal cover has a pen loop, and elastic bands hold a refillable 3.5” x 5.5” notebook securely in place. What’s more, card slots and interior pockets make for ample storage for your cards, money and receipts. Though this wallet may not fit perfectly into your pocket, the leather gives an air of sophistication for an accessory that makes a statement. Paper isn’t included.
Kenneth Cole Reaction Faux Leather Mini Bifold Writing Pad
Material: PVC faux leather · Format: Junior padfolio
Kenneth Cole’s older Reaction writing-pad design puts cards and paper in the same bifold. The junior padfolio measures 9 x 6.5 x 0.75 inches, so this is a bag-sized organizer rather than a pocket wallet. The bifold’s open construction is conducive to quick note taking, while three card slots keep your cards beside the writing pad. This wallet also includes a clear ID card window and a built in lined writing pad, with space for top- or side-bound replacement pads. (The refills are writing pads, not Field Notes booklets.)
For the Artist
Moving on now, at a few wallets with notepads we think will help channel your artistic side (OK, perhaps that’s a bit of a stretch, but these wallets are both practical and stylish):
Hide & Drink Leather Field Notes Cover & Wallet Case
Material: Full-grain leather · Notebook size: 3.5 x 5.5 inches
Hide & Drink’s design is first and foremost a notebook cover, but with two interior pockets it can double as a wallet or passport holder, making it perfect for the writer, artist, globetrotter, or habitual notetaker. Hide & Drink’s leather is cut and sewn by hand by artisans in La Antigua, Guatemala. Full grain leather simply means that they use the outermost layer of cowhide to lend the finished product more texture and character. The Hide & Drink cover is sized for a 3.5 x 5.5-inch notebook and includes a card slot. It’s a good pick if the notebook is the main item you want to protect and you only need a small amount of wallet storage.
D & M Leather Studio Vintage Pocket Notebook Cover
Material: Leather · Notebook size: 3.5 x 5.5 inches
The leather cover is hand sewn using thick wax thread that contrasts nicely with the velvety brown leather, making it ideal for the aesthetically inclined gentleman. The gloss, color, and character of the wallet changes over time, giving it a rustic, distressed look that artists will appreciate. While the wallet does have two card slots and a pocket for cash, the real appeal is the central pen loop and sturdy leather backing to support your writing needs.
Robrasim Leather Journal Cover (Coffee)
Material: Leather · Notebook size: 3.5 x 5.5 inches
This wallet is a winner in its sleek simplicity, making it the perfect all-in-one accessory for the artist or entrepreneur who wants fewer things in their pockets, not more. High quality, crazy horse leather gives it that wonderful earthy smell and smooth feel while the no-frills design makes this wallet a practical, everyday companion. The hand stitching suits the rustic look, and the pen loop keeps your pen with your notes.
For the Minimalist
And finally, here’s a few that we felt were the closest to the slim wallet aesthetic we usually advocate. These are a little more minimalist in approach, but still great in function:
Robrasim Handmade Vintage Leather Journal Cover (Brown)
Material: Leather · Storage: Two card slots and two interior pockets
This is another utilitarian design by Robrasim, but with a bit more card storage. With two card slots and two interior pockets (one for cash, one for a notebook or passport), it provides enough storage for your essentials without taking up too much space in your briefcase or pocket. There’s no pen loop, which keeps the outside simple and makes it well suited to the minimalist (just keep a pen somewhere else).
Coal Creek Leather Field Notes Cover
Material: Full-grain leather · Refill: Pocket notebook
Coal Creek’s understated design allows the quality of the leather to shine through. The maker uses American full-grain leather from tanneries including Wickett & Craig and Horween. Wickett & Craig have been tanning leather since 1867, the slow way, with tree bark.
You can personalize the cover with your initials or name, and choose whether you want a pen loop.
KenzaPad Premium Leather Wallet & Refillable Notepad
Material: Leather · Card capacity: Up to 8 · Refill: KenzaCards
If you’re tired of rifling through your pocket or briefcase to find your business cards or locate the note you jotted down this morning, this is the wallet for you. The KenzaPad uses its own refillable notepad cards, card pockets, a magnetic closure, and two pen pockets, one on either side suitable for left or right handed users. With this elegant and efficient design, KenzaPad replaces the digital clutter of your smartphone or tablet with analogue pen and paper for quick handwritten lists. It uses individual KenzaCards instead of a bound notebook, which suits list-makers: finish a card and swap in a fresh one.
Jack’s Point Leather Field Notes Cover
Material: Top-grain leather · Refill: 3.5 x 5.5-inch pocket notebook
Featuring tiered card slots, a pen loop, and plenty of sleeves for notebooks or cash, this wallet is satisfying in its simplicity. The notebook sleeve is compatible with standard Field Notes journals or passports. The top grain leather does get scratched and scuffed easily, however these marks lend to an overall distressed look so your wallet develops character over time.
Buyer’s Guide
Ultimately, the choice as to which of the wallets above is right for you is a very personal one. Hopefully we’ve given you some good options to choose from, but the key things to focus on are:
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Materials: Are you happy with the leather (or faux leather) quality for the price point?
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Durability: Related to the above, will this material and the structure hold up for the long-term?
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Functionality: In addition to securely holding a notebook, do the wallet’s extra features (card pockets, pen holder) match your needs?
Our Choice
Only you can decide for sure, but for our money, we like the Lifetime Leather Personalized Field Notes Wallet (below). At a first glance it seems a little pricey, but we like the quality of the leather and construction, we like that it includes a lifetime repair guarantee, notebook and pen. Add on the option to personalize this wallet, and this is a winner for us.
