The Wallet Shoppe
Unlike most wallets on the market, the Stow Wallet (now the Akeeni XSTO) comes with an inspiring backstory. Let’s review.
Shop AkeeniStow Wallets… A Little Background
Tobe Zane, an aerospace engineer with 30 years of experience, relocated his family from Southern California back to Northern California, where he grew up. His 2019 interview with Enjoy Magazine recounts the move and the wallet’s beginnings.
But relocating didn’t mean retiring.
Like many men, Tobe had gotten tired of his bulky wallet and wanted to apply his engineering chops to creating the perfect, pocket-sized container for his valuables. So he dedicated the garage in his new home to make his vision a reality.
But just as Tobe began to manufacture his wallet, disaster struck. The Carr Fire of 2018 ravaged Tobe’s community and burned his home to the ground, along with his products and manufacturing equipment.
The tools and manufacturing facility were gone. Rebuilding meant starting over.
Tobe started again. The 2019 Kickstarter campaign attracted 389 backers toward rebuilding the business.
A wallet born out of that kind of setback is quite a story. The card-slide design gives it something distinctive to offer, too.
Woah.
A Rose By Any Other Name?
And then came some more changes. The company became Akeeni, and the Stow Slip Wallet is now the XSTO. The card-slide layout remains, but the hardware has evolved: current XSTO wallets include a stainless-steel spring.
Does It Live Up To The Hype?
The Stow Wallet’s card-slide design is unlike most minimalist wallets on the market, though it comes with a few trade-offs of its own — and it isn’t going to suit everyone.
Features
Overall, the Stow Wallet comes with three separate carrying features for credit cards, cash and business cards. A phone mount is available separately if you want to connect it to your phone case.
Credit Card Carry
When you purchase the Stow Wallet, you have a choice of four sizes, differing only in their capacity to hold 4, 6, 8, or 10 credit cards.
Right upfront, this shows how the Stow Wallet is engineered with a kind of precision lacking in most other minimalist wallets. Instead of a one size fits all approach or a wide range of card storage, the Stow Wallet is optimized for a certain number of cards.
That does mean you have to have a clear idea of how you want to use your wallet from the very start. So if you want that extra flexibility, the Stow Wallet might not be the choice for you.
The experience of moving cards in and out of the Stow Wallet is what really sets it apart. Its unique design relies on two slightly hooked sides parallel to each other. This way you can slide cards into the wallet from two different sides, and review them the same way you would a poker hand.
There’s real practical value in being able to see all your cards spread out like this, rather than digging through a stack one at a time.
With so much access, there’s the worry that cards can easily slide out, but the tension created between the two tapered sides and a ridged backing plate inside the body holds everything in place.
Best of all, when your cards are all firmly inside the card-carrying area of the wallet, it makes a snapping sound. It’s a nice, subtle touch that lets you know the cards are seated. Give the stack a fit check before pocketing it, especially after changing how much you carry.
Cash Carry
Stow claims that eight folded bills can be stored underneath the card area on the ridged plate at the bottom of the card chamber.
Cash sits underneath the cards rather than on an exposed clip. That keeps your wad of bills out of sight, while still leaving it accessible. Of course, if your style involves flashing cash and “making it rain”, you’d do better with an external money band or clip.
For travel, check the size of your folded notes against the tray. Currency dimensions vary by denomination; the name of the currency alone doesn’t tell you whether a particular note will fit.
Business Card Carry
The rear compartment has a removable cover for business cards. Current wallets include a black PVC cover; replacement covers come in plastic and carbon fiber. Akeeni advertises room for up to five business cards.
It’s a nice idea to have a dedicated place for business cards in a wallet of this size. However, having this function rely on an unattached component is a bit of a head-scratcher for such an otherwise self-contained wallet. Put the cover down while swapping cards and it’s one more small thing to keep track of.
Phone Case Attachment
The optional XSTO phone mount combines phone and wallet carry. Check the mount’s attachment instructions and your case compatibility before ordering; it isn’t part of the current wallet’s included-parts list.
Size/Dimensions
Akeeni’s size-specific dimensions are 3.75 x 2.3 inches, with depth increasing as you add card capacity:
| Model | Depth |
|---|---|
| 4-card | 0.58 inches |
| 6-card | 0.64 inches |
| 8-card | 0.72 inches |
| 10-card | 0.81 inches |
Choose for your normal card count, including any thick or embossed cards. Akeeni recommends staying within the stated capacity and discourages metal cards in the main tray because they can damage the aluminum.
Material and Colors
Given the founder’s past as an aerospace engineer, it only makes sense that the body of the wallet is crafted from a single piece of aircraft aluminum. Current models pair that aluminum body with a stainless-steel spring.
The Stow Wallet comes in a variety of solid colors, some of which have a more painted, matte finish, while others twinkle with the grain of the milled aluminum.
Jet Black, Frost White, Forest Green and Navy Blue give you options beyond the usual plain metal finish. Check the current range for your chosen capacity.
Durability
The rigid body is appealing if leather wallets tend to stretch out on you. Still, retention depends on the spring and card fit, not just the strength of the aluminum shell. Akeeni provides tuning instructions for a loose stack.
Owner Sumith T. praised the smooth card retrieval and slim front-pocket feel of a six-card Jet Black XSTO. That’s the appeal here: rigid construction without giving up quick access.
The removable business-card cover remains my main design gripe. A spare part is easy to buy, but a captive cover would be one less thing to misplace.
The Akeeni XSTO/STOW Wallet - Final Verdict
The Akeeni XSTO/Stow Wallet is an impressive piece of work. If you value craftsmanship this highly, you might also enjoy our roundup of the best handmade leather wallets. For a British brand that takes pride in quality materials and made-to-order production, check out our Wingback Cash Wallet review. From its distinctive card-slide design to the body’s solid construction, this wallet has so much to offer.
Of course, it’s not without drawbacks, as small as they might be. Having to choose the range of your wallet upfront is a little annoying and the detachable business card cover might prove more trouble than it’s worth if you’re using this function a lot. But all in all, we’re big fans. If the Stow piques your interest in minimalist wallets, we have a massive roundup, and our guide on how to tell if a wallet is good quality can help you evaluate any wallet you’re considering.
