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 the workshop were gone. Most entrepreneurs would give up at this point, but Tobe believed in his product enough to start again, and so did the 389 backers of his 2019 Kickstarter campaign.
The result? “A wallet forged by fire”, with a die-hard following.
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 XSTO is an evolution, not a revolution: the card-slide layout remains, and current models add a stainless-steel spring. So far, so good.
Does It Live Up To The Hype?
The Stow Wallet’s card-slide design is unlike most minimalist wallets out there. All that new thinking does come with a few trade-offs, and it won’t suit everyone. But it is a wallet every wallet enthusiast should know about.
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.
Being able to see all your cards at once like that is genuinely handy.
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 your precious cargo is locked up and good to go.
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.
In our testing, US, Australian and Canadian dollars all fit just fine, but Yen and Euros were too wide to sit comfortably inside, so frequent international travelers take note.
The best thing about the cash tray is that the folded bills actually add to the tension holding everything in place. You can see a sliver of your cash from the side, but there’s no way it’s sliding out. It’s in there too tight. And it stays out of sight from prying eyes. Of course, if your style involves flashing cash and “making it rain”, you’d do better with an external money band or clip.
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 rely on an unattached, easily misplaced part is a bit of a head-scratcher for such an otherwise well-designed, self-contained wallet. If you lose the cover, what then? You can buy a spare, but does the last wallet you’ll ever need really mean committing to replacement parts?
Phone Case Attachment
The optional XSTO phone mount sticks to your phone case and locks the wallet on using the same tension trick. Nice if you want to combine the two (just remember you’ll need new adhesive when you change cases).
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 |
Pick the size for the cards you actually carry. (Akeeni also says to keep metal cards out of the main tray, as they can damage the aluminum.)
Material and Colors
Given the founder’s past as an aerospace engineer, it only makes sense that the body is crafted from a single piece of aircraft aluminum. That means it’s surprisingly light for a metal wallet.
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.
When we first reviewed it, alongside standards like Jet Black and Frost White, offerings like Atomic Tangerine and Electric Purple rounded out the catalog for those of us who want our wallets to be forever festival-ready. The current range includes Forest Green and Navy Blue.
Durability
The main body is practically flawless in terms of durability. With a few power tools you might be able to do some damage, but everyday wear and tear isn’t going to be an issue, and it won’t stretch out like leather. If the stack ever feels loose, Akeeni has tuning instructions.
Owner Sumith T. praised the smooth card retrieval and slim front-pocket feel of a six-card Jet Black XSTO.
Its weakness is that business card cover. It’s not that it’s less sturdy than the rest, it’s that it’s separate. One wild night and it, and all your business cards, could go missing.
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 unique 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.
