Ekster, the wallet you will never lose
Technology is finally reaching an element that has been in our pockets for decades with little variation. Our wallets are still essential, despite efforts to replace them with smartphones, something that is still far from happening. We can have credit cards, even movie tickets on our mobile, but a wallet always goes in the pocket of our pants or coat. We show you Ekster Parliament, one of the most advanced wallets we can buy today, with RFID protection and tracking systemwithout sacrificing the design and quality of the best natural leather.
Compact design and highest quality
The first thing I ask of a bag is that I can carry it with me throughout the year, be it winter and wear a coat with large pockets, or summer with jeans. So I rule out any big, bulky purse that won’t fit in the front pocket of a skinny jean. But nevertheless I also want to be able to carry what I need in it: identification cards, credit cards and money. Finding a wallet model that meets these specifications is not an easy task, but Ekster Parliament meets it without a doubt.. And what’s more, he does it with premium leather using vegetable dyes, achieving a truly extraordinary look and feel.
A metal compartment houses up to six credit and/or identification cards through a system that allows you to take them out with one hand. It is the best way to store several cards in the most compact way possible and at the same time to be able to dispose of them easily. In addition, this compartment is the one that performs the RFID protection function. What does it consist of? On the one hand, protects your cards from possible electromagnetic interference that renders them useless. Have you tried to pay with your card using its magnetic stripe or withdraw from an ATM and it told you that it didn’t work? Well, that is precisely what this protection prevents. Also on the front cover there are two more slots for another two cards.
Surely you have also seen videos and news about how someone with a dataphone could steal money from your cards using Contactless technology. Well, that’s just an urban legend that experts consider almost impossible to do, and if someone did it would be pretty easy to track them down and stop them, but yeah Valuable information can be stolen from your cards with the necessary technology using this system, and RFID protection also prevents it. Ensuring the highest possible security never hurts, and this Ekster wallet does just that.
Chipolo Tracking System
Ekster has teamed up with Chipolo, a global tracking system, to offer us a small card that we can carry in our wallet and that will allow us to find it if we don’t know where we have left it. With the size of a credit card, somewhat thicker though, this chibolo card incorporates a small solar panel and a battery that will allow us to use it without worrying about running out of batteries. Three hours of recharging in sunlight give us two months of autonomy, surprising figures given the size of the card. In this way our Ekster portfolio will always be localized.
The card is linked to our iPhone via Bluetooth, and we can make it ring from our iPhone or by using Siri through shortcuts. Ask Siri on your iPhone or HomePod “where’s my wallet?” and the Chipolo card will start ringing. The sound is not very loud, but enough to hear it in a not very noisy environment. The function is also available the other way around: using your Chipolo card you can make your iPhone ring, in case what you have asked for is your phone, something that more than one will do wonders for.
If you lose your wallet you can mark it as lost from the application, the moment your iPhone detects it again you will be notified. What if it’s far from you? The entire Chipolo user community will help you use it, even if someone doesn’t use the app, by scanning the QR code on the back of the card you can be sent a notification with its location. I miss the possibility that as soon as you walked away from your wallet the iPhone would notify you that you are leaving it behind, something that I hope will come in future updates.
Editor’s opinion
Ekster Parliament looks like a conventional leather wallet, as long as we are talking about premium natural leather. However, it includes two features not too common today: RFID protection for your credit cards and a tracking system that is recharged by sunlight. If we add to this its compact size and the possibility of holding up to 8 cards (six in the metal compartment and two more in the cover) and the wallet, the result is a modern, stylish and practical wallet that will be difficult for you to lose. Available in several colors, we can buy it on Amazon for about €77 (link), the same price as any other leather wallet that doesn’t offer any of the extra features we mentioned. If you want the wallet + localized set, you will have to buy it on the official Ekster website (link) for a total of €108 with shipping costs included.
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