Ekster adapted and transformed their flagship Parliament cardholder wallet to create the new leather AirTag Wallet. They integrated the AirTag holder into the Parliament without sacrificing ANY of the functionality of the original wallet.
What you gain is the ability to use the Apple’s AirTag tracker with the Find My network and Precision Finding using Ultra Wideband on your iPhone 11 or newer.
In this review, I’ll break it all down for you so you can decide if the Ekster AirTag Wallet is right for you.
Design and Materials
Ekster introduced their leather AirTag Wallet to the world in May of 2022. It’s really just the Ekster Parliament transformed into a smart wallet with the addition of a built-in AirTag holder.
Note: Ekster also has an all-aluminum AirTag cardholder wallet that is adapted from the Aluminum Cardholder introduced in 2022. Click here to jump to a brief overview at the end of this post.
The only difference is that the back pocket of the Parliament now has an AirTag pocket sewn into it. Slip in the Apple AirTag and voila! You’ve got an AirTag wallet.
At the heart of the AirTag wallet is the dependable Ekster card ejector that’s the bedrock of all Ekster cardholder wallets. A solid aluminum case holds up to 6 cards that pop-up into a perfect fan with the push of the slider button at the base.
Some people call this a slide wallet. But I prefer “pop-up” or “card ejector” wallet.
For those of you concerned about RFID skimming, there is RFID-blocking technology built. The aircraft-grade aluminum that the cardholder is made from blocks it all.
Eject your cards with just one hand
My favorite part is that you can eject your cards with only one hand. All other cardholder wallets require you to hold the wallet with one hand and either push or pull the cards out with the other.
You can use credit cards, debit cards, gift cards–really any kind of similarly-sized plastic cards. Unfortunately, the card ejection mechanism has a tendency to get jammed up with paper cards, like medical cards or business cards.
Card slots hold another 3-4 cards
The inside of the AirTag wallet still has the same two card slots as the Parliament. A cash strap (think of it a soft money clip) will hold a few bills of cash folded over twice.
Even with the AirTag installed, there is still room to insert at least one card behind it in the rear card slot.
With the bi-fold design, it has the look of a more traditional wallet. But in terms of size, it has a minimalist design that’s an easy front pocket carry.
Keep in mind, though, that the more cards and cash you put in it, the thicker it will get.
Really, the AirTag wallet is everything the Parliament is, but now with an integral AirTag compartment for the AirTag that will help you find your wallet.
There is one exception: the AirTag Wallet is only available in 2 colors: Nappa Black and Classic Brown. The original Parliament has a whopping 10 color choices as well as two options to upgrade the leather quality.
As sales increase, maybe they’ll add some more color and spice to the lineup. (Fingers crossed.)
Nice leather
Since Ekster wallets were introduced in 2017, they have always used high-quality, top-grain leather. They sourced it from LWG gold-rated tanneries around the world.
For a time, they even said their leather came from bulls rather than cows, because cows have stretch marks. Hmmmm.
More recently, in 2020, they switched to ECCO leather that has tanneries in Indonesia, China, Netherlands, and Thailand. You probably recognize the name ECCO as long-time manufacturer of high quality leather footwear. And yes, these tanneries are LWG gold-rated, too.
What I can personally vouch for is that the premium leather quality and stitching is on par with my original Ekster wallets from the pre-ECCO days.
It shouldn’t be surprising that even though Ekster wallets are designed in the Netherlands, all of their wallets are made in China. That’s not a bad thing, just a fact of life in today’s economy.
Check out this post about 5 wallets made in the U.S.A.
How to use it
I have been using both the Ekster Parliament and Ekster Senate (they both contain the same card ejector mechanism) since 2019 and I have found them to be extremely reliable. They’re fun to use, too.
In fact, Ekster has been perfecting this pop-up design since their introduction of the Parliament and Senate in 2017. They went through a few design iterations in the card ejector during the early years, but that’s what it took to get it right.
With just a click of button at the bottom of the wallet, you get quick card access to six of your most used cards.
The AirTag slot (or holder, pocket, pouch, enclosure, or whatever the heck you want to call it) is mounted on the outside, so none of the internal functions of the wallet are affected one iota.
With the AirTag installed, it increases the thickness of the wallet by about a quarter inch. That seems like a lot. But because the AirTag is only about an inch across, it only takes up about a third of the wallet. The overall thickness really isn’t affected.
For me, it feels just like I’m carrying the same Parliament wallet in my pocket, but with a “baby bump” on it. The shiny logo side of the Apple AirTag is smooth, rounded, and exposed, so it slides nicely in and out of my pocket.
The bottom line is that the AirTag wallet doesn’t feel any thicker in my pocket. It’s an ideal front pocket wallet.
Installation
Slipping the AirTag into the AirTag wallet is a no-brainer. The molded pouch for the AirTag is perfectly sized, so it fits the AirTag like a glove.
There is a flap of material behind the opening for the AirTag. It’s a simple matter to slide the AirTag between that flap and the opening.
It stays securely in the AirTag holder because 1) a rear flap of material backs it up and 2) the rear card slot where the AirTag holder is sewn into is fairly tight. This puts pressure on the back of the AirTag to hold it in place.
In my experience, it doesn’t move a muscle, no matter how I use the wallet. The only problem is that if someone finds your wallet, they can easily chuck the AirTag and keep your wallet.
But that’s also true with all other AirTag wallets (except this one made by Rossm wallets).
Tracking
The main motivation for creating the Ekster AirTag wallet is to take advantage of two things that work with AirTag: Apple’s Crowdsourcing Find My network, and Precision Finding using Ultra Wideband technology.
If you misplace your AirTag inside your house or somewhere close to you, you can use Precision Finding in the Find My app on your iPhone to guide you to your wallet.
An arrow on your phone’s screen guides you in the right direction and the displays the distance to your “target,” right down to a tenth of an inch.
If you lose your AirTag in some faraway land, you can put it in Lost mode in the Find My app. When you do, you’ll gain the ability for anyone with an iPhone (that’s hundreds of millions) to anonymously search for your wallet anywhere in the world.
When anyone with an iPhone with the Find My app installed gets near enough to the AirTag inside your lost wallet, the AirTag will connect to the Find My network and show you the location of your AirTag on your phone. They call this crowdsourcing and it’s all encrypted and anonymous.
If there is no Find My network to connect with, your phone will show the AirTag’s last known location. (In other words, it will show you the location where your iPhone was last connected to it.)
Should you buy it?
If you want to keep track of your wallet with all the advantages that the Apple AirTag gives you, the Ekster AirTag wallet is a handsome choice. It has all the functionality of the Ekster Parliament wallet that it’s based on, without sacrificing any of the Parliament’s cool features or capacity.
The only difference is the added thickness that the AirTag adds to the outside of the wallet. For me, it’s barely noticeable and a non-issue.
In terms of size, the Ekster AirTag wallet is about an inch longer than most other AirTag compatible cardholder wallets. That’s because it needs more room for the pop-up, card ejector mechanism. For me, the quick access to my cards is well worth the extra size.
Buy it, if:
- you want a reputable, name brand AirTag wallet from Ekster
- your a fan of cardholder wallets made from high-quality leather.
- you want a reliable pop-up, card ejector wallet.
- you don’t need to carry more than 9 cards and a little cash.
Pass on it, if:
- you don’t want the increased thickness of an AirTag mounted on the outside of your wallet.
- you’d prefer a minimalist metal AirTag wallet.
All aluminum alternative: Ekster AirTag Cardholder
Ekster introduced the all aluminum AirTag Cardholder in mid 2022. Like their leather AirTag wallet, this is another adaption of an existing Ekster wallet.
This time, they modified the Aluminum Cardholder that hit the market in late 2020. The AirTag Cardholder uses the same sturdy aluminum case that pops-up 6 cards with an easy push of a slider button.
An aluminum plate (held to the case with a woven elastic band) expands to hold an additional 9 cards for a total of 15.
Their new AirTag Cardholder builds on this design by replacing the elastic band with a silicone band that’s integrated with a silicone pocket for an AirTag. They also modified the aluminum plate so that it is “hollowed out” to accept the base of the AirTag with a perfect fit.
Even with 8 – 9 total cards, it has a considerably thinner profile and is sleeker than the Ekster leather AirTag.
All in all, the Ekster aluminum AirTag cardholder has a more minimalist design with a modern, contemporary look. And the card capacity is about 5 cards more than the Ekster leather AirTag wallet. I like the way it feels in my hand when I eject my cards.
In terms of card access, you retain all the features of the original Aluminum Cardholder. Now, with the inclusion of the AirTag, it becomes un-losable.