Secrid wallets are known for their fine leather. So constructing the Secrid CardSlide from anodized aluminum, plastic, and stainless steel has them striking out in a new direction.
The Secrid CardSlide wallet still uses the smooth and reliable card ejection mechanism as the Secrid Slimwallet, Miniwallet, and all the other Secrid wallets. But the CardSlide has added an extra compartment for cards and cash.
What I like about it
The core of all Secrid wallets is the aluminum card protector that ejects up a maximum of 4-6 cards. If the cards are flat with no raised letters, it will fit six. Raised letters will increase the overall thickness of your cards, so you’ll only fit 4 or 5.
The ejection lever is located at the bottom and, like all Secrid wallets, the cards pop out in an evenly spread fan so you can choose the one you want. I love the way that I can pop up my cards with only one hand.
Tip: It makes it easier to access your cards if you put your most-used card either in front or in back of the stack.
Made in Holland
All of Secrid’s wallets are designed and made in Holland, and they’ve been perfecting the patented mechanism of their rigid aluminum card protector and ejector since 2009.
I own 5 other Secrid wallets and the card ejector mechanism has proven itself ultra-reliable and consistent over the years.
What makes the CardSlide so different than their other wallets is that the card holder slides in and out of an plastic housing. Inside this extendable slide is a spring-loaded stainless steel money clip that holds a few cards, some cash, or other small items like a house key.
Well-made and good-looking
The color of the slide closely matches (or sometimes compliments) the anodized color of the aluminum card holder.
The CardSlide I am reviewing here is blue, but there are 7 other colors available. The money band colors also integrate nicely with the overall design.
Unless you have a hyper-critical eye, you won’t be able to tell that the slide of the Cardslide wallet is made of plastic.
An elastic money band wraps around the CardSlide and keeps the card holder in place until you need to slide it out. It’s also the place to carry some cash folded over in quarters, though I usually put my cash inside the slide housing for a cleaner look.
How to use it
To be honest, I usually carry a MagSafe compatible wallet attached to my iPhone 14 Pro because I only carry two cards and some cash. Plus, the wallet and phone act like a unit, so I only have one thing to keep track of.
But there are times, particularly when I’m traveling or when I need to carry extra cash or cards, that the 8 plus card capacity of the Secrid CardSlide really comes in handy.
I usually keep the important cards I need the most, like my driver’s license, a credit card and debit card, or gift cards (up to 6 total) inside the card protector ejection case.
Tip: The card ejector doesn’t work well with paper or metal cards.
It’s just a simple motion to slide out the card ejector case from the slide. Here you can add some extra cards, cash, and a few business cards under the stainless steel money clip.
The elastic band on the outside provides just enough compression that it’s easy to slide out the card ejector to give you access to the cards and cash inside. But not so loose that it slides out when you don’t want it to.
It a simple two-handed operation to slide out the card holder so you access everything inside.
I usually put my medical cards that I (hopefully) don’t need that often, plus some cash. It’s also a great place to keep receipts and small personal items like bandaids or condoms. (Did I really just say that?)
Eject your cards with only one hand
My favorite part of using any Secrid wallet is that I can eject my cards with just one hand.
With wallets with a design like the Ridge or Rossm, I have to hold the wallet with one hand and push the cards out with the other. Then I have to spread the cards out out to access them. It’s way more tedious.
With the Secrid CardSlide, you hold the wallet with your thumb, index, and middle finger, then pull the ejection lever with your ring or pinky finger of the same hand.
Of course, if you want to access the cards stored in the slide part of the wallet, you’ll have to use both hands.
It’s a modular wallet
If you don’t think you need the slide-out tray of the Secrid CardSlide, you can remove it and use the aluminum card ejector case as a super slim wallet.
The aluminum card ejector by itself is only a quarter of inch thick and still holds up to 6 cards with room cash under the money band.
Place the elastic money band over the card protector case and you’ll be able to hold up to six cards and some cash. I like this slimmed-down option a lot. Who wants to carry more than you need?
A few negatives to consider
I find that I often slide the card holder out so far that it comes out of the band. Then I have to pull up on the band and reinsert the card holder into the slide. Kind of a pain.
I solved this by moving the elastic band further down on the wallet (below the halfway point). Now, it doesn’t happen as often.
To access the cards under the spring steel money clip inside, you have to get a finger nail under the top of the cards to pry them out. This isn’t particularly difficult, but can be sort of awkward.
I must admit that I was a little wary when I read that the slide part of the wallet was made of plastic. That’s often a red flag. But in my experience, it doesn’t feel cheap.
The plastic is, however, easy to scratch when you carry in the same pocket as your keys. Needless to say, don’t carry keys in the same pocket as your wallet or your phone.
Ekster is an excellent Secrid alternative
The two big names in card ejector wallets are Secrid and Ekster. Both companies are known for their reliable card ejector mechanisms that eject up to 6 cards from a solid aluminum case.
While both Ekster and Secrid are make fine leather wallets, Ekster has it’s own version of a rigid card holder made of aluminum that competes with the Secrid Card Slide.
Ekster uses a unique design for its aluminum card holder
The Ekster Aluminum and Carbon Fiber cardholders don’t have a slide like Secrid. Instead, they have an expandable aluminum plate on the back that will hold up to 9 cards.
With the 6 inside the card holder, that totals 15. That’s nearly twice as many as the Secrid CardSlide.
Both of them also use an elastic band to hold the two parts of the wallets together. But the Ekster Aluminum card holder (as well as the Carbon Fiber version) have extra space for cards and cash on the outside of the wallet.
Because the extra cards and cash are hidden inside, it’s not as clean as the Secrid CardSlide. But it still works fine.
The Ekster card ejector mechanism also works slightly differently because it has a slider button at the bottom rather than a trigger like the Secrid. The net result is the same: 6 cards pop up into a perfect fan.
I definitely prefer the Ekster slider button over the Secrid trigger. It’s faster and requires less effort. Not a bad fidget spinner, either.
Another advantage of the Ekster cardholder is that it is about half the thickness when empty. And it’s considerably lighter.
Ekster has an AirTag version
Another advantage of Secrid is that the Ekster Card Holder is you can buy a version that’s made for the Apple AirTag. The AirTag fits inside a modified silicone housing that’s part of the silicone money band. Secrid doesn’t offer an AirTag wallet.
I’m personally a big fan of Ekster, and I own nearly every wallet they make. Full disclosure: Ekster sent me these wallets for review. However, I really like Ekster on its own merits, whether I bought them or not.