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The Ekster Cardholder Pro is what it SHOULD HAVE BEEN all along! (A Review)
Oct 2, 2024
Ekster’s wallets have always long been one of my favorite cardholders (we won’t talk about the Parliament here) because they have an amazing capacity, are easy (and quick) to use, and look great as well. However, their plastic ejector mechanism and lackluster warranty definitely held them back. That is until they announced this Ekster Cardholder Pro! The brand was kind enough to send one of them out (for free) to me to check out and put through its paces! So does it fix everything that was holding it back? That’s what we’ll be talking about in this video, including what it is, what I like about it, what I don’t like about it, and, of course, who it is for. - Get 15% off your Cardholder on Ekster by using coupon code "GEAR43" here (Paid Link): https://click.linksynergy.com/deeplink?id=lh8zA0q7n7k&mid=45176&murl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ekster.com%2Fproducts%2Fekster-cardholder-pro - Read the full review: https://gear43.com/ekster-cardholder-pro-review
View Video Transcript
0:00
Thanks to Extra, they have gifted me quite a few of their wallets
0:03
This right here is their carbon fiber wallet. This is their aluminum wallet
0:07
And then this is their parliament now called this standard wallet. However, the newest product in their lineup right now is going to be the cardholder pro
0:17
So this is actually a wallet that I am very glad they finally came out with
0:21
So we're going to go into what I like about this, what I don't like about this
0:25
and everything that you need to know and exactly who it is for
0:30
let's get right into it. But before we do, I do want to say I do have a link down in the description
0:34
for this wallet if you guys do want to purchase it. It is a link to Xter's website and I would love
0:40
to get a commission off that if you guys decide to click that link and purchase this wallet. And you
0:44
should because it is definitely the best one in their lineup, but let's get into that now
0:49
All right. So what is the extra card holder pro? So with that, we should probably bring out the
0:54
aluminum wallet because they're actually quite similar. They both have an aluminum build. They both
0:59
have a little button down here that you click and it comes out the top and they look very similar
1:04
So what is the difference between these two wallets? So the first thing is this corner right here
1:10
So this corner is a little bit rounded and that honestly is a small little thing that doesn't make a huge difference
1:16
But it probably makes it so it doesn't make as much of a dent in your pocket. And that's a good thing
1:20
The next thing that it has is a full aluminum button right here
1:23
Now the old one over here has a plastic button. This one is aluminum, which is a much better set
1:29
up and that actually moves into the internal mechanism of the wallet as well. You can see the
1:34
shininess and the not shininess. That's because on our standard aluminum, it is a plastic internals
1:39
and on the pro is a full metal internal. The nice thing about that is the failure rate of it
1:43
is going to be considerably less than the aluminum, and that also translates into their warranty
1:48
The warranty on this one is going to be a full lifetime warranty. I think this one's about a two-year
1:52
and so it's considerably better on that end. And as you probably have noticed, another big upgrade is you can get money
1:59
You can get other accessories for this that I don't think work with the standard aluminum
2:03
They probably do. But anyways, and then the last upgrade that I can think of off the top of my head comes down to the band
2:08
I really did not care for this kind of elastic-y, kind of fabric band that you have right here
2:14
It causes it to kind of, you can see, it kind of slides around a lot
2:18
That doesn happen on this one because it a little bit more of a rubbery kind of band Now as you can see it already starting to wear after I think it was about two weeks probably of usage But I would much rather have the bad aesthetics when it comes to it with that band kind of rubbing than I would having the band moving around and maybe losing my cash And so that
2:36
is the extra cardholder pro. So let's go into the things I do like and I don't like about this
2:41
wallet so you guys can decide for yourself if it's right for you. All right. So the first thing I want to
2:45
talk about that I do like is that metal ejector mechanism. Now we touched on it a little bit earlier
2:50
and I have to say that is a huge, huge thing because most other manufacturers do utilize that
2:56
plastic kind of ejector thing to eject it out the top. And that is really nice that they have
3:00
upgraded that. That is honestly a huge upgrade. I don't think you realize unless you've been in the
3:04
wallet industry, how much of a difference that is and how much nicer that makes this wallet
3:08
they aren't charging a ton more for the pro model. And so just that in itself makes the extra
3:13
cost worth it because it gives you that lifetime warranty and it's just better overall. Also
3:18
it sounds pretty cool too. You can hear it kind of has a really cool click to it, whereas the other one has a little bit more of a plasticity kind of sound to it. You can definitely tell the difference between the two wallets. The second thing that I noticed about this wallet is it seems to be that the paint is a little bit more durable than the aluminum wallet. The aluminum wallet, I noticed a lot of kind of nicks and scratches pretty quickly after I started using it. And I haven't been noticing the same scratches with the pro, which doesn't make a ton of sense to me considering the pro model is
3:48
still aluminum just like the aluminum one is, but maybe they're using a different paint than
3:52
back when they were making the one that I tested out. However, this one seems to be lasting a lot longer
3:57
with a lot less nicks in the paint and damage to the paint. So that is pretty cool for somebody
4:01
who wants to use this a long time. Number three, I already touched on this one as well, and that is
4:05
that rubber band. It is 100% better than that fabric band. Even though it does wear it is just
4:11
I can't say enough how much it doesn't move around the plate and stuff. It just gives a lot more
4:17
confidence in the wallet and I like that a ton about this one. And it's honestly a big reason why
4:22
this is probably my favorite wallet in their inventory. And then the number four thing I like about the
4:26
wallet comes down to its card capacity. Now most of these card ejector wallets all have an internal
4:32
capacity of six cards and that's okay. However, there's other wallets like this right here, this
4:38
double oak right here that they gave me. This one holds up to seven cards and finally
4:43
extra or just another brand in general finally gave us another card holder that has a seven card capacity instead of the standard six and I like that that is really nice having that extra card with just a slightly more bulk to it it just 100 worth it just because it just a piece of mind knowing that you are going to be able to have enough cards
5:02
And we're going to talk about the expansion plate a little bit later because that is another big plus, but that's more just got an extra in general
5:08
Now, the number five thing I liked is that rounded corner. It's just a small thing, but you know, this is just kind of a hard corner right here
5:15
And it's going to stick into your side. It's going to stick into your pants and stuff like that
5:19
And so they just kind of rounded it off to kind of match the button over here. That way you're not, you know, cutting into your leg and stuff
5:25
It's a small thing, but it is a nice thing, and I did notice that I appreciated it
5:29
The last thing I appreciated about this extra pro in just extras in general is that expansion plate
5:35
Honestly, I've had so many other companies sending me their wallets, and they don't use these expansion plates
5:40
They use kind of, you know, leather to keep that card. And I do like leather and stuff
5:44
However, expansion plates just tend to be the best because these elastic bands actually allow for a lot of cards
5:49
I think the capacity for this is 14 cards total, so seven cards in the internal, and then seven behind here
5:55
You can put tracker cards in there. You can put your cash in there. These expansion plates are just really impressive
6:00
I actually think that Extra makes the best version of it. It has kind of beveled edges going behind it, so you can easily just kind of slide your cards
6:07
I don't know if you can see that, but you can just push cards down into it, and that is pretty nice
6:11
And then the final thing that I do like about the Extra Card Holder Pro is that lifetime warranty
6:16
I am a huge, huge fan of warranties, and so many of these wallet companies don't offer a lifetime warranty
6:23
Sure, we have Groove over there with a 94-year warranty, which I think is just a marketing ploy
6:27
However, this is a full lifetime warranty now instead of extras, I think, standard two-year warranty
6:32
So that is a huge, huge upgrade. And again, I do think that is thanks to the aluminum button you have right there
6:38
It just makes it so that this card holder is going to last a lot longer than the other ones. All right, so now we can talk about the things that I don't like about the wall
6:46
it and the number one thing is probably the characteristic that people notice the most
6:50
and that is this money clip. I don't like money clips. I just don't. I like these cash straps. I think this is the perfect way of doing it. I have no complaints on the cast trap
7:01
Which kind of negates this, and if you remove this, it just kind of looks like a standard card holder from extra
7:07
And that's a bit of a bummer. Honestly, these money clips, they just stick into you, they push out into your pants
7:12
And I just, I don't know. I just, I can't do it. I do not like money clips. I try. I tried using it on this one and it just annoyed me to the point that I just switched it over to here and this has just gone unused I would not use the money clip I do if I remember right I think it actually
7:26
comes at a different plate that doesn't have the money clip. I would just use that. And then the last thing
7:31
that I don't like about this wallet. Here it is. There's my Ridge wallet. So you can see right here
7:37
this is the carbon fiber wallet from Ridge that they gave me. And you can see how much of a
7:42
difference in size it is. So the reason behind this is because the ejector mechanism
7:46
you have a mechanism basically in the bottom right here, and that causes a lot of bulk
7:51
So to have that button to be able to eject them out the top makes it so it is a larger wallet
7:57
which is a bit of a bummer. I will say I don't super notice extras where they're in my pocket
8:02
I think they're actually relatively thin and not really super noticeable in your pocket
8:06
But when you're comparing it to this, or if you want to see the ridge light right here that they gave me as well
8:12
you're looking at a massive difference right there. Stay tuned because I actually have a review coming out here soon about that one, and it's a pretty interesting wallet
8:19
But that is the last thing I don't like about this. I think of any extra out there, this is the one you should get
8:25
It is definitely the best. The only person I would recommend not getting this one if you are interested in an extra is if you want to get a different material like carbon fiber
8:33
I have their carbon fiber forged version right here, and I did really like that, but it does have a plastic card mechanism in there
8:39
So this might pay off to go with something like this pro model. And so who is this for
8:44
Or it's somebody that wants a fanned out cards. There's not many manufacturers out there that do it better than Exter
8:50
I would recommend taking a look at somebody like Double Oak. I will put a link to their review up here if you guys want to check it out
8:56
They're probably the only other ejector-style wallet. That is a really good job in comparison to Extra
9:02
But if you want to go with a big name, this is the best one that they have. Extra just really, really is good
9:07
However, if you're somebody that truly wants to get to a minimalist wallet, like I said
9:12
this one is a bit of a bulkier wallet just because it has a little bit more height because of that card mechanism right there
9:18
So I'd probably recommend looking at a different alternative, something like a ridge or an Axwell or something like that
9:23
There's plenty of other smaller kind of sandwich-style wallets. But if you want that ease of access to those cards being fanned out instead of having to pushing out with your thumb out of a notch, this is the way to do it
9:34
If you guys want to purchase this, again, I do have a link down the description. And if you found this at all helpful, I have a ton of content coming out here soon about products
9:42
like this and a lot of else. So make sure to subscribe and like this video
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as it helps me out in the algorithm
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