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Less is more. It's time to ditch your Encyclopedia-sized bifold wallet. Try one of these compact cardholders instead.

Call them what you want — card cases or card holders — but the trustworthy wallets below are the best ways to carry cash, plastic and a few extra business cards — but little more. Think about it: a slimmer wallet that's easier to access is faster at the register and more comfortable in transit. Long gone are the days of George Costanza-sized cash canisters.

As they say, less is more, and prolonged periods of sitting on a thick wallet could actually cause back problems. It's true. There's even a name for it: Wallet Neuritis.

It was first recognized in 1978, but it remains a rather taboo diagnosis. Usually, patients are told they have a pinched sciatic nerve, resulting in a sciatica diagnosis. Wallet Neurosis, on the other hand, comes on the same way — "long-standing use of rear pocket wallet may compress and sensitize ipsilateral sciatic nerve" — but doesn't go as far, essentially just "generating features resembling lumbago sciatica."

Either way, back pain sucks, and an easy way to exacerbate other problems is to carry a compact card holder instead — and in your front pocket. If you must keep even card holders at the rear, take them out before you sit down. You can put your extras in a crossbody bag.

There's a method to Japanese organizing consultant Marie Kondo's tidiness: the KonMari Method. It asks subscribers to keep the items close to them and "discard items that no longer spark joy." In the world of wallets, the joy-suckers are receipts, old punch cards and reward program fobs for stores you no longer shop at.

With a card holder, you really can't keep any of this excess weight. The limited space acts as an actual advantage in this regard, reducing the amount of room for this unique type of clutter. Card holders can often hold a maximum of 15 cards, and few of them offer space for sizable wads of cash. Your emergency bills will surely fit, but it's easier to do just about everything with our phones these days, meaning you can probably access your reward program cards, work ID and even vaccine card there, too. (Go ahead, take them out of your current wallet.)

We have used a number of the wallets on this list, which were sourced using insights from our personal shopping experiences, tips from experts and broader shopper feedback. We accounted for a number of consumer sets, finding wallets for folks who carry them in their front pocket, want to protect themselves from possible RFID fraud or simply want a slimmer tool for carrying their cash and cards.

Anson Calder's ultra-sleek Card Holder comes with two slots for cards and a center stash spot for cash. The stash spot is super small, but the card slots are not — they stretch, as most leather-based pockets do, the more you use them. Plus, pushing them out is easier with this wallet than others, because you have the easy access thumb spot at the bottom. It's also available in six colors and with an optional monogram.

Shinola uses vachetta leather, a type of lightly treated Italian leather favored by more than a few famous bag makers, for its Five Pocket Card Case, which has the Shinola log on one side and a unique production number on the other. The liner inside is also leather, but there's an additional layer that helps protect against RFID fraud.

Herschel's Charlie Wallet is woven from hard-wearing fabric, with a contrasting striped liner made from the same material. There are a total of five pockets, two on each side and one in the center. It's available in 27 different colors, ranging from solid black (like this) to a sunflower print.

The Ridge Wallet can hold up to 12 cards in its RFID-blocking aluminum body, but it adjusts so it can stay tightly wrapped around one card if that's all you carry. It comes with an elastic strap to hold your cash, and it is easy to disassemble for cleaning.

Read our full review of the Ridge Wallet.

Made from durable, 3.5oz natural tooling leather in the US, the Tanner Goods Journeyman boasts just enough room — four slots and a central pocket — for your cards and some folded bills — nothing more. But it'll earn quite the patina with time. Be warned, this lightly colored leather will darken with use.

Like most of the brand’s Portland-made goods, it is offered in a range of different dyes, too. Monograms can be added for an extra $20.

Only your basic necessities will fit inside this Filson wallet — but that's OK. You don't need to carry much more than some cash and a few cards anyway. Made from hard-wearing bridle leather, this wallet is curved to complement the bottom of most front pockets.

RRL's Conch0 Card Wallet arrives with a patina one would usually have to work years for. Crafted from premium vegetable-tanned Italian leather, it boasts a snap button closure, four card slots and a debossed branded logo on the back.

Is a wallet just too much? For some, it might be. As such, Bellroy made the Phone Case 3 Card, a, well, phone case that can hold up to three cards. They make one for the iPhone 13 Pro Max all the way down to the iPhone 11. Inside, there's also a spot for a second SIM card as well as the tool to remove it. The case itself is made from leather and the inner liner is a soft, velvet-like material. To charge your phone, though, at least for a MagSafe charger, you have to take the case off.

This wallet features three pockets, two of which are fashioned with oval cutouts for accessing frequently used cards. Oiled and edged by hand, each wallet is finished with rugged wax cording. Plus, you can add an embossed monogram for $15 more.

Made from full-grain leather, Leatherology's Slim Card Case lives up to its name. It has four slots for cards, a center stash pocket for cash and a little more. It does come in a bunch of colors, though, as well as two types of leather, Standard and Premium ($10 more), and RFID-blocking ($5 more) and non-RFID-blocking.

Unless they fold or snap shut, most wallets never fully close. Ettinger's Capri Mini Pouch can, courtesy of a zipper that runs the length of its top side. The wallet itself is made from goat leather, a material lauded for its durability. Plus, its natural grain hides scratches and stains pretty well.

This narrow, vertically fashioned bifold from Tokyo-based brand Postalco features two internal pockets made from water-resistant pressed cotton, which are attached by a single piece of calfskin leather. The wallets are available in a number of colors, including signal red, olive green, navy blue and black (pictured here).

The Good Business is a brand new, well, business. Right now, they only make one thing: this vegan leather puffer wallet. Officially called the Puffer Card Holder, this wallet is water resistant and feels sort of matte to the touch. It also has the unique squish only puffers do, a sensation afforded by the stitching pattern. When loaded, the cards are still easy to access, but you don't need to worry about them slipping out.

Explore over two dozen men's wallets capable of carrying cards, cash, coins, passports and even phones.