Redefining the mini wallet.

The Discomfort in Your Pocket

Even though you've switched to a mini-wallet, your pocket still feels off for some reason.

Every time you reach in, you feel the wallet's presence. It gets in the way when you sit down. It snags when you try to take it out. "It's supposed to be compact," — many people, no doubt, are experiencing this discomfort and brushing it aside.

The term "mini-wallet" only refers to its surface area. But a wallet is something you fold and put into your pocket.

Even if the surface area is small, if it's thick, its presence won't disappear.

The Reason Trifolds Were Chosen, and Their Blind Spot

To minimize surface area, trifolding was a rational answer.

To make the folded area close to card size, folding it into three equal parts is the most efficient. That's why trifolds became synonymous with mini-wallets. That logic is correct.

However, this structure has an overlooked blind spot.

When trifolded, all contents overlap. Cards, coins, and banknotes are folded while stacked in three layers. The more the surface area is compressed, the more the thickness accumulates. This is a structural inevitability and cannot be avoided by clever design.

Another side effect is the curling of banknotes. After repeated trifolding, they develop a permanent curl. They get rejected by self-checkout machines and ticket vending machines. If you give them as change, the recipient will also be inconvenienced. The price of compactness isn't paid by you alone.

This is what happens when you define a "small wallet" solely by a single axis: surface area.

Redefining "Small"

So, what is a small wallet?

It's not about surface area. Nor is it about volume. It's about being able to forget the wallet is there when it's in your pocket. It's about your actions not being interrupted when you take it out. It's about not getting in the way whether you're sitting or walking.

Small means a low burden on your actions.

Starting from this definition, the question changes. Instead of "How can we reduce the surface area?" it becomes "How can we make the wallet's presence disappear?"

A truly compact wallet is one where you can forget it's in your pocket.

Conditions Determine Form

When you seriously try to meet the condition of "a wallet with a low burden on actions," the structure naturally converges.

Minimize surface area. Minimize thickness. Be easy to use. These three must be achieved simultaneously.

To also minimize thickness, cards and coins must be separated. To separate them, a bifold structure is advantageous. The surface area will be slightly larger than a trifold, but it's a difference that will fit into most pockets without issue. And the thickness can be reduced to an incomparable degree compared to a trifold.

From this inevitability, the Hitoe® structure was born.

However, thickness is not the only cause of its presence.
Typical wallets use metal hardware for their clasps. These hard protrusions create a sense of discomfort in the pocket.
That, too, is a factor that makes the wallet's presence felt.

The question "How can we make the wallet's presence disappear?" also leads to the elimination of metal fittings.
Achieving opening and closing without using metal fittings—the inner hook is an approach that answers the same question, but through a different means than the Hitoe® structure.

Form Is Born from the Question

You wouldn't reach this point with the question "Let's make a small wallet."

If you only pursue surface area, you sacrifice thickness.
If you minimize one, the other gets distorted.

Only when you pose the question "How can we make the wallet's presence disappear?" can you simultaneously consider both surface area and thinness. And that question determines the form.

The term "mini-wallet" remains unchanged. However, its definition can be re-evaluated.