This month, in addition to the release of the Utility Pen, we are re-releasing our EDC wallet with a new look, a new name and best of all a new price!!
We had great success with version 1 but as with most things, we just couldn't leave well enough alone. I spent the better part of a year and a half developing this wallet and during that time, I think I got carried away. The function of the wallet is unrivaled. it's a pleasant experience to open and close. Easy to retrieve your cards. Slim in your front pocket. Light-weight and safe.
Where I got carried away was in the finishing processes. Tumble, glass bead blast, hard coat anodize, oiled finish. All that did was add up cost after cost that ultimately, after numerous consumer surveys, was found to add little value to the overall user experience. In fact, some people actually hated the way it felt and would have preferred a smooth finish!
I've been hard at work re-coding the CNC programming for our Haas Mill here at Wastük Supply Co. to speed up the machine time, as that was one of our first and easiest ways to reduce our investment in manufacturing. The end result was close to 60% reduction in total machining time! This is a huge saving that we get to pass on to you. Second, I found that tumbling the parts in a commercial tumbler left a great finish and have opted to eliminate the glass bead blast altogether.
While Mil-spec hard coat anodize is nice to say, the feedback we have received thus far is that people tend to want a lower cost product with more colors to choose from. The environment that 95% of the wallets are exposed to is not typically harsh enough to justify the limited color selection and increased costs.
I've sourced a new anodizer and while they are located much further away, the reduction in cost per piece to anodize more than makes up for it. Plus they have a much wider range of colors to offer in type 2 anodize which, hey if type 2 is good enough for Apple's products, it is good enough for ours!
Lastly, we've had several requests for more capacity. This was about 40% of the survey participates that wished there was room for 2 additional raised letter cards inside. I decided without hesitation that we need to implement this ASAP as that's almost half our user base and it takes very little effort to accommodate these consumers. You can click here for more information on this product.
And with that, I give you the Expedition Series Wallet!
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