GADGETS : Sleek & Sturdy RFID Wallets Keep Hackers at Bay - WIRED Magazine by Brendon Spiegel + featuring the STEWART/STAND Stainless Steel Driving Wallet

Ever felt the need to replace your tattered, bulging, leather wallet with something closer to a solid metal case? Now you can. A new wallet made from industrial-grade stainless steel fabric promises to keep your money and credit cards safe -- from rain, perspiration, spills and even identity thieves.

New York designer Theo Stewart-Stand created the steel wallet from the same finely woven, industrial steel that is used in aerospace applications, petroleum processing and metal doors and windows. Stewart-Stand tightened the weave of the steel so it is small and flexible enough to thread into fabric, but still stronger and far more durable than leather or suede. The resulting skinny wallet feels as smooth as silk -- but doesn’t stretch, is cool to the touch and, of course, can’t be stained.

“It’s a good conversation piece and elicits a lot of comments,” says Paul Stewart-Stand, the designer’s brother and business partner. “People see it at a dinner party and want to know where they can get one.”

While developing the wallet, Theo Stewart-Stand inadvertently discovered an even more unique benefit. It turns out the stainless steel used in the wallet protects from the latest concern in identity theft: RFID hackers. Many new ID products, such as no-swipe credit cards, corporate access key cards and the newest U.S. passports, include radio frequency identification, or RFID, tags that allow scanners to rapidly access information.

[ WIRED Magazine features our Stainless Steel Wallet design in their Gadgets section ]

( TAGS : Tech, RFID, Security, Design, New York )