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Best iPhone 6/Plus wallet cases: Pad and Quill Little Pocket Book and SurfacePad from TwelveSouth

For all of its greatness, Apple Pay hasn’t nearly killed the need to take your wallet with you wherever you go. But if you are like me, it has lightened your load a little bit. Instead of carrying around 5 credit cards, I now carry around one each of debit and credit. Combine that with some other de-Costanzifications (scan insurance cards and health club cards for instance) I’ve made recently, I can now consolidate my wallet into a few card slots.

What I’m getting at here is that I can follow the lead of my wife and now consolidate my iPhone and my wallet finally. I’ve chosen two amazing iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus cases from my favorite iPhone case manufacturers to get me there: Pad and Quill’s Little Pocket Book ($60 -$10 off for Black Friday) and Twelve South’s $50 Surfacepad

First up here is the Twelve South Surfacepad for iPhone 6. If you are at all familiar with Twelve South’s lineup, which has been around for 2 years, you know you are getting a top notch hand-crafted cover for the iPhone 6. On the inside you have a soft leather that provides an automatic dust cover/wiper for your iPhone, and on the outside you have quality stitched leather in four color options. I chose white to match the white/silver iPhone 6.

The back is ‘stickied’ onto the iPhone 6 and can be removed and added again a number of times (I am about six add/removes in and it still works great).

I beat the Hell out of my iPhone and these leather cases hold up for many months – perhaps even a year under harsh conditions. This year with the bigger iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, Twelve South added two slots for credit cards or a driver’s license which is huge. You can double up and maybe fit four cards in the ‘wallet’, but then you are already compromising the tight fit and finish of the case when it is closed.

The downside of the SurfacePad from Twelve South is that it doesn’t provide side impact protection for the iPhone 6. While this keeps the package slim, it kind of eliminates the whole reason to have a case to begin with: protection. You are pretty much naked when dropping the iPhone on its edges here. Sure the back and front are covered, but the edges are where you are more likely to take a hit.

And that brings up my second issue: although I’ve slimmed down my wallet, I do need to carry around a few more cards. That leads us to…

iPhone 6 Little PocketBook by Pad and Quill ($10 off today/Monday only). So my card usage is down, but I still need to carry around a license, a credit card and a few miscellaneous cards (and cash!) that blow out the SurfacePad. Not so for the luxurious Little Pocketbook by Pad and Quill. Like all Pad and Quill cases before, this is a serious wow! item with thick leather bound by heavy duty stitching and wood interior.

Like a Bentley or Rolls Royce of iPhone 6/Plus cases, this one is also very large as you can see in the gallery below, but you can pretty much drop this from your roof onto a diamond floor and expect not to see even a scuff. As for the leather, it is much, much thicker than the SurfacePad and will easily outlast your iPhone 6’s usability.

Wrap up:

I ended up going with the Little Pocket Book by Pad and Quill after using both for a few weeks. The SurfacePad is awesome and will have many happy users, especially at its $49.99 price tag, pleasant color selection and super-thin profile.

But for me, the Little Pocket Book’s luxury, ruggedness, protection and full wallet utility were easily worth the extra thickness and $70 $60.

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Comments

  1. Daniel Holladay - 9 years ago

    Does the Pad and Quill get oils on the screen due to the leather? I had this issue with the bookbook for my iPhone 5 and I am looking for a wallet case for my iPhone 6. I had asymmetric wearing on my screen’s coatings because of this and would like to avoid this.

  2. standardpull - 9 years ago

    I’d like to find the best protective, non-wooden wallet case. I’ve never owned a wooden wallet before, and I am loath to change.

  3. Same here, would love to downsize and combine my phone and wallet but level of protection worries me. I would actually like the pocket book to be big enough for a thin silicone case to fit on the phone before I put it in the pocketbook.

  4. Andy Traub - 9 years ago

    I think cases from Kavaj.com offer more protection with less bulk. I use them for my iPad and iPhones. Prices are comparable if not better than the ones in the article. I do hate to put a case on my phone but the 6 is practically designed to be dropped. I love how the curve looks but makes it too slick to handle without a case.

    • g2-25edfa3d742cab814c3471b0393de3d9 - 9 years ago

      I also love the Kavaj cases. Looking forward to getting mine for the iPhone 6 Plus. My wife and I have used them exclusively on our iPad/iPad Mini since buying them last year. I highly recommend them.

  5. Daniel (@demonz500) - 9 years ago

    I think you’ve missed one.
    This is a very great wallet case as well, Access Case.
    http://thenoduscollection.com/

  6. clariview786 - 9 years ago

    just got my iphone 6 book case from LoveGozmo.co.uk. Great genuine book style case for £14.99 http://www.lovegizmo.co.uk/product/iphone-6-book-case/

    • I am tempted by that case too… it looks great… whats your opinion on how well it will protect your phone? Looks kinda tight on the sides…

      • clariview786 - 9 years ago

        Its a great case, very snug fit.Feels very sturdy. I have to admit i have dropped my phone twice now with the case on and it was fine. Plus i keep all my cards in it. Its great value for money. I just bought another for the Mrs and it was £11.99 now gutted!!

  7. Kawaii Gardiner - 9 years ago

    The Pad and Quill I bought has just arrived – it is very nice; has a stylish classic feel to it, well built, holds the phone very sturdy, the mobile phone signal is still very strong, no problems when it comes to getting all my cards in the various slots – so far, so good.

  8. Billiam (@Will_iAint) - 9 years ago

    I just need Twelve South to release the BookBook for the 6/ 6 Plus…

  9. Rishi Soekhoe - 9 years ago

    This is also an awesome sleeve: 6 pocket for iPhone 6 and 6plus. Prevents your iPhone from bending and doubles as a smart wallet.
    http://kck.st/1xiZxYP

  10. whodat332 - 9 years ago

    Please Twelve South, release the BookBook for iPhone 6 or I’m buying the Pad & Quill!

  11. fierceunknown - 9 years ago

    Vaja – big fan here.

  12. thinkman12345 - 9 years ago

    TwelveSouth — the worst quality accessories I’ve EVER bought. So BUYER BEWARE!

  13. Bruno Fendri - 9 years ago

    I am using a plastic case and actually I might prefer to use the iPhone just as it is and very much I like the wallet cases that are not attached to the iPhone. I like the Brussardo threefold design but it comes a bit of expensive to me. Anyone can share a similar design like the one: http://www.brussardo.com/threefold-iphone-6-wallet-case-dark-brown-italian-leather.html but two ideas cheaper. :)

  14. sardonick - 9 years ago

    Prices not commensurate with protection or function. Hype.

  15. John Baughman - 9 years ago

    In my oppinion the ValutSkin Eton Wallet Case was the best for the iPhone 5 and is even better on the iPhone 6…

    https://www.vaultskin.com/iphone6-cases

    After getting my iPhone 6 I had severe withdrawal syptoms while waiting for the release of this case for the 6.

    • Tomasz Zaremba - 9 years ago

      Following recomendations like this I have purchased VaultSkin.I really would like to use it but despite my order direct with VaultSkin, I have not received the item. I have tried customer support and now they just do not answer my emails. I have paid extra for tracked delivery, no tracking provided. You might have a great product VaultSkin but very poor customer service. NOT Recomended.

  16. I’ve had my Pad and Quill Pocket Book for my iPhone5 almost 2 years now – maybe they have changed their production quality, but from my experience I couldn’t recommend this case. With daily use the rubber band stretched out quite quickly (<6 months), the inner seems for the card sleeves are falling apart and it has left a noticeable line on my phone's screen were the "bulkiest" of the sleeves touches the phone. I asked about repairing the rubber band first and they said they could repair it for $20+shipping (shipping cost to Europe was as much as the case itself when I ordered it).
    On the plus side, the case is very sturdy – it's fallen on the ground a couple of times and didn't even have a scratch (and the phone was fine). For those wondering about the wood holding the phone in place – there are little rubber spacers in the corners that do the actual holding and you do get replacements for those for when they are getting loose – I used my replacement set only a couple of months ago.

  17. Svein Rosenberg - 9 years ago

    I suggest you try out the cases from Vajacases.com Their product surpasses P&Q manyfold in all areas. Best regards // Svein

  18. Michael Napier (@NapMan) - 9 years ago

    I would suggest you look at the Wally Wallet Case by distilunion. I like their design with the pull tab.

    http://www.distilunion.com/collections/mobile/products/wally-iphone-6-wallet-case

  19. Fred Stewartson - 9 years ago

    What do you guys think about the Lithonic Case?

    Now on Kickstarter:

    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1362643580/the-bendgate-solution-the-lithonic-iphone-six-plus

  20. Komrad - 9 years ago

    Do these cases loosen over time where the cards will start falling out? How do they perform with low light pictures requiring a flash?

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Avatar for Seth Weintraub Seth Weintraub

Publisher and Editorial Director of the 9to5/Electrek sites.


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