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Lighten Your Load with The Minimalist

Tim Yap
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With the smartwatch, Google Glass and other wearable devices soon to become as indispensable as the cell phone in your pocket, the last thing every guy needs is another bulky wallet to weigh him down. Enter the Minimalist, the smarter wallet option for the man about town, by the West Coast brand Capsule. “I’m a pretty low maintenance guy when it comes to what I carry around in my wallet everyday, but every wallet I’ve ever come across is either too thick when empty or too limited to carry cash,” says Robert Sha, who created the Minimalist’s innovative, sleek design last summer. “Bulky traditional bi-folds and cardholder-style wallets just don’t cut it for me and more novel solutions don’t have the sophisticated aesthetic I desire.”

Measuring 3.8” x 2.8” across with a thickness of 0.2” and a discreet top slot and back slot, the Minimalist wallet is just that. What makes this wallet a cut above others, however, is its proprietary CashStrap that holds cash in place through static friction. Made from hand, the Minimalist even accommodates Euro bills, retails for under $100 and is made in the same factories that produce leather goods for the world’s largest luxury companies.

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A former strategic management consultant to Fortune 500 companies, Capsule founder Sha always dreamed of running his own business. As any entrepreneur might do, he took to Kickstarter, the crowdfunding site, and surprised everyone, including himself, by surpassing his initial goal of raising $16,500 by nearly ten-fold. That injection of capital allowed him to seek out the best manufacturers and leathers from Asia, Italy and Brazil, and to get the Minimalist out the door in just several weeks to its 2,400-strong fan base on Kickstarter.

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Today Capsule makes the Minimalist in premium nappa cowhide and saffiano leather and for the fall and upcoming holiday season plans to offer the wallet in black, charcoal and blue, as well as two contrast-edge options for a sporty twist. Says Sha, “I started Capsule because I believe that products can always be better. We expect to introduce complementary product extensions and hope to share our take on other important ‘essential’ items for our customers as well, all with the mission of introducing you to a simpler way of living.”

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Topics
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If you're looking for the best cheap backpack deals, you be happy to find there are many choices. The backpack universe includes packs for hiking, biking, commuting, and more. For this overview of the current best cheap backpack deals, we focused primarily on backpacks tech backpacks for commuters or people who work from home, and backpacks for travel.
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How To Choose A Backpack
Size
Backpack capacity is best determined by the size of the person who will be wearing it, but there are variation based on personal preference and habits. A middle school student who likes to carry their all books to and from school every day will need a larger backpack than a student who rarely brings books home. Student athletes may want a gigantic bag to carry sports clothing and gear, though in that case a second bag is often an option. One factor regarding size is specific to electronics, considered separately just below. Commuters will want to consider how much weight and bulk they want to carry on a daily basis.
Laptop And Electronics Readiness
Computers, Chromebooks, tablets, and other electronics are expensive. Even though most devices can take moderately rough handling, the best solution when choosing a backpack is to pick one with a padded protected area that fits the device. Most laptops will fit in a sleeve designed for the most common 15.6-inch display size, but a few are larger, so be sure to account for screen size (measured diagonally). Because many tech-focused people and some students carry more than one device, there are also backpacks with multiple protected sections. Two additional handy electronics-focused features to look for are an opening for a USB charging port and an easily-accessed zippered compartment for adapters, cables, mice, and other small accessories.
Material
Backpacks are constructed of a variety of materials, including nylon, polyester, canvas, cotton fabric, leather, and more. If you're choosing a backpack for a student, keep in mind the material will need to withstand rough treatment and often be put or stored in areas where they will pick up dirt.
Comfort
Backpacks often have a variety of handles and extra straps, but padded shoulder straps that don't dig in when the backpack is loaded with books can add a lot to its comfort.
Water Resistance
None of the cheap backpacks below are waterproof, but some are constructed of water-resistant material. If anyone will be wearing or carrying the pack in the rain, at least minimal water resistance is a good thing.
Style
Style is another personal preference consideration, but try not to sacrifice function and comfort just for looks.

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In the wake of crises arising from climate change, companies publicly and privately owned are making commitments to ensure the future health of Earth’s air, water, and ecosystems. Not coincidentally, the athletics and outdoors firms that produce products and services to utilize our environment are leading the way. Recently, one of the largest athletic shoe makers in the world publicly joined that march towards sustainability.

Asics dropped plans for releasing its the Gel-Lyte III CM 1.95 sneaker in 2023. Named for its just 1.95-kilogram carbon dioxide emission across the product’s life cycle, these are even lighter than the Adizero x Allbirds 2.94 kilogram low carbon shoes currently on the market. This marks a significant step toward the Japanese shoe company’s commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

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Amazon first opened Amazon Style Glendale (California, outside of L.A.) earlier this year. While the tech-forward brick-and-mortar store sports upgrades to old-school big box stores, some customers have reported being disappointed in the experience, according to The Guardian.

While Amazon Style does have front-of-house employees who can assist shoppers in their search (much the same way traditional retailers do), shoppers can also experience the store via their smartphone by scanning QR codes to send clothes to the fitting room or straight to pick up. Once in the fitting room, shoppers can select looks without having to leave. The store delivers on-the-spot algorithmic service that traditional brick-and-mortar models often can't meet, but retailers in the future will have to incorporate that sort of technology with an even greater human touch — more like a personal shopper experience — to offer that personal touch critical to the sensory experience of seeing, touching, and feeling products.

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