WCF Consoliwallet Review

Wintercheck Factory Consoliwallet Review

We take a look at a slim wallet option from N.Y.-based Wintercheck Factory.

Quick Hits:

The Good:

+ Comfortably slim and attractively practical design.

+ Excellent build quality.

+ Securely holds money, cards, and other daily essentials.  

+ The aluminum body provides the security of RFID blocking

The Bad:

- 

Review: 

New York design house Wintercheck Factory has been around since 2009.  Their practical, attractively desinged products have been featured in places like uncrate, The Los Angeles Times, Lifehacker, and Core 77.  One of their most popular offerings is the Consoliwallet (formally known as the William Wallet), a slim, bound aluminum wallet.  

Hyperbole aside, it's not an unrealistic complaint.  WCF offers a solution: military-grade shock cord binds the two pieces of aluminum that make up the Consoliwallet.  Not only providing structural integrity of the wallet (creating an inner 'pocket' a la a traditional wallet for cards or large bills), the cording also allows for more frequently used cards or bills to be placed on the exterior for quick access.  

The aluminum has a cutaway on the top corner for quick opening of the wallet.  The cord compresses the wallet to securely hold its contents and provide a slim wallet that won't bulge in even the most hipster-fit pants.  

The Consoliwallet's use of aluminum also provides a shield from RFID identity theft.  The wallet comes in seven colors.  It is entirely U.S. made.  The build quality and attention to detail of the Consoliwallet are exceptional, after using it for about a week, I get the impression that this will be an attractive and functional wallet for a long time to come.

Another pickup from WCF was the Deadsnap hat.  The limited edition hat is made out of vintage deadstock fabric.  Pictured is the "Miami Vice" colorway.  The orange snap and button contrasts well with the light blue base and tropical pattern.

Links:

Check out more of WCF's designs here.

Pick up the Consoliwallet here.

Pick up the Deadsnap here.

2Takez: NFL MVP (Peterson vs. Manning)

2Takez: NFL MVP

Your primary secondary source for the hot-topics and happenings in sports.

In this '2Takez,' staff writers Robert and Nick debate who is the leading candidate for NFL MVP.  Coincidentally, both are also frontrunners for comeback player of the year.  On to it...

Point, The Case for Adrian Peterson:

Nobody is in the same SOLAR system as Adrian Peterson when it comes to MVP comeback performance. After suffering a torn ACL in week 16 of last season, he returned valiantly and went to work immediately for the beginning of this year. Peterson started and played in all 10 games for the Vikings, leading Vikings to a 6-4 record, their best start since 2009. Even though he consistently takes hits and leads shoulder first into defenders snap after snap, Peterson is playing his best football thus far. Right now AP is the league’s leading rusher (1,128) at 5.8 yards per carry, 112.8 yards per game, as well as leading the league in yards after contact. He also leads the league with 13 rushes of 20 yards or more. All stats aside, AP’s first playoff appearance in 2009 was led by the notorious Brett Favre and a 12-4 red-hot Vikings team, but now, Peterson has taken on the veteran leadership role and is keeping playoff hopes alive in Minnesota. The Vikings are still in the playoff hunt above Tampa Bay, New Orleans, and Dallas.

You cannot count out Adrian Peterson in any talks about MVP or the greatest comeback player in the 2012 NFL season. He has come above all obstacles and risen above a possible career-ending injury to lead the league in every notable rushing category. He is still the same physical back we knew back in his Sooners’ days.

-Robert O.

@robertellem

Counterpoint, That Sh*t Pey:

Adrian Peterson is an animal, there’s no debating that.  His quick recovery and return to his physical, slashing running style has been nothing short of amazing to this point.  However, the MVP, and the Comeback Player of the year, is not Peterson.

Although he goes by “AD,” or All-Day, Adrian Peterson’s nickname should be All-Over-the-Place, as in you never know what you’re going to get with him.  Although he leads the league with rushes of over 20 yards, he is also notorious for his rushes of negative or no gain.  His 5.8 YPC average is grossly inflated by his biggest runs and is hardly a useful tool to predict what will happen when AD gets the ball.  Taking out just his longest rush from each game, Peterson’s YPC falls to 4.  On a team with questionable quarterback play and limited weapons on the outside (Harvin excluded), these strikes from ‘swinging for the fences’ far too often leave the Vikings’ offense behind the down and distance, causing drives to stall.  The Vikings 3^rd Down Conversion percentage is a lowly 33.9 percent, good (mediocre) for 20^th in the league.  Don’t get me wrong, Peterson is the most talented (and arguably the most entertaining) rusher in the league, however, the knocks on AP continue when looking at his other limitations.  Peterson can’t pass protect, so when the drives get to third and long, he has to come off the field.  With all the holes on the Vikings on both sides of the ball, an MVP should be extending drives, not causing them to sputter.

You want to talk about solar system?  Fine.  As repeated ad nauseum by pundits everywhere, the NFL is a passing league.  Naturally, MVP talk would revolve around the biggest star of them all, the Son (Sun) of Archie, number 18, Peyton Manning.  Manning’s 3 4^th Quarter comebacks this year are second only to his comback from 4 neck surgeries in the offseason.  Manning has tossed 21 TDs to just 6 interceptions (initially causing all of Denver to ask if that’s even possible after suffering a year with He Who Shall Not Be Named), and is completing 69.7 percent of his passes (second to only Alex Smith’s 70 percent).  Manning also leads the league in Quarterback Rating and Total QBR, leading the latter by almost 5 points.  Peyton is playing at an otherworldly level and is improving those around him.  The sporting world has been forced to swiftly learn how to spell Demaryius Thomas’s first name due to his breakout year with Manning, Eric Decker has rapidly improved as the number 2 option, and 18’s former teammate Brandon Stokely, is having a career resurgence.  Manning’s presence extends beyond his receivers, as he has the Broncos revitalized on both sides of the ball.  They sit atop the AFC West at 6-3, and are in prime position to make a deep playoff push.  No disrespect to Adrian Peterson, but for my money, Manning is the MVP and the Comeback Player of the Year.

-Nicholas M.

@NMidboe