By Phil Spano
I can almost guarantee you’ve never heard of this company. They reached out to me and asked if I wanted to try out a few of their products to review and show the few of you that tune into my various social media platforms. I was a little hesitant at first because of the items they offer, but I said yes anyway.
So they sent me three different items. What MNGArista produces are retractable badge holders, keychains, and wallets. They sent me one of each to check out and check them out I did.
I’ll start with the badge holder. I’m going to be honest, I didn’t use it. Now I know what you’re thinking, but that’s not why. I have no badges. I have no reason to use it, but if I did you’d bet your ass I’d use it. This thing is equipped with a carabiner that attaches to your shirt pocket, belt loop, lanyard, whatever. Connected to that is a plastic housing that holds the roughly 2 feet of steel cable that then attaches to the badge holder. This steel cable is very thin but it would hold up versus the usual stretchy string that most retracting holders use. The tension on it is about 8oz so it retracts back quickly and smoothly.
Next up is an item I’ve been using daily. It’s the keychain. Now this thing is made of aluminum and houses the same cable inside of it. It has the same tension as the badge holder so you can clip it onto your belt or pants and leave it there if you have a newer car. I have a push button start in my vehicle so I don’t need to remove it from my belt and when I need to get into my house I just pull the string, unlock my door and let it retract right back into place and then I go about my business.
Lastly is the wallet. Its design is similar to the Ridge Wallet, which it has an aluminum panel that is RFID blocking, on either side. These panels are held together with a stretchy nylon strap and can hold 10+ cards. On one of the panels, there is a removable clear panel where you can keep your I.D. or work badge and a stretchy nylon strap on the other side that holds cash
The Minimalist wallet comes in a few different options like carbon fiber or wood grain panels, all being RFID blocking. Each one is under $30 which is great if you’re looking for budget options.
The downside with the wallet is that once you have some cards in it, it becomes very thick. The panels are not very thin and it can end up being very bulky depending on how many cards you carry. After a while the bands may get stretched out and become a little loose, you won’t lose cards but it may be an inconvenience as you’ll feel it in your pocket.
All the gear from MNGArista is budget friendly with both the retractable badge holder and keychain being less than $20, they’d make a great addition to your carry. If you’re someone who works in an office setting or a job where you need to use a badge multiple times a day to move about your place of work then the badge holder would be ideal. The keychain is just awesome no matter what you do but if you have an older car with a key start then it may not be a great option for you.
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