Front Pocket or Back Pocket: Where Should You Keep Your Wallet?

When I was a bit younger. It never really occurred to me that a wallet can be kept on other pockets aside from the back pocket. I’ve seen it from my grandfather, uncles, father, and even older cousins and brother. They all kept their wallets in their back pockets.

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So I followed suit. I was 15 when I got my very first leather wallet and it went directly into my back pocket. I’ve always done this ever since. Well, up until I was 23 years old when I saw somebody in the bus carry a big bulging piece of leather in their front pockets.

It was a mystery at first. Front pocket-ers are quite rare. But I approached the fellow and he was a fairly pleasant soul. When I asked him about why he kept his wallet that way, he just gave me a short but memorable reply.

Because it’s the right way.

A New Revolution?

I admit I was a bit surprised with the answer given to me by that person but it got me thinking. Have I been doing it the wrong way all this time? Have I been fed a lie by generations of my family? Have I become a product of a passed down ideology that is washed up and out of its time?

Before I overreacted even more, I asked around a number of people with regards to how they carried their wallets around. I wasn’t surprised to see that more than 80% of the people I asked carried their wallets in their back pockets while some 10% say they carry a small bag to put their wallet in instead of their pockets. Only a small percentage of the people say they use their front pockets for their wallets.

But why do I feel like Mr. Front-Pocket-Wallet-Carrier-In-The-Bus is still right?

Why Not the Back Pocket?

Using your back pocket as your wallet garage is the norm and that’s how we all grew up thinking. There’s nothing particularly wrong with it but a number of points raised by certain groups of people are challenging this age-old belief.

First thing is that putting your wallet on your back pocket is just asking to be pickpocketed. If you’ve watched documentaries on pickpockets and street swindlers, they claim that back pocket wallets are the easiest to take because it’s right where they want it to be – out of your line of sight. They even call it “the sucker pocket” and tourists are guilty of this. In the UK alone, around 600,000 wallets are stolen per year according to a study in 2013. I am guessing a large percentage of this comes from tourists who don’t know any better than to keep their wallets in their back pockets.

Another reason is that having a fat wallet on your back pocket can be uncomfortable and inconvenient at times. Sure it makes you look like some fat cat but sitting down on a thick wallet can be a grueling experience. Just imagine a 2-hour long drive with something like a piece of log on one side of your seat and you can imagine how hard it is.

One last thing I found out about putting your wallet on your back pocket is it can lead you to visit your doctor prematurely. Yes, you heard that right. Using your back pocket as your wallet stash can lead to certain medical conditions. Medical conditions such as the “Fat Wallet Syndrome”. Piriformis syndrome or the fat wallet syndrome occurs when a person’s sciatic nerve gets compressed or irritated by the piriformis muscles. This causes pain, tingling and numbing sensation in the buttocks and areas that are along the path of the sciatic nerve. This goes even lower down to the person’s lower thigh and leg.

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So Where Do I Put My Wallet?

So you might be shaking your head now asking yourself “How could I have not figured all that out myself?”. Don’t worry, that makes two of us. Upon further reading, I’ve found out that there are three ways to go around this.

  • Don’t carry a wallet
  • Use a satchel or small bag to put your wallet in.
  • Put the wallet on your front pocket.

Option 1 is great but is not an everyday choice. There are times when carrying a wallet is actually important (especially when you meet somebody you might want to share a business card with).
Option 2 is gaining popularity nowadays but it opens up a whole new can of worms that I wouldn’t want to open.

That leaves us with option 3.

At this point, it becomes easier to consider the front pocket. It’s not the best place fashion-wise but it sure is safer and much healthier for you. It will take a little bit of getting used to as the design of the front pocket isn’t exactly wallet friendly. Better yet, go and buy yourself a front pocket wallet. These wallets are specially designed to easily slide in and out of your front pocket without a hitch.

Just try it out for yourself. Go out there today and put your wallet inside your front pocket to see what I mean.

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2 thoughts on “Front Pocket or Back Pocket: Where Should You Keep Your Wallet?

  1. What about those of us who carry breast pocket wallets?

  2. Another thing to consider especially when you carry wallets in your back pocket for years, would be “back pain” from sitting on it. It doesn’t help your spine with good posture.

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