Thwart pickpockets, save your back

Carrying your wallet in your back pocket provides easy bait for pickpockets. And sitting for an extended period with that bulge against your behind can cause serious back pain and muscle strains. Alas, front pockets rarely are the solution; the design gods for some reason made most front pockets in a rounded, pointed shape (kind of like a shark fin). And you can't (comfortably or securely) stick a square object in a curved hole. Then don't, say the smarty pants at Rogue Industries, who sensibly redesigned the exterior shape of a standard wallet to conform to the interior shape of a standard pants pocket while leaving the wallet's interior shapes pretty much intact. There they all are: the long slots for paper currency, the vertical slits for credit cards, the essential ID window. The Rogue folks have tweaked some styles for personal appeal. One model partitions the billfold section into five compartments for efficiently organizing denominations and/or international currencies. Other interior variations include a snap-closure pocket for coins or digital memory cards; a little pouch for a key; and a miniature compass that remains visible through a cutout in the folded wallet. Although the manufacturer is all about leather - including bison, moose, and, yes, Bambi - the Front Pocket Wallet does come in one synthetic look-alike version, emphatically labeled "Vegan Non-Leather."

Rogue Industries Front Pocket Wallets in leather or leather/cloth blends cost $20 to $65; in Vegan Non-Leather, $30; at www.rogue-industries.com.