GOVO Badge Holder/Wallet

The Product

The GOVO badge holder is a card holder designed to hold up to 4 cards, keeping the top one visible, and attach to your person with either the built in pocket clip or a lanyard. The polycarbonate version I have here comes in a number of colors, but I chose the basic black. The holder is also available in aluminum and titanium - while these are interesting, they cost a bit more and are heavier.

Spoiler

I'm probably not the only person that needs to carry an ID badge (or badges) around for their job. I probably go through a few of the usual holders a year, and I hate them all - they feel cheap, and they're practically disposable. To make things worse, they're either clanging around on an often dangerous neck lanyard, or they're hanging from an equally cheap retractor clipped to my belt. I decided it was time to treat myself and try this thing out.
For me, clipping this onto a pocket is the biggest upgrade. It keeps my badge from swinging around, but keeps it easily accessible. GOVO does also make lanyards, if that's what you want, but they don't have a retractor - I'd love to see their take on that in the future. The other major upgrade with the GOVO is that it doesn't feel like it was made to be disposable, but like it was meant to be used. Over all, I'm very happy with this product, and I'm happy not to have some thin plastic rattling around all day.

Physical Dimensions

The badge holder measures 62.8 mm wide and 94.4 mm tall. It's 9.7 mm thick, but that bulges to 12.8 mm where the clip is attached, and the clip sticks out a bit further. The size isn't bad, but it is noticeably larger than the other badge holders I've used. The card sleeve is about 4.5 mm thick. It's advertised as fitting 4 cards, and has no trouble fitting my thick RFID badge along with a standard thickness ID pass.

Build

On the front, the wallet is very clear, making it quite easy to see the first card if that's a requirement for you. With the cards removed, you can see the spring bar that holds the cards tightly in the wallet.
The design smartly holds the cards at the two edges, to avoid scuffing the inner surface when inserting or removing the cards - but replacements are available if yours scuffs or wears over time.
There's a screw at each corner fastening the front and back halves.
The two sides are bare, but show the two layers.
At the bottom, a section is cut out to make it easy to remove any cards you need to swipe or insert to use.
The top is open as well, as it's where the cards are inserted from.
The back of the card holder has a gives another look at the detent for easier card removal. The clip is screwed into a bit of a hump in the back. This is one of the reasons I went with the plastic model - even if you pay extra for the metal versions, they'll always be hidden against your body if you wear it clipped to yourself.

Retention

The clip on the back is the most unique feature, asides from the overall quality, of this badge holder. For me, clipping the badge is a huge improvement over the lanyards and retractors I've used in the past. No real complaints about the clip.
There's a fixed loop above the clip if you opt to use this holder with a lanyard or retractor.

What's Included

I ordered the basic badge holder, which doesn't come with any extras - but versions are available packaged with an RFID blocking card, a lanyard, or both.

Style and Usage

Style is pretty personal, and there's no getting past it - having an ID badge anywhere on you is probably going to look pretty dorky. For me, I think having it out of the way and clipped to a pocket looks better than a lanyard, but I'm sure some people will think it looks a bit too "tacticool".
I can say that I had no issues with the badge holder blocking any signals for ID cards I use that need to be tapped for access, and the cards were quite easy to access when I needed them. 
My only qualm is that wearing a wide, flat badge holder on a round waist does mean it sticks out a bit - I didn't have any issues, but it wouldn't be out of the question for this to get caught or knocked off while wearing it. 

Summary

Pros:

  • Easily the highest quality badge holder I have ever seen
  • Pocket clip is fantastic
  • Front cover is extremely clear, and has a pretty smart design to keep it that way

Cons:

  • Style might be polarizing
  • Wears a bit thick

Notes and Links

This product was purchased by me. I was not paid to write this review, and have tried to be as unbiased as possible.
GOVO Badge Holder on Amazon (affiliate link)

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