I picked up a "Hot Tamale" coin purse from Mean Gene Leather. I hate loose change in my pockets and except for a few quarters I will normally dump the pennies in the donation cup if they have one. I have had this for a little over a month now. This thing is great and now a part of my EDC. MGLHotTamale_01 by Grandpa Patch, on Flickr MGLHotTamale_03 by Grandpa Patch, on Flickr I started with $5 in quarters, although it claims to hold $10 worth of quarters. From there I just added whatever change I picked up. This thing is very well made with thick, not bulky, solid leather. The stitching for the leather itself and the zipper are well done. I have not had any residue transfer onto my clothing due to a bad job with leather staining / treatments or any problems with the color (I got the 'distressed' color) coming off or fading. The zipper and button line up the way they are supposed to, so there isn't any undo stress associated with poor work. The zipper is positioned so that when the zipper is closed it is at the lower end of the pouch as you are carrying it. No worries about gravity taking over the zipper in a year or two. I'm sure that if I was stopped and searched by the police that they would recognize it for what it is.. a blackjack, sap, weapon, but the average store cop at WalMart, local bank security or average civilian walking around wouldn't have a clue. Mean Gene does include a warning a the bottom of his item description about the legality of this item. The "Hot Tamale" is worth every penny and I left a 5 star review on his website. I don't usually post reviews unless they are great or terrible. This is definitely a great item.
Interesting unit. Illegal to carry here though. My Dad had the real deal sap he carried in the USAF Airpolice, but it wasn't found when I cleaned out his stuff after he passed. Never thought of a "coin purse" made this way.
No, I haven't applied any use of force via my coin purse yet, onto anything or anyone. I am still shoving change in it, but it is nearly filled to the limit. Then I want to do some bend, twist and flex things with it to see how well the stitching and zipper are holding up. After that will be the damage application protocol....
UPDATE TO REVIEW OF "HOT TAMALE" My wife left some change on the bathroom sink countertop! So, I filled everything I could fit into the Hot Tamale and started this mornings fun. MGL_Test_06 by Grandpa Patch, on Flickr Then I did some twists, bend and pulls on the whole item as well as just seeing if the zipper would give. MGL_Test_04 by Grandpa Patch, on Flickr MGL_Test_05 by Grandpa Patch, on Flickr All of the seems and zipper held up well with no signs of give, stress or popping. The zipper pull did lift up as the coin purse was loaded to the gills. I did not want to swing it and hit anything with the zippered side, as a pro-caution to breaking it off. It this was a self defense situation that would obviously not be a concern or priority. I used a full can of Krogers' Sliced White Potatoes. I hit it with light / semi-moderate force as I was not intent on killing the can or the coin purse. The coin purse barely showed any type of mark on it. Just to the left of the red semicircle you can hardly see the slight depression left from the top of the can. MGL_Test_02 by Grandpa Patch, on Flickr As you can see the stitching, zipper and zipper pull do not seem to have noticed that they were involved in an aggravated assault on a defenseless can of potatoes. MGL_Test_03 by Grandpa Patch, on Flickr MGL_Test_01 by Grandpa Patch, on Flickr When the counting was done, there was a total of $9.25 quarters, $1.10 dimes, $0.30 nickels and $0.12 pennies for a grand total of $10.77. Mean Gene's item description claims this will hold $10.00 in quarters, of which I have no doubt. Eliminating the dimes, nickels and pennies would easily allow for 3 additional quarters to equal $10.00. With nearly 1 1/2 inches of coins (see first photo) stacked inside of the coin purse it is definitely felt on the inside of your belt. If you reverse the carry (coin purse on outside of belt) the Hot Tamale come out by slide down into your hand with the zipper on the inside of your swing. With the Hot Tamale carried 'normally' with the coins on the inside of your belt and the handle on the outside, you can grab the handle and pull up with the coin purse solidly and correctly in your grip. With almost all reviews that I have seen, there is always Pro / Con side to the review. I honestly can not find fault with the Hot Tamale. It well constructed, solid, does what it is supposed to (coin purse) and fulfill a secondary role of blackjack or sap. I think the only problem that I could dig up would be the fact that this is not legal in all 50 states.