So I picked this relatively new cryptowallet “SafePal S1” for literally peanuts which immediately made me wonder how good it actually can be…

First of all I’m very happy to see that cryptowallets become more accessible and cheaper, this is generally a good trend but I’m ofc also concerned by the means on how they got the price so low (we’re talking about 50USD here).

One thing I noticed immediately was that this wallet is extremely small and light. It’s the size of a credit-card and as wide as perhaps a stack of 5 cards.

It weights nothing and at many occasions I didnt feel it in my pocket and immediately thought I’d lost/drop it.

The overall feel is rather unpolished but for the price tag it’s good enough. It’s all plastic obviously. It feels kind of sturdy but to a degree where you’re actually rather not try testing it.

I keep it with my loose keys in my pocket so after just a few hours of walking around, chilling at cafes etc it’s having quite many scratches already.

I dont mind scratches on my day-to-day gear, that’s just normal wear and tear for me. However as the S1 uses QR codes (and a camera in the back) to send data between the smartphone App and the device, scratches make it more of an issue.

I have a rather deep scratch just a few millimeters shy of the lense which got me worried but so far all is well.

The Screen is scratched. That’s a given. But that’s ironically not the issue - Far bigger issue is that there’s quite a bit of glare on it making some awkward bendy moments to move phone and S1 into the shadows to get the QR back.

All this being said, so far I do actually like it. The usage is simple, the PIN-Entry uses a randomized keypad making it hard to snoop, it’s super light and portable, battery seems to last long enough.

But I havent yet opened the device yet. I’m curious to see what’s inside and how it all works. There was quite a lot of spoilers from Kraken’s Security Team obviously but I’m curious how (if any) they changed from then.

Update from #2021-07-02

One thing I noticed while using it during Midsommar was the screen glare - both on the S1 and my phone.

It was quite tricky to use and I had to evade into the shadows to be able to scan either QRs.

It’s been now 2 weeks in my pockets and travels along my side and I have to say that I’m quite satisfied with it.

One drawback, perhaps a big one, is the unclear roadmap of how new coins get supported.

For instance Cardano (ADA) is still not supported other than as BEP20 warpped token, however Polkadot (DOT) is fully supported. I wish it had support for XMR too…

I’m awaiting a 2nd one of these so I can safely open it and investigate what’s inside, However I believe the opening and potential desoldering will be a 2nd post.

Draft flag removed.