Locksport competition

[radiohaze]

I'm wondering...in the TOOOL competitions (and others, like Gringo Warrior) what kinds of locks are presented to the competitors? I'm guessing they're not exactly opening Master #3s, but also doubt they're picking Medecos and Mul T Locks. Are most of the locks basic pin tumber or wafer locks, but with security pins, sidebar, etc?

[squelchtone]

I'm wondering...in the TOOOL competitions (and others, like Gringo Warrior) what kinds of locks are presented to the competitors? I'm guessing they're not exactly opening Master #3s, but also doubt they're picking Medecos and Mul T Locks. Are most of the locks basic pin tumber or wafer locks, but with security pins, sidebar, etc?

Medeco and Mul-t-Lock are both on the list =)

Here is the 2009 TOOOL Netherlands list of competition locks:
http://blackbag.nl/?p=278

Squelchtone

[radiohaze]

Holy *@%#...I had *no* idea the locks they were opening were of such high security (or as obscure as some of those locks seem to be...a "Gemini Shield?" ). I've never heard of 90% of the locks on that page, and I spend way to much time looking at locks online!

[FarmerFreak]

Unless you are planning on heading out of the country for a Toool competition. That list is just a tad misleading.

So, how about the most difficult lock a Toool competition has used inside of the US? The most difficult lock I've seen them use was along the lines of a 6 pin Schlage with some spools. But I admit I never got that close to a Gringo warrior competition to see what they had up.

Locksport on the other hand. I have seen some more difficult locks used in their 24-hour picking competition. But even then, it was scaled back on difficulty compared to that Toool Netherlands list.

[datagram]

There's a fundamental difference between the NL list and what is used in most US competitions. TOOOL NL has a YEAR LONG points competition where they get a chance to pick those locks and improve their times every time they meet for a year. All of the US competitions are a weekend/weeklong event, usually at a conference. In these, many of the competitors are given a very limited amount of time to pick one or many locks (5-15 minutes). With that in mind, the locks chosen are generally not the hardest to pick. Many of the US competitions also focus more on having fun than world-class lockpicking, as Gringo Warrior and Locksport Wizard do such a good job of.

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but I believe I am the only one to run a dedicated points competition in the US for several months? My LA group did a 6 month points comp with a variety of challenging locks, but not as encompassing as the NL list. I'd imagine the boys in Boston or Texas might have done similar, but I have not seen mention of it online. I can compile a list of locks we used, but it included Medeco cam locks, Biaxial, Mul-T-Lock, and some very challenging european cylinders.

dg