Disappointing padlock purchases

[jimmysmith]

This just gets under my skin!!!! Today I went out and bought a couple padlocks to pick...{as I normally do every payday}....well this time I wanted something...harder..i am tired of just inserting my picks and pop its open! i want something harder....so I went to sportsman warehouse... and found a couple nice looking locks... I mean there tough looking.. I spent a good amount to.. there 6 pin made by trimax says there max security..resists picking...removeable cyclinder....
well got home and inserted my tension wrench....grabed my trusty hook pick....and by the time i got it to the back of the lock the thing opened....Its bull crap...I paid good money for these locks.. so i thought maybe the other one will be tougher,......nope... it was not.. I am freaking taking these locks back for diffrent ones,...
its it just me or when you guys buy locks you always try to check out the key.... make sure its a harder one to pick....
I think thats a good idea,...

seems the more i pay for pin tumbler padlocks the easier they are to open.

[Gordon Airporte]

I think much of the time you're paying the premium for weather/drill/bolt-cutter resistance. The locking mechanism doesn't show up as obviously 'tough' through the packaging the same way a big hunk of metal does, and my guess is the uninitiated public chooses largely on image.
Have you tried an American brand lock? They have a good reputation for both kinds of toughness.

[Kaotik]

I look at the key whenever possible to see the pin configuration, but now some of the lock manufactures have slaped on a plastic sleeve over the key biting. So that isn't always possible to do.

Good thing I have a crap load of Americans and a pinning kit, They keep me well challenged.

[jimmysmith]

Yes i have a couple .. I am playing with a american 1105 right now.

[freakparade3]

Thats the reason I stopped buying padlocks and bought a pin kit to rekey my deadbolts. Saves alot of money.

[Eyes_Only]

I used to do the same thing, buy one padlock after another until I had a large collection of padlocks and no where to put them. At some point I realized that yes, this is bull crap. So I started to do more research on locks before I bought them.

I always avoid the ones sold in drug stores and 99% of the ones sold in hardware stores. The only padlocks I buy now are ones I can rekey and know that they contain security pins in them to prevent the possibility of becoming a padlock pack rat again.

I go with the same rule with cylinder locks. If I cant rekey them and they're not high security or anything exotic and special, I don't buy it.

[Shrub]

Jimmysmith

Use appropreate titles please,

[zeke79]

Title updated.

[jimmysmith]

thanks

[Anero]

go to wal-mart and pick up the Brinks shrouded padlock it's about $13

do a search for the lock break down, it's a mean lock.

also maybe at the same time pick up the brinks R70 lock, it's a 4 pin lock but some people have had a little bit of trouble with it. again fairly cheap around $10-$15

[landfill158]

Find a lock with a keymark cylinder in it...that'll keep you going for awhile

[Lynx40]

also maybe at the same time pick up the brinks R70 lock, it's a 4 pin lock but some people have had a little bit of trouble with it. again fairly cheap around $10-$15

Boy, that's no lie. The spring on that thing is brutal. You almost need a crowbar to overcome it, and then you have to be able to stop at just the right point to catch the pins.

Some people can get through it pretty easily, but I find it difficult to feel anything going on in there. It's like trying to read Braille with mittens on.

[gilduran]

I know this is an old post, but I had the same thing happen the other day when I purchased a Master Lock 6230 Solid Steel padlock for $20.

It literally took me less than a minute to open it the first time I tried, and I am no master of Pick-fu. Needless to say, that lock is going back to the store.