BEST LOCK MASTER KEY SOFTWARE UPGRADE
BEST LOCK MASTER KEY SOFTWARE FULL
BEST LOCK MASTER KEY SOFTWARE PORTABLE
BEST LOCK MASTER KEY SOFTWARE PLUS

“If I was a thief,” he said, “I’d probably quit after the second wore out-if I even carried a spare.A comprehensive key management program is essential to the security of any facility. A third, slower attempt also took five blades. On the second attempt, he went faster, pushing harder, and it took five blades to cut through the lock. He went through two disc blades cutting through the lock on the first try, going very carefully and trying not to let the disc blades catch.

BEST LOCK MASTER KEY SOFTWARE PORTABLE

Duncan Niederlitz, who did the lock testing (and destroying) for the 2017 edition of this guide, hauled out his portable angle grinder to demolish the sample lock. After the funding period was over, at the end of October, Hiplok sent us a sample lock ( we don’t test or evaluate products while they’re still in crowdfunding) that was, they told us, one of the first 30 made. In the fall of 2021, the British bike lock company Hiplok announced that it had made a lock, the D1000, using a graphene-reinforced ceramic composite designed to withstand a portable angle grinder, and it launched a Kickstarter campaign to publicize it. (Again, you have to register your lock within 30 days of purchase for the coverage to take effect.) For extra peace of mind, it also comes with a free year of the highest level ($5,000) of anti-theft coverage from Kryptonite. Like our top pick, it uses a very secure disc-detainer mechanism, and it’s long enough to fit around your bike’s frame and your wheel without becoming too cumbersome. But if you’re in a high-risk area, and can’t spend $300, this lock is the one to buy.

BEST LOCK MASTER KEY SOFTWARE FULL

However, this lock doesn’t come with a cable, and it weighs almost 4.5 pounds, a full pound and a half more than the Mini-7.

(That exception is the Hiplok D1000, which costs $300 see “ What about the Hiplok D1000?” for more about it.) Even with a powered cut-off wheel, our testers took over a minute to make the two cuts necessary to remove it-four times longer to grind through than with the New-U Evolution Mini-7. With an 18 mm dual-locking hardened shackle, the Kryptonite New-U New York Fahgettaboudit Mini held up better than any other lock-except one-against cutting attacks.

BEST LOCK MASTER KEY SOFTWARE UPGRADE

(The company’s New York lock series-including our upgrade pick and the chain pick below-is covered even in Manhattan.)

Two caveats on the latter: You must register your lock within 30 days of buying it, and the anti-theft protection on this lock does not apply to residents of Manhattan, where theft is very high.

BEST LOCK MASTER KEY SOFTWARE PLUS

It also comes with a 4-foot cable to secure the front wheel, plus a free year of Kryptonite’s anti-theft protection. The New-U Evolution Mini-7 uses a disc-detainer locking mechanism, which is much harder to pick than a typical wafer lock and should foil all but the most savvy criminal using specialty tools. On top of that, the shackle in this design has an additional cutout at the end, which makes rotating (and therefore removing) it after cutting it even more difficult. Measuring 7 inches long and weighing a little under 3 pounds, it’s the perfect size for most people-long enough to lock the wheel and frame of most bicycles to a rack while leaving almost no room for someone to wedge a pry bar or a car jack inside it. Once our testing began, we immediately saw the huge advantage this lock had over the competition: Its 13-millimeter hardened shackle (the big U-shaped loop that gives U-locks their name) can withstand bolt cutters, eliminating a large percentage of potential thieves. The Kryptonite New-U Evolution Mini-7 should withstand attacks from everything but power tools under most circumstances.

Best lock master key software