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Squire Combination Padlock 30mm
by Coffeetiere
My husband often flies for work purposes and takes a zip-up medium sized suitcase which has to go in the carrier if he is going for more than a couple of days. He ordered a package of three of these locks, mainly because one of the zips kept opening slightly, so the lock was a way of holding it together, but also in today's climate I ... think it a good idea not only for the safety of belongings inside to lock a suitcase but also as a protection to stop anything from being added to your suitcase.
~The Padlocks~
They came in a pack of three identical locks. These are Henry Squire Recodable Padlocks specifically designed for luggage use - for suitcases, laptop bags and brief cases whilst travelling. Each lock is coded rather than using keys, which I think is better for our purposes, well as long as you don't lose the code! Unusually they are three number codes, most others I have seen are four, but still this would give 1000 different possible combinations (0-9 numbers of the dial x 3 dials ie. 10x10x10 =1000).
The locks black and silver in colour and made from die cast steel, which, if I remember correctly is a mixture of metal alloys with are hard wearing and corrosion resistant. They look and feel very durable dispute being fairly small, 5cm in total length, with a body of about 3cm - the shackle part is quite long which makes it easy to clip around zip fasteners. So far we have had no problems getting the lock's shackle to go through any zip holes, however I suspect the shackle may be too thick for some smaller zips so you may want to check before buying. They are also quite light in weight just over 100grams each so they won't added much to your luggage allowance. These padlocks are also quite aesthetically pleasing, looking much more professional than the usual brass padlock so would be suitable to use on brief cases in an office environment.
~Durability~
As they came in a pack of three my husband kept two for himself, one for the main section of his suitcase and one for the front pocket, and gave the third to me. He has used his padlocks perhaps 10 times each so far and the only problem is he forget the code to one of the locks one time and had to phone me to find it out from a hotel in Hong Kong. We do have a notebook for keeping codes and things, so luckily I could tell him what the code was. So far I have only used my lock once, when I went to a conference in Bristol I locked my pull-along bag with this padlock as I felt it would be safer locked up when I put it in the racks on the train. The lock worked perfectly and it just gave me a bit of piece of mind that no one could get into my bag, even if I was still a little worried that someone could nick the whole thing!
~Re/Setting the Code~
My husband set the initial codes for all 3 locks - different codes for each one, but I have since changed my code to one of my choice that I find easier to remember. It's easy to do, just set the number to your current code and then slide the "reset" cover over to reveal a hole which they suggest you use the end of a paper clip to stick in to reset, I used my iPhone reset "key" which I keep in my keychain. Keep the wire in and close the shackle whilst you reset the numbers to your new password, then pull the wire out and the numbers are reset. Lastly push the "reset" cover back over the hole.
The dials themselves, with numbers 0-9 on each, are easy to turn and there is enough distance between each one of the dials to turn it without catching more than one dial at once.
~Cost~
My husband bought a pack of three from Amazon for about £12 including postage and packaging, so £4 each, which I think was quite good value. For holding a suitcase zip together and giving that bit more protection for your belongings these Squire padlocks work very nicely, although obviously with a few tools they could be easily opened. The three locks come in plastic moulded packaging front with a card back and we packaged in a cardboard box from Amazon.
~Summary~
This are great for travel and for a low level of back age security and protection. Realistically there is little you could do to stop someone getting into your luggage if they really wanted to but for a little extra baggage security when on the move these are great. A good priced lock - 5/5 from me (and hubby)!
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Squire Stronghold Padlock 65mm
by wazza115
*Price & Availability:*
I think we purchased from Amazon (however this was several years ago), you can currently buy it direct from the manufacturer, in hardwear shops such as Screwfix, Homebase or B & Q and it costs around £70 including VAT. This may seem expensive however with our house being a fairly new build, the ... garage door is quite close to the main road and as it is an integral garage with a connecting door into the kitchen, I wanted to protect ourselves as much as possible (my other half is a bit protective over his tools too!)
*The product:*
The body of the padlock is made from hardened steel which is then coating twice with zinc and then a final coating of black electophoretic (electophoretic refers to the way in which the coating is made and means it is more resistant to scratching and the elements - I had to check this as I had no idea what it meant!). The padlock measures around 6.5 cm x 3.2 cm. The shackle is an open and closed version and is quite big. It measures around 3 x 3cm which means it was ideal for my garage door and suitable for other larger locks such as gates, warehouses and shed etc. The lock mechanism itself features a six pin cylinder tumbler made from boron alloy steel.
To open the lock, all you need to do is turn the key to the right and to lock the padlock you need to push down on the shackle and insert it into the lock on the other side of the barrel. What I have found in the past with other padlocks is that they can be a little stiff to lock but even my four year old daughter was able to lock this! The key can also be removed from the padlock while it is open.
When you purchase, you are provided with two keys, I find this ideal as we have a tendency to loose things in our house! I also like it because it also means that both me and my partner can have a key each (on our house keys) so if one of us is not in, we don't spend half an hour looking for them!. The keys are also high quality and do not feel flimsy in any way like other models can. There are 250,000 versions of the lock which means it would be highly unlikely that you would get another key that would match the lock.
The padlock is CEN graded 5 and 6 which means they offer between extra high (grade 5) and maximum (grade 6) security. I used to work in home insurance and it is worthwhile mentioning this if you use this grading of lock as they take into consideration when calculating your premiums.
*My Thoughts*
The quality of the materials used to manufacture this padlock shows that this is a product that is certainly designed to last. It is used on the base of our garage door so it is exposed to all the elements and is still as easy to open as it was when we first purchased. It is not showing any signs of rust or corrosion and I do not feel that the product has weakened in any way.
Overall, I would recommend this product and give 5 out of 5 stars. It is an excellent padlock, well made, designed to last and touch wood, it has deterred any thieves so far which is what I wanted it to do.
Thanks for reading.
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