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Not only is the ABUS Titalium Aluminum Alloy Padlock easy to open, but it's also compact and lightweight. Read More
With its easy-to-turn numbers and lightweight form factor, the Desired Tools 4 Digit Combination Padlock has a lot to offer. Read More
The Master Lock Bluetooth Padlock is super easy to use, as it unlocks with the press of a button. Read More
With its fun colors and affordable pricing, the Master Lock Word Combination Lock is perfect for a young student. Read More
The ABUS Diskus Padlock is a great option for storage units and moving trucks, as it's ultra-durable. Read More
While it might not stop a determined criminal dead in their tracks, an outdoor padlock can be an effective, affordable way to provide additional security to your home or valuables. You can use it with a heavy chain to secure a bicycle or grill in your backyard, or use it to lock down the latch on your garden shed. In some instances, just the sight of a sturdy padlock can be enough to make a crook look elsewhere for easier pickings.
After investing a significant amount of time in research and testing a selection of popular outdoor padlocks for durability and ease of use on a variety of different gauges of steel chain, we've determined that the best padlock you can buy right now is the Abus Titalium Aluminum Alloy (available at Amazon) .
Through rigorous testing, we found that the ABUS Titalium Aluminum Alloy Padlock is the best padlock for most people.
Our Best Overall, the Abus Titalium Aluminum Alloy padlock, aced our tests and is a good choice for most people. I had no trouble opening the Abus and it fit over every chain I tested it on. Made of an alloy steel shackle with nano protect coating, this high-quality key padlock survived all our destructive tests and still opened just as easily as the first time I tried to open it.
The lock itself is a six-pin cylinder, which makes it harder for the average person to pick. It’s much lighter than other padlocks we tested, but reviewers warned that the lock can be shimmed if someone desperately wanted to get in.
The Desired Tools 4 Combination Padlock is a fantastic choice for the gym.
For those times you need to lock your prized possessions away from the world, the Desired Tools 4 Digit Combination Lock gets the job done. Setting the combination is very straightforward–it even has an online tutorial!
On top of that, the numbers were the easiest to turn out of all the combination locks we tested. While it's less than ideal for outdoor use, its lightweight and compact size makes it ideal for securing a gym locker.
Not great for outdoor use
Once you get the app set up, the Master Lock Bluetooth padlock is easy to use. As long as I had the app open on my smartphone, I could easily unlock the lock with a press of a button. no key or combo required. An added security feature lets you set a “locker mode,” preventing someone else from trying to unlock it while your phone is nearby.
The reason why it isn’t higher on the list is that adding Bluetooth to a padlock introduces some concerns. For one, people who aren’t tech-savvy may not be able to use it with ease. You also need to keep an eye out for the yellow glow that indicates a dying battery, or else you’ll be stuck jumpstarting the lock to get your precious trapped items.
This lock was also the only one to fail the water test. The batteries short-circuited as expected, which leads to some concern about potential water damage if it’s used outside. I would personally use it as an indoor lock, though.
Not great for outdoor use
The appeal of the Master Lock Word Combo is its fun colors, and memorizing a four-letter word instead of a combination, and that’s where it ends.
Unlocking this lock became increasingly frustrating. Each time I would try to change a letter, I would end up nudging one of the adjacent letters and would have to redo my set word. Also, over time, its white lettering could fade.
Uses letters instead of numbers
I initially struggled with opening up this disk padlock. You need the three layers of keyholes to line up perfectly, or else it won’t open. Its small hole made it incredibly difficult to fit around any of the chains we tested on.
Strength-wise, it’s made of stainless steel and held up well in our destructive test. Still, while this style of locks is ideal for storage units or moving trucks, we don’t recommend it for anything else.
The glaring issue with the Master Lock Set Your Own Combo is that it’s kind of backward. You push down to open the lock as opposed to pulling. You also need to scramble the numbers before closing the lock, which can be quite annoying.
I felt like I was playing against the force and hurt my hands a bit when attempting to open it. The numbers don’t move smoothly either, and I had to jiggle it quite a bit in the cold. To change the combination you need to use the small key provided, but it would be easier to just get a lock with a key than having to worry about both a combination and a key.
That said, once I got a hang of the reverse-opening method, it opened very smoothly when it was attached to the chain. It also survived our destructive tests with ease.
Numbers are difficult to turn
The Master Lock Standard Dial gives the iconic look and feel of high school lockers. With a long combination sequence, it’s very easy to mess up. I found myself attempting the combination a few times before successfully opening it.
I would not use this on anything but a locker. It looks very awkward on chains, and the combination sequence takes a long time to enter. This could be annoying if you’re in a hurry to open a bike lock or a gate. This lock was the only one that opened upon impact in our drop test, and by extension the easiest to break into.
The Oria 4 Digit Combo is designed for gym lockers, but it’s also one of the harder ones to use. While it’s relatively easy to set up the combination, this padlock felt stiff while changing the numbers.
The lock itself feels very loose, and to relock it you need to scramble the combo first while it’s still closed. This is a bit difficult to do when playing against the force of a chain. This padlock was also damaged during our weathering tests. Although it still opens, it now makes an annoying squeaking sound, and the numbers are harder to move.
We’ve rounded up some of the most popular padlocks and pitted them against each other to determine the best of the best. For the combination padlocks, we set each lock with a combination and open it several times to determine how easy each padlock is to unlock and lock. We also try opening the locks while they’re locked by pulling on them. Next, we put them on a bike lock and a chain and repeat the tests to see how they fare in action.
After our usability tests, we have some fun with a few destructive tests. Our testing experts chuck the locks from our office’s second-floor fire escape to see if they break, and also whether they open on impact. A little while after the impact tests, we return to see if the padlocks still work. The locks are then submerged in water for 24 hours to see if weathering would damage them.
Finally, we place the padlocks in a freezer for 24 hours and then attempt to open each one, to simulate how they would fare in cold weather. In the end, we subject these padlocks to just about every test short of bolt cutters.
Different uses call for different kinds of padlocks. Some of the main types you’ll encounter are keyed padlocks, combination padlocks, and discus padlocks.
Keyed locks are typically the easiest to use and are often made with a higher level of security in mind. When shopping for a keyed padlock, look for ones with more key pins, which means they’re more difficult to pick. You should also look for ones made of tougher metals.
Combination padlocks, also known as “locker locks,” are great for keeping a few simple things at locked up at a gym or an employee locker room. They’re also great if you have to share a locked space among several people who need access. Just bear in mind, you may struggle with a combination a few times before opening.
Discus Padlocks are great for outdoor storage units, moving trucks, and other specialty situations. Their unique shape makes them difficult to break with bolt cutters.
(Our SEO Updates editor, Garrett Steele, once had someone break into a storage unit that was locked with a discus padlock. But the padlock itself was so resistant to bolt cutters that they’d actually cut away the entire door’s locking mechanism. The storage unit, not the padlock, was the weak link.)
When you're shopping for a reliable padlock, look for locks made from weather-resistant materials such as brass, laminated steel, or aluminum. You might not plan on using your lock outside, but it's nice to have the option to do so, down the road.
If you're looking for a padlock that'll provide a higher level of security, Home Depot suggests die-cast zinc, solid-steel bodies, and boron-steel shackles as they "provide additional cut and pry resistance." You may also want to consider investing in a lock with a shrouded shackle: a covered padlock shackle makes it more difficult and, in some cases, impossible for a crook to use bolt cutters to circumvent a padlock's security.
It's important to note that the best padlock in the world won't secure your valuables if it's fastened to a poorly made door or cheap chain or latch. Your home's fixtures and a heavy-duty chain play just as important a role as finding the right lock does!
Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time. The product experts at Reviewed have all your shopping needs covered. Follow Reviewed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, or Flipboard for the latest deals, product reviews, and more.
Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.
The product experts at Reviewed have all your shopping needs covered. Follow Reviewed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, or Flipboard for the latest deals, product reviews, and more.
Courtney is an editor and shopper with a passion for finding the best things on the internet. She's a foodie and will talk about the latest batch of kombucha she's brewing to anyone who will listen. She has previously worked for Country Living, Woman's Day, and Our State Magazine.
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