A while back I wrote an article on the Ottolock. Ever growing in popularity – the theft deterrent product gets some upgrades and refinements for V2. The changes are subtle improvements and shows how the company is committed to improving and refining an already great solution.
Molded tip protector.
The new Cerakote coating has a velvety sheen.
Durable coating should prove for a better looking longer lasting finish. (Above) The black is the v1 finish.
1- New Powercoat
The housing paint on V1 was a wet exoxy bond paint, for V2 things have been switched to a high end powdercote. Cerakote is a patented material which is sprayed on then baked at a low temperature. A blend of paint, epoxy and ceramic material to make a nutty hyper durable finish on the lock body. This means it won’t wear and chip like the black one in the pictures. Looks better longer and survives being banged around more. The Cerakote also has a nice subtle micro texture hence the matte look (compare the highlights) and has a velvety feel! Cerakote TM is high end and chosen for it’s military specification for coating metals, it’s not a cheap powercoat and the performance characteristics are high, making it tough and durable.
2- Cable Tip
Another improvement is the improved cable tip guard, I never found my V1 delaminating at the end, but this extra plastic ensures it won’t happen to the stainless and Kevlar layers meaning the usability will stay high and operate like brand new, when feeding it through the lock body.
3- High Strength Lock Pawls
Finally, unseen to the eye improvements have been made to the internal mechanism with some CAD refinements to the locking pawls to make them higher in tensile strength, meaning higher security and less chance of fails.
PRODUCT DETAILS
$55, $60 and $75 for the 18, 30 and 60″
$8 for the mount
3 colours, Orange, Black and Lime
3 sizes of lock. 18″, 30″ and 60″ (I tested the 30″ version)
https://ottodesignworks.com/shop/ottolock
TIPS
Over the past months I have found a few tips for the use of Ottolock.
1) Ottolock makes a geat addition to a regular U lock, all that Ottolock to secure your front wheel or helmet, heck even both.
2) When moving house in the city, use to lockup your movers dolly while grabbing a quick latte from a local barista.
3) The Ottolock is small and light enough to take everywhere, pack it in your bag or on your bike, you never know, it comes in really handy. And if you don’t use it, who cares, it’s not like its big n heavy.
Summary
Take a good product and make it better at the same retail price. What is there not to like?
Update – Feb 2019
Check out the latest Ottolock Design – The Hexband here