It's not often that we have an opportunity to review a fascinating new way to store and use keys -- plain old keys, that is, not encryption keys, electronic keys, CD keys, or Florida Keys -- so when we heard that the
sanely-priced version of the
Keyport was finally shipping after
a three-year wait, we knew that we had to have a look. It's not too useful of a product for those of you that only have one or two locks that you need to worry about day in and day out, but anything more than that can quickly become a pain in the ass with a jangly keyring that you can't quietly take out of your pocket to save your life. Let's have a look at what this thing's all about, shall we?
Of course, ordering a Keyport isn't quite as simple as heading over to the company's website and doling out a credit card number. The gadget uses custom key blanks designed to fit inside the shell and connect to the studs that you use to retract and extend them from the body, so they first need to know what blanks to send you. To do this, you lay out the keys you want Keyported on a printed PDF that they provide, identify any codes that appear on the keys, write down descriptions, and take a picture of the spread using your digital camera -- twice, actually: once for each side of the keys. They advise you that you can tape up the tips of each key for added security (that way, Keyport doesn't know the specific grooves necessary to duplicate them), and since you probably don't want perfect images of your keys floating around the interwebs, it seemed like a good idea to us.
Once you've got the pictures, you email them to Keyport; within a few minutes of doing that, we had a FedEx tracking number saying our unit and blanks were on their way. We also got an email mapping each blank to a key in our picture (Key 1, Key 2, and so on) by a unique code that appears on each blank so that you know which is which when you go to have the blanks cut (turns out the locksmith can figure this out anyway, but it's still a nice touch on Keyport's part).
When you open your package, you find two components: a black Ziploc-style bag filled with blanks held together by a zip tie, and a metal box -- almost identical in size and shape to an Altoids tin -- that contains the Slide itself along with the colored studs that you'll connect to the blanks. Pretty deluxe, but then again, we'd expect no less for $80.
At that point, it's a matter of taking your blanks down to your friendly neighborhood locksmith and getting them cut to match the keys that you'd sent pictures of. Here's where we ran into some problems: turns out not all locksmiths are comfortable using your blanks because they're afraid of damaging them or cutting them incorrectly. We tried two Ace Hardwares before finally coming across a locally-owned shop that was willing not only to cut our blanks, but to do it for free (since we weren't using their blanks). It was an awfully nice gesture, but we wouldn't expect that kind of courtesy everywhere.
Once you've got the blanks cut, the company recommends that you test them before installing them -- if they don't work, after all, you'll need to get more blanks from Keyport and start the process anew. We found this just a little bit tricky since there's no "base" of the key to grab onto, but we managed; folks with arthritic hands or other conditions might have a tough go of it, though. Fortunately, everything worked in our case, so we were ready to install. At that point, you pop the black plastic cap off the end of the Slide by pressing a tab on the side, insert a colored stud into each blank (this is how you differentiate between keys once they're in there), then slide them one by one into each of the six slots. The studs and slots felt like they had tight tolerances and were built well -- there wasn't a hint of sloppiness in any of them.
At that point, your Slide is fully assembled and ready to go; all told, the process from start to finish took two days, thanks to overnight delivery and our willingness to truck around town in search of a locksmith willing to cut our blanks. For what it's worth, the company says that the device is built to withstand up to 20 pounds of twisting torque per key and that most locks require 1 to 3 pounds to actuate, so it
should last -- we've got a couple tricky locks in our arsenal here, and nothing ever felt like it came close to stressing the Slide's assembly.
Overall, we love the concept of the Slide if you've got anywhere from four to six keys that you need with you most of the time and you're looking for a simpler way to carry them -- and needless to say, it's an off-the-beaten-path way to impress your friends with a weird gadget they've probably never seen. We would've liked a metal ring capable of connecting the Slide to another keyring, though -- in our case, we'd love to be able to carry this and a USB memory stick together -- and the original concept had just such a ring, so we're not sure why they spiked it (instead, the production unit just offers a slot for an included string lanyard). We also would've preferred the front and rear caps done up in matching metal rather than black plastic, especially when you're spending the better part of a Franklin on the package. Then again, if you're spending $150 on a wallet and $300 on sunglasses, why not $80 on this?
posted August 17th 2010 6:44PM
Can you guys PLEASE try to be a little better about units? It's like if its not measured in hertz or bytes you guys are clueless. Is it 20 inch pounds or 20 foot pounds? There's a bit of a difference between the two. Your above statement is like saying something has a 20MB processor.
hello
only 6 keys? thats a shame I mean If I had 15-20 keys I would consider this but 6 keys is not that much anyway.
@chastiser that would be hella fat, like having a zack morris cellphone in your pocket
So, you give them detailed information about your keys, what they're used for, and then tell them where you live? That seems safe!
I think it is a good deal for car keys, depending on the cost of programming the car key chip, but I do wish they were hidden in the body some way.
I wonder if this works with bump keys, get the blanks made into bump-keys and you then have a universal keyset to carry around.
Is anyone else underwhelmed with current key technology? Namely, modern key technology is pretty much the same as keys have been for the past several centuries. I guess don't mess with a system that works, but I'm so tired of shoving a piece of metal into a hole to open doors. There has to be a better way.
@LPS179 they have pin pads, and ones with remote controls like a car alarm, also they have biometric ones as well. all available at your local frys or home depot. theyre a bit expensive and rediculous, but usefull, my brother has the pin pad one which is pretty nice, but i would imagine would end up like those old school pin pads on car doors, only the pins you press get worn down and makes the possibilities pretty easy to predict
@daewootech Have you seen the pinpads for EFTPOS machines at supermarkets? You don't actually have to push the numbers at all, but just bringing your finger close enough works as a button press (highly sensitive). If door keypads were like that, then the individual numbers: a. wouldn't wear out; and b. would have finger marks on them to make it obvious which digits were entered.
That said, if you have a keypad door opener, you should update the code regularly so that different digits are pressed and for added security. It's just like having a password for a sensitive login: you want it secure and you want it changed a few times a year, at least.
I've had mine for a few months now, here's some long-term feedback:
The slides will all eventually fill up with lint and such and will become difficult to move freely. You'll have to open them up and blow the dust out. No big deal.
All of the black paint in the logo has chipped out of mine, I'm surprised by how quickly it vanished.
I wish there was some physical indicator to tell you which side of the key you had in your hand. I have to look at it to know which side I'm using before I slide out a given key. I added some camera tape to one side to give me a feel indicator of which side I have in my hand so I don't have to look before I select a key.
The whole unit is pretty flexy - it really wants to be machined from billet. I've had one occasion where turning the key caused the chassis to flex and pop the butt cap off. I had to force the entire chassis a bit in the opposite direction to get everything to pop back into shape.
Even with those hangups, it's still completely worth it. It's significantly shrunk the size of my keychain, particularly considering the multiple car keys I generally carry around.
If they made one in billet, I'd buy it.
Sometimes the wheel, or in this case, the key ring, simply does not need reinventing.
Make it of plastic or, better yet, rubberized metal, so that I can finally keep my phone and my keys in the same pocket without worrying about scratching anything. With a brushed metal exterior as it is now, I have no use for it.
Great
I'm guessing they only work with modern locks.
How is this cooler than my DIY version?
Cost me the price of cutting 3 keys, plus a £5 mini multitool.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_zAEtMyhOTfc/TGpNS9vAxwI/AAAAAAAABKE/t-1b6VW_IZ8/s512/IMAG0257.jpg
@Landwomble
That's pretty sweet for a DIY job. I'm gonna try that myself.
if you have one of these and you lose your keys, it's no longer just a few £££ in your local key cutters to replace, it's also £50 down the drain, maybe literally.
I have to say that this looks pretty appealing. I may have to do this. I've got 6 main keys, though two of them are much smaller then your average key. Hopefully that isn't a problem.
On a different note, why don't we have the Disqus based comment system here? It was on other articles. So much nicer....
@cruncis Because this review was published just before the new commenting system was activated.
With shipping you're actually looking at $92. I had thought the price included shipping. Puts it out of my ballpark, I'm afraid. Oh well.
I must refuse this generosity, but I shall keep the two keys I do have on a simple keyring.
I don't know... I think that big bulky thing takes up more room than 6 keys on a keyring.
They need to release one that has a slide-out usb connector and double as a usb memory stick. :)
This would make a neat present for someone who uses at least three keys regularly.
looks cool. would rather build my own though
Is quite nice that with this gadget you don't have keys making noise while you walk/jog.
Will consider getting one in the future.
I Love My KeyPort! Had it for months now, only had one problem with it so far. Traveling through airport security. They pull me to the side every time, then they tell me how cool it is once they see what it is.