New padlock system syncs with car keys

System can help keep trailers and toolboxes secure, eliminate the need for combinations

Larry Edsall / Special to The Detroit News

Of the 90 percent of U.S. adults who own a car or truck, nearly half have used a padlock in the last year. Sometimes those padlocks are on backyard sheds, but often they are used in conjunction with a vehicle, such as a trailer or abicycle.

Padlocks usually require either a combination or a key to unlock.

"Imagine the convenience of having just one key for all your locks, and it's the key you always have with you," said Mike Long, director of new market development for Strattec, which provides such convenience with its recently introduced series of padlocks that are unlocked by your vehicle's ignition key.

While the new BOLT -- Breakthrough One-key Lock Technology -- locks are new, the company behind them isn't. Strattec Security Corp. of Milwaukee is an offshoot of what was the lock division of Briggs & Stratton and has been supplying locks and keys to the auto industry for nearly 100 years. The new BOLT lock system is the company's first product for the consumer market.

The BOLT locks have solid zinc cores, automotive-grade lock shutters and trademarked Santoprene jackets to provide corrosion resistance for outdoor applications, such as a pickup truck bed, trailer hitch or roof rack.

Because of the company's history with Detroit's Big Three, the BOLT locks are compatible with keys for General Motors, Ford or Chrysler products.

The locks have a six-plate tumbler cylinder -- Strattec notes that standard padlocks have only four-pin tumblers -- and therefore are "nearly impossible" to pick or bump. The locks already have won "best new product" honors from the Associated Locksmiths of America, the company said.

Basically, you buy a BOLT lock, insert your car key, turn it once, and the lock automatically is programmed to your key.

BOLT series locks include a padlock, five-eighths-inch and one-half-inch receiver locks, a cable lock, a spare tire lock and a motorcycle lock, with other products in development. Prices start at $20.

A separate line of marine locks will be sold under the DuraSafe name.

For information, including an animated demonstration of how the lock sets itself to your specific key, and for a list of BOLT distributors, visit

www.stratteclock.com.

Sourced from ALOA