Locksmith’s Top Pick: 2024’s Best Combination Padlock

Last Updated on May 17, 2024

Our Favorite Combination Lock

Combination padlocks are notorious for being less secure than other types of padlocks, but for locking up bikes and such for short periods of time, the combination padlock is really one of the best and easiest options.

But for keeping things secure for long periods of time, most combination padlocks fail to deliver because they can be bypassed using a variety of techniques, and in the cover of darkness, people can bypass them undetected and remove whatever they were securing.

Our previous best combination padlock was compromised, see below for details. So we went on the hunt for a combination padlock that really could secure what it was protecting.

The best combination padlock available is the ABUS 190cs with a 60mm armored steel body. It’s designed to withstand numerous bypass techniques, including shimming. The shielded wheels prevent bypassing the combination, and it is made from armored steel. Search for the new model, labeled “Series 2”

The ABUS 190cs/60 is excellent in both commercial and residential application. You can find it well priced on Amazon ABUS Padlocks.

Best Security Features of the ABUS 190CS/60

And this led us to the ABUS 190CS/60. This is not an inexpensive lock, but the new security features of this combination lock more than justify the price. For a combination padlock, you will not do better than the ABUS 190CS.

It is important that you look for the lock labeled “Series 2” to get the security enhancements we discuss below. This ABUS padlock is a 4-wheel lock that results in 10,000 possible combinations. Once of the more interesting features of this lock is that once the combination is entered the shackle must be pushed into the lock before it will release (pop out and open), and there’s a little bit of force necessary to do this.

This results in making it really annoying to try all 10,000 combinations to open the lock. You can’t simply dial in every combination, in a relatively short amount of time, and wait for the lock to open. You need try one, push the shackle, then try another. This greatly slows down the process of going through every possible combination.

The table below highlights the common security flaws found in combination locks. It provides a brief explanation of how the lock can be bypassed using that technique and what ABUS has done with his lock to prevent this type of technique from being used to open this padlock.

ABUS 190CS/60 Best-in-Class Security Solutions

Bypass Methods and Features of ABUS 190CS to Prevent Them
Combination Lock Security Flaw	What It Is	How ABUS Fixed It
Shimming	Sliding a shim into the hole where the hasp closes to unlatch the locking mechanism.	An Oversized shackle creates a lip so that a shim cannot be inserted.
Trip the actuator	Sliding a shim between a combination wheel and pushing up to release the actuator allowing the shackle to come out	All of the wheels are shielded so a shim cannot be inserted./td>
Using a shim to decode the combination	A shim could also be used to find the flat service of the wheels and use this information to decode the combination	All of the wheels are shielded so a shim cannot be inserted.
Using reset keyhole to decode the combination	Shining a light into the reset keyhole may allow you to see the gates and decode the locks combination.	The hole is blocked by metal when the shackle is inserted

General Security Features

• Made of hardened steel 2.4 inch body
• Has a hardened steel shackle cover to prevent cutting of the shackle
• Has a large 7/16 of-an-inch diameter stainless-steel shackle

What happened to Our Previous Favorite, Master Lock 1177D?

Unfortunately, the internet happened. You can check out our review of our previous favorite on YouTube in the video below.

When we made that video the Master Lock 1177D padlock was fairly new to the market and had overcome it’s main previous design flaw of being able to use a pick to bypass the combination wheel’s code and they made it more difficult to determine the combination using a similar technique. This and other features of the padlock shown in the above video gave that padlock a thumbs up from us for short-term locking of objects (bike at the market, etc….).

But in short order, the lock was dissected and a new design flaw was found and released on YouTube for the world to see. The new flaw required no tools and absolutely no skill to determine the lock’s combination. We quickly went looking for another solutions.

Disclosure: As an eBay / Amazon Associate I may earn from qualifying purchases.