You've seen the Master Lock 3 your whole life. It's on school lockers, garden sheds, storage units, gym bags. It's basically America's default padlock. The ABUS 55/40 is a little less famous over here but it shows up constantly in locksport circles as a solid budget pick from a respected German brand.
On paper they're in the same category — small padlocks, similar price range, both sold as everyday security. So we got our hands on both and picked them. A lot. Here's the honest breakdown.
Both locks tested across 4 copies each — results were consistent
The Master Lock 3: A Lock In Name Only
Let's not bury the lede. The Master Lock 3 is one of the most-picked locks in the locksport community — and not as a compliment. It's a rite of passage. Beginners learn on it because it's so easy that it builds confidence fast. That's not great news if you're actually relying on one.
Picking it with a rake is almost embarrassing. Insert your tension wrench, apply light tension, run a rake through the keyway a couple times and it just... opens. Like turning a key. We're talking under a second in most cases once you have any feel for it at all. It offers almost no resistance, almost no feedback, and no real challenge.
It's not just raking. Single pin picking, jigglers, even a bobby pin with enough patience — the Master Lock 3 doesn't put up much of a fight no matter what you throw at it.
The pins are standard driver pins with no security pins to speak of, which means there's nothing to detect false sets on, nothing to slow you down. The tolerances are loose enough that almost any upward pressure on the pins will get you a set.
The build quality matches the picking experience. It's light, the shackle isn't particularly thick, and it's not going to win any awards for weather resistance either. For the price you get what you pay for — which, in this case, isn't much beyond the feeling of security.
It looks like a lock. It works like a lock with a key. With anything else it's basically decorative. Don't rely on this for anything you actually care about.
The ABUS 55/40: Actually Earns Its Price Tag
The ABUS 55/40 is a different story. It's a small lock — the 40 refers to the shackle width in millimeters — but it punches above its weight in a few important ways.
The first thing you notice picking it is that it actually has security pins. Spools, specifically. That means when you're single pin picking and you think you've set a pin, you might actually be hitting a false set on a spool — the plug rotates slightly, feels like progress, then drops back.
The ABUS 55/40 — tighter tolerances than the Master Lock are immediately obvious
What tripped us up consistently across multiple copies was one particular pin position with a very high cut biting — meaning the key cut at that position is deep, so the corresponding pin sits low. When you're picking and feeling for set pins, that low pin is easy to miss or misread. It took a while to figure out it wasn't actually setting when it felt like it was. Once you know to look for it the lock becomes more manageable, but it's a genuine hurdle that adds real time to the process.
In terms of physical build, the ABUS feels noticeably more solid. More weight, tighter tolerances, better keyway. It's not a high-security lock by any stretch — experienced pickers will open it, and there are videos out there showing it being comb picked and shimmed — but those methods require more knowledge and specific tools than the average opportunistic thief is going to have on hand.
A legitimately decent lock for the money. Not unbeatable, but it actually makes someone work for it. Recommended for sheds, lockers, and casual everyday use.
Head to Head
| Category | Master Lock 3 | ABUS 55/40 |
|---|---|---|
| Security Pins | None | Spools |
| Pick Resistance | Very Low | Moderate |
| Rake Resistance | Nearly Zero | Better |
| Build Quality | Light / Cheap | Solid for the price |
| Known Vulnerabilities | Everything | Comb pick, shim |
| Shackle Material | Steel (thin) | Hardened steel |
| Weather Resistance | Poor | Decent |
| NoPryZone Score | 2.1 / 10 | 7.2 / 10 |
| Recommended For | Nothing we'd trust | Sheds, lockers, casual use |
Is This Even a Fair Fight?
Not really. The Master Lock 3 and ABUS 55/40 might cost similar money but they're not in the same league. If you currently have a Master Lock 3 on anything you actually care about — your shed, your bike, your storage unit — go swap it out. Today.
The ABUS 55/40 costs a few bucks more and will actually slow someone down. Neither of these is going to stop a determined, experienced picker. But a lock's job isn't to be unpickable — it's to be harder than the next target. The ABUS does that job. The Master Lock 3 doesn't.
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