Most lock reviews end the same way. We pick the thing, rate how long it took, note which security pins gave us trouble, and send you on your way with a recommendation. The Abloy Protec2 is different — because after six months of testing, we still haven't picked it. Neither has any picker we challenged. Neither, as far as we can find, has anyone in the documented locksport community under anything resembling real-world conditions.
That's not a marketing claim. That's just what happens when you build a lock around a fundamentally different mechanical principle than everything else on the market.
Why Every Other Lock Has the Same Problem
Almost every padlock and cylinder you've ever owned works on the same basic principle: pins of varying heights sit inside a plug, spring-loaded from above. The right key lifts each pin stack to precisely the right height so the gap between driver pin and key pin aligns at the shear line, letting the plug rotate. It's elegant, it's been around since the 1860s, and it has one unavoidable weakness.
If you can apply rotational tension to the plug and push the pins up one at a time, you can feel — or hear — when each one sets at the shear line. That's picking. It works on every pin-tumbler lock ever made, because the physics don't change. Manufacturers add security pins — spools, serrated, mushroom — to create false sets and slow the process down. But the underlying vulnerability is still there. You're still pushing up on pins. You're still feeling for set.
There are no pins in the Abloy Protec2. There are no springs. There is nothing to push up, nothing to set, and nothing a traditional pick can even make contact with in a meaningful way.
Instead, the Protec2 uses a disc detainer mechanism. The cylinder contains a stack of rotating steel discs, each with a notch cut at a specific angle. The correct key rotates each disc to the precise angle that aligns all the notches — forming a channel for a sidebar to drop into and allow the lock to open. Miss any single disc by even a few degrees and the sidebar stays engaged and nothing moves.
The disc stack — each disc must rotate to a precise angle before the lock will open. Standard picks have nothing to engage.
Six Months of Trying to Break It
We got our first Protec2 in September and immediately threw it at our usual battery of attacks. Raking: nothing. Single pin picking: there are no pins. Standard tension and hook: you can insert tools but there's no feedback, no set, no progress. The plug doesn't give you anything to work with.
We then brought in a picker with over eight years of experience and more than 400 documented opens on video. He spent the better part of two evenings on it. He confirmed what we suspected — without a specialized disc detainer pick and extensive practice specifically on Abloy-style mechanisms, this lock is functionally impenetrable to conventional attack. Even with the right tooling, documented open times on Protec2-class locks run into the hours, not the minutes.
Physical attack fares no better. The shackle is case-hardened boron steel. Tested cutting resistance is at SOLD Secure Gold and ART 4 levels — those are the toughest independent certifications available in Europe. We couldn't cut it with a standard angle grinder before the blade gave out. It's also drill-resistant: hardened steel inserts inside the cylinder body deflect drill bits. Bolt cutters don't even come into the conversation.
Rake it. Pick it. Single-pin pick it. Drill it effectively. Cut the shackle with standard tools. Shim it. Find a false set. Get any meaningful tactile feedback from the cylinder at all. After six months, our Protec2 has never been opened without its key.
The Key Control Story
The Protec2's security doesn't live only in the lock body. The key system is patented, and Abloy's patent on the disc detainer profile is active and enforced. You cannot cut a Protec2 key on a standard key-cutting machine. You cannot buy a blank at a hardware store. Duplicates require a registered authorization card, and Abloy keeps records of which cylinders correspond to which registered key owners.
This matters more than most people realize. A significant portion of real-world security breaches don't involve picking or cutting at all — they involve a copied key. That cleaning crew with access to the shop. The ex-employee who kept a set. The key someone "borrowed" for an afternoon. With the Protec2, unauthorized duplication is effectively impossible through normal channels. You can hand someone a key knowing there's exactly one copy in the world unless you authorize otherwise.
The Protec2 key — those aren't standard cuts. Each position rotates a disc to a specific angle. Cannot be duplicated without Abloy's registered authorization system.
What It Costs and Who It's For
The Abloy Protec2 padlock runs around $150–$220 depending on shackle length and where you buy it. The cylinder alone — for use in a deadbolt or other housing — starts around $120. That's genuinely expensive compared to almost anything else on a hardware store shelf.
But the comparison is wrong. You're not choosing between an Abloy and a Schlage. You're choosing between it and a security vulnerability. If what you're protecting is worth more than the cost of the lock — and for most real applications it is — the math works. A storage facility owner who gets hit once loses more than the cost of a dozen Protec2 cylinders. A gun safe that can be shimmed open in 30 seconds costs more than an Abloy upgrade and provides a fraction of the protection.
It's also worth noting what the Protec2 is not for. It's a padlock — it goes on a hasp, a container, a gate. It doesn't protect the wall the hasp is bolted to. It doesn't protect a door frame that kicks in. Physical security is a system, and no single lock makes a weak installation strong. What the Protec2 does is eliminate the lock itself as the weak link, which is more than any other consumer product we've tested can claim.
The Spec Sheet
| Category | Abloy Protec2 |
|---|---|
| Mechanism | Disc Detainer (not pin-tumbler) |
| Pick Resistance | Exceptional — no documented consumer pick |
| Drill Resistance | Hardened steel inserts throughout |
| Shackle | Case-hardened boron steel |
| Cut Resistance | SOLD Secure Gold / ART 4 rated |
| Key Control | Patented — registered duplication only |
| Weather Resistance | IP66-rated body, stainless components |
| Shimming | Double-locking shackle — not shimmable |
| Price Range | ~$150–$220 (padlock) |
| NoPryZone Score | 9.9 / 10 |
| Best For | High-value storage, gates, containers, vaults |
The Lock That Ends the Conversation
We've tested dozens of locks and we're usually looking for the asterisk — the caveat, the bypass, the "but here's what actually happens when someone motivated tries to get in." With the Abloy Protec2, we don't have one. Not after six months. Not after bringing in people who do this for sport.
The disc detainer mechanism is genuinely different, the key control is genuinely meaningful, and the build quality matches the engineering. It's expensive and it should be — cheap locks are cheap for a reason and this one earns the price with every component. If you need a padlock for something that matters, this is the one we'd put our name on without hesitation.
It doesn't have a weakness we found. That's a sentence we've never written before.