KEY-BAK LOCK48 Locking Retractable Key Holder with 48" Kevlar Cord, Retraction Lock, Stainless Steel Swivel Belt Clip, Black

My primary set of work keys probably number 12-15 full size commercial Schlage/Best/Sargent keyways, as well as a 3-4 elevator/electrical panel/padlock sized keys.This load is right at the limit for my LOCK48. It will still fully retract, and stay "stowed" but there's only *approximately* 1-2oz of captive tension keeping it in place. Vigorous, rhythmic movement (thigh/glute bounce) will cause the set of keys to "pendulum sway" the keys 3"-4" out of the fully retracted position. This can be mitigated if you carry your keys at your 3/9 o'clock positions on your belt, sadly these areas are usually reserved to multitools/misc. holsters/pouches/radios/etc.This is not a fault of Key-Bak/T-REIGN or the LOCK48 in my opinion. My LOCK48 just passed the one year mark and mechanically it still works well; despite heavy, heavy use. I probably reach for my keys 40-50 times a day while at work. I work 5-6 days a week so this number has definitely illustrated to me that the retraction mechanism is robust in construction. This is a massive testament to Keybak/T-REIGN's build quality. The tab slider at the top of the LOCK48 will make this a non-issue; but this can be awkward to reach, or frustrating to constantly engage/disengage if you draw your keys frequently. Some users have had issues with the force required to toggle the locking pawl, mine is average in this regard. There is no noticeable tactile click signifying the locking pawl is on-off. The range of travel on the slider itself is small, making it difficult to determine by touch if the retractor is engaged or not.In terms of negative aspects I have a few observations. In my case, the retention strength has weakened an extremely minor amount (maybe 0.5oz AT MOST), but I attribute this due to fact I've likely overloaded it since I bought mine.The belt clip is of decent spring steel construction, but it's extremely thin. Offhand, I'd guess 3/32" in thickness. If you snag your LOCK48 on anything that pried/torqued open the belt clip, you will have to rebend the retention arm to adequately snag on the raised lip of the belt. This is somewhat avoidable depending on where you wear your keys or what types of activities you engage in at work, but food for thought.Some users have had issues where the clip itself due to this inherent thinness, abrades or cuts into clothing or belts. While I haven't experienced this, I can definitely see where this might be an issue. FWIW, my work belts are all single or double layer LBT/HSGI rigger's or cobra belts; some with/without velcro liners. If the KB retractor has any slop in the belt passage "tunnel", I could see where the edge of the clip itself could start sawing through fabrics in proximity. The thickness of the steel belt clip is the real culprit IMO, not from clip itself having any sharp edges from the factory.Finally, the biggest negative in my circumstances isn't the LOCK48 or T-REIGN retractors themselves (I have two different models), but the cost/availability of the various "easy change end fittings" they offer. After a brief search of their website, it appears that each end fitting costs around $4 each before S&H (if you don't have Prime). This can really add up if you love Key-Bak retractors, and routinely swap out many sets of keys at work. It would be nice if KB could offer the keyring version end fitting without the included split rings, to help bring down the MSRP. $20+ for five tiny SRB-style clips with a hole at the base is somewhat expensive IMO.

The short review: Don't Buy The New "Lock" series. It's a flawed system. Stick with the "Super" series with the ball-lock feature.If you want to know why, then here is the full review:I'm a fan of the Key Bak Super series (the one with the locking "ball" that supports the keychain when not in use) but this new "improved" series called "Lock" sucks to no end. They attempted to shrink the housing size, which is a good move, but they also did away with the already perfect "ball-lock" system and implemented a new slide-lock on the top side of the housing. This would be fine if the system worked smoothly and easily with a light effortless glide of the thumb into the lock or unlock direction... However that isn't the case at all.I ordered mine as an addition to my Super36 (which works perfectly) and right out of the box the lock switch on the unit was so hard to slide it took both two hands in a death-grip and all of my strength to move it, and at times it wouldn't budge at all, and I would have the smack it and shake it to get it to move again in either direction.Even though I bought it from Amazon, I immediately contacted Key Bak and they didn't seemed surprised it was tough to move, but said it shouldn't be "THAT" hard to lock and unlock. As if fighting constantly with the most used feature of their key-ring is somehow OK on any level...Giving Key Bak the benefit of the doubt, I returned it for exchange instead of a refund (big mistake). When I unpacked the replacement I was not surprised to find this one was just as ridiculously hard to latch and unlatch, but it had even more flaws than the first one. When I could get the latch to move to the unlock position, half of the time the spool would bind and the cord would come out in a loud ratcheting jerky fashion. And then after the 4th or 5th slide of the latch button, the release mechanism inside totally failed, rendering the spool unable to be released at all. The LOCK48 SERIES (or any other cord length) is complete and Total Junk! Key Bak has failed on every point with this new version.As a man who uses the key-ring cable retraction feature every few moments of my workday around Church, the lock feature is not only important, it's the NUMBER ONE most important feature. And Key Bak has missed the mark as far as they possibly could. They also went from the discrete branding on the Super series and went to the ugly bright Key Bak logo. Totally unprofessional and a turn-off. I'm not wearing my Key Bak key system to be a billboard for Key Bak. I love the clean solid colorless housing of my Super36. If the LOCK series had actually worked. I would have found a way to remove the tacky logo they slapped onto the housing.Take my advice. Buy the older version. The Super36 or Super48. Be warned though. The metal belt clip will wear a hole in your waistband if you don't take a pair of needle nose pliers and bend the sharp edge back towards the housing. I don't know why the have it stick out so far, but it wore a hole in my $75 Duluth Firehose pants in a matter of a few months before I realized what was happening. I also have to add that my first Super36 cord snapped off at the lock-ball in under a year, but I use the heck out of the little dude. Key Bak offered to replace it if I shipped it back to them, but shipping costs are such that I can buy a new one for the cost of shipping. So....

The design is great it’s perfect for any normal key design but if you have more than 20 keys it might not be the best option for you it does keep them on you but but retract isn’t to your hip and you might just whack your family jewels by accident when walking

The unit is well-made, works well and is easily and securely attached to a belt. The cord tension is about right. The lock button is a little stiff and hard to move but the lock does work well. The lock slide-button appears to be loosening up a bit with use. I had been using a carabiner key holder but had dropped it a couple of times under the vehicle seat, where it was very difficult to retrieve. The Key-bak holder avoids that problem nicely. I am very pleased with this device.

Never again will my keys be detached from my body while in my car. For us old fashion people that do not have the "push-to-start" starters, we are more endangered of locking our keys while shuffling for other random nicknacks in our vehicle. With most retractable key holders they retract 24/7 which is an inconvenience when you are driving while it attempts to retract your keys out of the ignition, therefore, having to detach the key holder from your body... Thanks to the Key-Bak LOCK48 you can lock the cord at will while still being attached to your body and til this day I never lock my keys in my vehicle. Highly approve.

The key ring is metal, the line is strong, but the part that connects the key ring to the reel is plastic. It’s the exact part that broke on my last reel.If you need a breakaway part for safety make it the belt clip or something else that pops off. Don’t make it so the part can break from wear and tear.

Just in case if I lost something and looks good.

A bit to big for my liking but still 5 stars because of the durability. Kevlar rope seems much stronger.. hopefully doesn't break like my last one

works smoothly, isnt as heavy duty as I thought it would be cause its all plastic, but does the job holding my many keys for my janitor job. Im satisfied with it.