How I arrive at my ratings.
I am a Master Locksmith, operating out of the DFW metroplex. I have owned and operated several companies doing local locksmith work for Commercial, Industrial, and Residential clients. I have sold my local companies, and have concentrated on Hospitality market since 1990 when I installed my first Hotel lock.I am one of only a handful of Certified Jailsmith's in the North Texas region. I hold certifications, or ratings from many different manufacturers, allowing me to install and service their electronic access systems. I have installed literally TENS OF THOUSANDS of hotel locks in the past 15 years! and because of my locksmith background I look at these locks in a different way than most consumers. Therefore I have no axe to grind with any manufacturer,nor am I financially compensated by any manufacturer, and I try to give an objective rating of each lock.
The first CHINESE import lock has made the list.
REGENT lock seems like a clear front runner!
With all that said, I base my criteria on several factors. First being construction and integrity of the lock, ease of installation / service on the lock, Software and its ease of use, and finally, support after the sale. SO... without further ramblings, I provide you the following list in order
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Miwa - AL5H Dual technology lock
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MIWA - Nexus - Mag-stripe lock
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Onity (Formerly TESA) HT-24
- Saflok MT
- Onity / Tesa - HT-28 (Dual technology )
- Saflok Passport
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Kaba Ilco Solitaire 710
- Regent - (Import)
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Kaba Ilco System 700II
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Kaba Ilco System 760 - (Upgrade)
- Microcard
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Vingcard 2100
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Vingcard 3000 and Davinci
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Timelox
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SQM
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Digiper
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Lok Tek
No doubt, you may not be aware of some of these locks, and I am not including ALL I have tested. For example, The Yaletronics line is not listed because it is not offered anymore. nor is the Schlage Intellis system.
Your brand may not be listed either, as I probably have not had any experience with your model, so I cannot make a legitimate conclusion if I don't know the product.
If you are a lock manufacturer, and would like to give me the opportunity to rate your lock, then please send me a mounted sample and an encoding unit so I can test your lock properly.