Addalock Original Portable Door Lock

I tried this out on my my house which is a newer home built in last five years and it worked! We used this on the resort room in Roatan and it worked great! Another layer of security and peace of mind. I would recommend trying it out, because there is a slight learning curve to use. But, once you get it it is easy-peasy!

This review is comparing two high end travel locking solutions, the Addalock and the Travelers Security Lock Llc. . I really liked both locks, but for different reasons. Which one you choose to take with you will be dependent on your individual needs. The Addalock : Weight: 4.28oz Price: twenty bucks or so. Operation: A flat, thin steel bar is provided, it looks a lot like a cheap bottle opener. Quality is solid. at one end, there are a couple steel prongs that stick out. Insert the steel prongs into the bolt hole in the door frame, then close the door with the metal wedged between the door and the frame. A red plastic/metal triangular wedge clips to the end of the bar and settles down against the door. Trying to open the door pushes against the plastic which is attached to the bar that is inserted into the frame - not going to open! Pros: LIGHTWEIGHT. This is the strongest selling feature of this device. It is relatively thin, takes up a small footprint, and only weighs 4.28oz. When it works, it works well enough and prevents entry. Ideal for a backpack traveler who has to make every ounce count. Thin metal bar makes it easy to fit into tight door frames. Cons: 1) Doesn't fit SUPER snug into the door. It will keep the door from opening or even moving much at all, security is good.... but it's obvious from the other side you have something small and "rattle'y" jimmied into the lock. 2) Needs the frame to be at least a fair to middling fit with the door. If it was a REALLLY loose door, I think the lock would fit too loosely and be able to be circumvented fair easily. 3) As others have noted, it's not compatible with quite a large number of hotel room doors. Might work, might not. 4) A very "standard" door lock will still be able to slide the bolt through a hole in the bar and close normally. Someone from the outside will just find a normal closed and locked door, unless they try with a key. (that part is ok). BUT for anything other than a super standard lock bolt size, it won't fit through the hole, which means it's just the addalock keeping the door closed now... and since it doesn't fit in 100% snug, it becomes obvious to someone from the outside that the main door lock is not engaged. The Travelers Security Lock Llc. : Weight: 9.28oz Price: fourty bucks or so. Operation: A relatively thick machined aluminum bar is provided. At the end of this bar is a large raised portion. Much like the Addalock, this raised section is inserted into the door and then the door is closed with teh aluminum bar in the jam between the door and frame. A second piece consisting of a notched block of aluminum and two long, padded bolts is then attached into the notch on the bar. The bolts are tightened until they press against the frame and door. Much like the addalock, any attempt to open the door presses against the bolt attached to the aluminum bar in the lock hole. PROS: 1) Heavy gauge machined aluminum block. This thing feels solid, and fits together like a precision part. 2) TIGHT LOCKUP! Once you turn those bolts hand tight against the door frame, NOTHING is going to move. Someone trying to pen the door from the other side might be led to believe that you had boarded up the door and nailed it down. This thing locks up the door so tight, there's not even a hint of a jiggle. 3) Very adjustable. The two independently adjusting bolts allow it to fit any sized door or frame with ease and the above mentioned tightness. 4) The bar on this unit does not have a hole in it. No matter what size door bolt you have, The door will not be able to latch with the bar in place. Which means the door will never be "latched" while you have the travelers lock in use. This PRO about this design is that there's a lot more metal in the latch hole, and it makes the bar very structurally sound. And it turns out to not be a Con in my book because the Travelers Lock is so adjustable that it locks up the door SOLID, so nobody that is trying to pull on your doorknob would even realize that the door was "open", if anything it would feel like the door was boarded up on the other side! CONS: 1) It's heavy! If' you're a backpacker, this guy is a serious weight investment. 2) The aluminum bar is a little thick. Maybe it is by necessity for structural integrity... but it's thick, and will have trouble fitting into tight tolerance door frames. BOTTOM LINE: they still haven't made the perfect lock yet. If they could make a Traveler's Lock with a thinner steel bar, that would be nearly "perfect". The traveler's lock will work in the loosest doors, and lock em up TIGHT, but may have trouble fitting in very tight door frames. The Addalock won't work with the loosest door frames, and locks the door a little looser, but it will work in very tight door frames. If your primary concern is: Weight - get the addalock Security - get the travelers lock flexibility/maximum coverage - get both

We've been struggling with our family member who has Frontal Temporal Dementia (FTD), a form of dementia often coming to younger individuals. She likes to leave the house and wander or take long walks and it's difficult to keep an eye on her while trying to work or get other things done. She can unlock normal locks and we were putting heavy things in front of the door, but she can move them. I saw this and thought why not give it a try. I watched the install video, read the directions, and then happily put it on our door on the first try. It's actually quite simple - open the door, insert into the latch, close the door, put the key in. Opening it - also easy! just pull it up and out. However - not so easy for our patient -- she has not been able to figure it out, and, since she's easily frustrated, has stopped even trying. This is so perfect! I applaud the inventor. It seems very durable so I see it lasting a long time. You can also buy a version that comes with a doorstop alarm just in case someone is able to open it -- we don't envision having to use that, but it also seems a good solution. I think this product is fantastic as well for personal security when in a hotel room, rental unit, etc. I will getting one for just this purpose!

I ordered this just a few days before leaving for a few weeks of travel. It comes in a very nice, "rip-stop-canvas" type carrying pouch that's small, thin, and deep red: thus, takes up next to no space in a suitcase, yet easily found when unpacking. As noted in the sales description of this device, it only works on doors that open in toward the room that you're seeking to make more secure. And yes, viewing the quick demo on You Tube will definitely aid the newcomer in understanding how this device works. I used it in a hotel in Instanbul, an "airbnb" flat in Ukraine, and a rented time-share in Cabo san Lucas. It worked fine in all of them. In fact, the biggest difficulty I had was using it in my own condo's door in Seattle. That's because the latter's door has very little "gap" between the edge of the door and that door's frame. As noted in the directions, if you can nudge a 25-cent coin between the door and its adjoining frame, then this Addalock (as in, of course "add-a-lock"), will work just fine. I'm a reasonably strong chap, and when I tried with some determination to open the door after installing the Addalock, I couldn't get the door to budge. That's not to say that a hefty guy, throwing himself at a normal house door a few times couldn't overcome the door. But that's a separate matter from whether the Addalock will keep the door latch itself from being opened. I found it provided added peace of mind. It's obvious that no hotel housekeeper is going to inadvertently enter your room when you've taken the few seconds to install the Addalock. I liked it enough that as soon as I returned home from my travels, I bought one for my girlfriend. It's worth noting that when I was shopping for hers, I discovered at least one outlet that offers 2 of these for only about 50% more than what several other retailers charge for just one. Given that it makes for a nifty little gift, I'd suggest finding the two-fer offer. Why didn't I give it 5 stars? It became apparent to me fairly quickly that if the frame next to the door handle is snug against a perpendicular wall, it's difficult to initially place the metal portion of the Addalock in place AND hold onto it whilst closing the door (thereafter easily adding the red "swage" piece). One obvious solution would be to add just a 1" or 2" long additional "L" or inward curved section to that metal piece, thus making it MUCH easier to hold onto during the brief installation process. But even as is, it's still a clever, and very satisfactory means of further securing yourself in a room when traveling . . .OR to improve your security at home, too!

I live in an apartment and work from home some days. One day I was on a conference call when I heard a knock at the door. The man behind the door shouted "maintenance," but he literally gave me 10 seconds to get to the door before he just started unlocking it. The landlord didn't provide me any warning that maintenance would be installing new air filters that day. After that incident, I knew I needed some sort of lock. I narrowed down my options between the Addalock and a security bar. The reviews for security bars are mixed: the success or failure highly depends on finding the right angle and using the bar on the correct flooring. Also, while one of the more inexpensive security bars on Amazon is cheaper than Addalock, the better-reviewed ones are more expensive. I could not figure out how Addalock worked from the pictures. My brain just wasn't putting it together. So I searched "Addalock" on YouTube and there were several videos, including one from a home shopping network, that demonstrated it. If you are like me and the pictures aren't doing it for you, I highly suggest you watch one of the Addalock videos. As others have said here, this works best if you have a quarter's width between the door and the jam. I didn't have a quarter, so I used 2 and then 3 credit cards. I had ample space, so I ordered it. My front door has a dead bolt and a doorknob lock, but my doorknob lock hasn't worked since I moved in. The doorknob locks, as in the knob won't turn when the lock is engaged, but the latch doesn't catch in the strike for some reason. Maybe it's not long enough to extend into the strike. So right now I am using my regular dead bolt and the Addalock on the broken doorknob lock. I also tried installing it on the dead bolt, but my dead bolt could not push all the way through the Addalock plate into the strike. The Addalock still WORKED, of course, and no one would be able to get in, key or not, but it just seemed like more security against intruders to use the dead bolt and the Addalock on the lock that's broken. If I am trying to keep out unexpected landlord visits, though, then it wouldn't matter where I installed it because no one with a key could get into the apartment. When I first used Addalock, the door didn't open fully, but I could get it open a tiny crack. I realized that I wasn't properly lining up the stainless steel part that inserts into the strike. Take the time to push that plate into the strike of your door jam and then slowly close your door. After that, I couldn't move the door *at all*. I am so thrilled to have this portable lock that I can attach and remove whenever I please and one that won't violate the terms of my lease agreement. It's VERY easy to use, but it's just not intuitive from the instructions for some reason, at least for me. I am a spatial learner, so the videos and getting my hands on the Addalock helped. I was able to install it in under 10 seconds and remove it in under 10 seconds the first time I tried it. *EDIT: (10/15/2015) Maintenance decided to make yet another surprise visit without warning. As it turns out, he read the apartment number incorrectly. This time, unlike last time, I had the Addalock engaged. He could not open the door. He tried multiple times. I even heard him banging his shoulder into it. This lock really does work. I was able to answer the door on my own time rather than just have a maintenance man barge in on me in the middle of the day. If you're a renter with an inconsiderate or incompetent landlord, I highly recommend you purchase one of these for all your doors.

Light weight, small and easily portable for travel. Comes with carrying pouch and clear written instructions. Easy to use and remove, and well worth the price of about $24 for two. Only difficulty in deploying one was at doors at my home where the wood in the jamb behind the strike plate had not been adequately cleared by the owner/builder. Not a reflection on the device, and easily solved with a chisel. As far as I can tell, these would not be breached by passive entry devices like shove knives or Williams keys. Makes the pretty darned secure, but you would want to be sure to remove them for EMS if the need arose. Also, the device does not alert you to attempts to break into your room or house. You may also want to use a second device (such as a door wedge with alarm) as a deterrent and to wake you in the event of an attempt to get through the door. Again, not a reflection on the device itself.

If you travel, you really should have one of these in your bag! Whether you’re staying at a hotel, motel, or Airbnb, this should help you sleep better at night! ⚠️ Update 06/13/2024 ⚠️ - Some hotel rooms have a detector built into the door strike, which sounds an alarm when you install your Addalock. I found that out on a recent trip. - This is still a good product and should be considered by solo travelers, but know that it comes with limitations to its application. Original Review: Pros 👍👍👍 - Portable: It’s very compact and lightweight, and it comes with a neat carry pouch. - Easy to Use: line up the claw into the door latch, close the door, lock the chain lock, done! - Well Constructed. - It works! It’s a simple but effective device. Cons 👎👎👎 - Overpriced: At $32, Addalock is pricing itself out of the market! On sale for $17, it’s easier to stomach. I always root for original brands and choose them over knockoffs. You do you! - Where is my bottle opener?😅 It’s such an obvious add-on! Missed opportunity 😜 My Recommendation 🤔 Just buy it! Your personal safety and peace of mind are worth every penny! It’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. Safe travels, y’all 🙏 Hope my short review has helped you make a more informed buying decision 👍😊✌️

I live in an apartment complex where I cannot add locks to the doors. I had issues with the kids living there repeatedly barging into my room and not leaving when instructed, or going in and taking / using my expensive items while I was out. I got this to lock my door from the inside, and doorknob lock-out device for the outside of the door when I'm not home. It's worked like a charm; a few times the kids tried to get in while I was home, but though they tried to turn the knob, they couldn't get the door open.