Modern Buddy

I discovered a cool site today: http://www.zazzle.com/custom/keychains

You can create much more than keychains there, but that's what I was playing around with. I'm ordering 2 each of the following keychains. I think the total with shipping will be around $25....VERY reasonable!

Product details that they list are:
* 2.25" round keychain fits well in your pocket or purse
* Scratch and UV-resistant Mylar covering
* Tight-fitting clasp keeps your keys together

I am not affiliated with this site, nor do I know anyone who is...I just thought it was a cool product.

I have never seen one in person, so I can't state for sure that they are good quality, but I'm going to give it a shot.

They look cool! I guess my only concern is that if I drop my keys, then the finder would know exactly what vehicle to look for, then steal it! Maybe I'm too cynical.

True, but for those of us that already have the rubber Buddy keychains, it makes no difference.

You're not supposed to drop your keys. I'm guessing most people who "oops" would tend to leave them in the ignition, rather than drop them, in which case it wouldn't matter what your key chain looks like.

Most people have some kind of alarm, or padlock (hopefully combination, rather than keyed) and chain on their scooter when it's parked anyhow....

Me--I like the idea as I have a drawer full of keys: Two sets each of a truck, a car, 4 scooters, mail and shed key. (I know some folks have a lot more vehicles/keys than we have...)

I'm tired of digging through to find the right keys all the time.

michelle_7728 wrote: I'm guessing most people who "oops" would tend to leave them in the ignition, rather than drop them, in which case it wouldn't matter what your key chain looks like.

Yeah, that's my most common "oops", followed shortly by leaving the keys dangling from the front door.

michelle_7728 wrote:Me--I like the idea as I have a drawer full of keys: Two sets each of a truck, a car, 4 scooters, mail and shed key. (I know some folks have a lot more vehicles/keys than we have...)

I'm a key-minimalist. I'm currently carrying a total of three (front door, back door, car), and when warmer weather returns, I'll add the scooter and its lock back to the ring.

Lets us know what you think when they are delivered. I'd be curious to see how good the image quality is.

TVB wrote:I'm a key-minimalist. I'm currently carrying a total of three (front door, back door, car), and when warmer weather returns, I'll add the scooter and its lock back to the ring.

You could ditch either your front or back door key if you install one of these:
http://www.kwikset.com/SmartKey/
or these:
http://www.kwikset.com/SmartSeries/SmartCode.aspx

I have personaly installed a number of them. Have the SmartCode lock on my basement door. Love it.

Sorry to hijack, but just so you folks know, you don't have to spend a high premium for a lockset you can rekey yourself (you'll use it once, not worth the premium). Most hardware stores or better yet a Mom & Pop lock shop will gladly rekey a set for a rather minimal charge. I've got one key that works for the front and back door (handset and deadbolt) and should we build a garage/workshop I'll have that one keyed the same as the other. 1 key for 6 locks.

Slightly less off topic, carabiners work great for keeping track of keyrings and also for keeping you from fumbling in your pockets for keys; huge downside is that you shouldn't use it on your front belt-loops if you're around a painted motorcycle gas tank (instant scratch!).

And now back to your regularly scheduled keyring discussion. Those look kinda nice, but I'm curious as to how their put together. Are they like the snap together do it yourself pin on buttons or completely encapsulated?

Yeah, I looked into having mine re-keyed by a locksmith. But the cost of the smartkey set up was only about $15 more than a standard lock set. I'd rather do it myself. Plus, I had to change out the old lock anyway, it was from 1944 and was falling apart.

The others I have installed were for owners of rental properties. They didn't want to bother with removing the locks to take them in each time a tenant moved out.

Lil Buddy wrote:You could ditch either your front or back door key if you install one of these:

I don't think the landlord would appreciate me changing the locks on his house.

If it were mine I would've re-keyed to a single slug within a week of moving in. Heck, I'd pay a locksmith decent money to configure my house, car, and scooter to all open with the same key.

TVB wrote: I don't think the landlord would appreciate me changing the locks on his house.

Lost My Cage--

...And now back to your regularly scheduled keyring discussion. Those look kinda nice, but I'm curious as to how their put together. Are they like the snap together do it yourself pin on buttons or completely encapsulated?

I haven't ordered them yet...waiting for my husband to take a picture of his Piaggio Fly 150 that he likes, then I was going to order all 4. To be honest, I think they look cool, but am wondering what type of quality they can really be for the price. ...then again, for that price, what have I to lose?

Regarding locks, I absolutely agree! When we bought our house the first week we moved in, we bought all new door knob/locks and had them keyed alike. It wasn't as expensive as one might think...there were only 3 doors we had to buy the locks for, and they were Schlage locks which aren't the most expensive brand out there. The previous owner had a differnet key for each lock ...go figure! (the neighbors told me he was really into carpentry and fixing the place up, so it's even more puzzling.

Anyhow, we also bought a half dozen keyed alike padlocks for the shed, three gates and a couple of extras for when we need one (I use a combination lock when I park the scooter though)...

Now we might have some extra keys (for the house and the shed), but at least they aren't a bunch of different (onesy twosy) keys, you know?

I like my Sun Studios key chain personally.
R

As someone who dropped his Blur keys (on a Genuine keychain) ten feet from his scooter (At MotoGP last year), and never saw the scooter again, I'd strongly recommend *against* putting a photo of your scooter. At least if they only see "PGO" on the key, they won't make the connection.

I'd recommend getting the ugliest sportbike keychain you can find.

illnoise wrote:As someone who dropped his Blur keys (on a Genuine keychain) ten feet from his scooter (At MotoGP last year), and never saw the scooter again, I'd strongly recommend *against* putting a photo of your scooter. At least if they only see "PGO" on the key, they won't make the connection.

I'd recommend getting the ugliest sportbike keychain you can find.

Hmm... me thinks I'll swap out my Genuine key chain for something more nondescript this afternoon...

Here's my keychain:

Hows that feel in your pocket? Jk looks cool.

Nickie McNichols wrote:Here's my keychain:

I bought that same one at the Vespa Philadelphia shop & turned it into a pendant for a necklace.