Stahlketten wrote:We actually have several different sets of "25 mm" or "30 mm" locks and they don't all need the same size hole to go through.
Yeah, I've got 25mm locks from Abus & Lockwood; the Abus ones are lighter and only 3-pin, but reasonably well made. The 4-pin Lockwood ones are my go-tos for a lot of things though. Both have 4mm shackles; the Abus ones seem fractionally thinner than the Lockwoods.
I recently picked up some 20mm Yale locks, and I like those a lot for where smaller padlocks are appropriate - they're 4-pin and well made. I have some 20mm Master locks, and ... well, let's say I'm less impressed. (They're only 3-pin, and the construction isn't as good, although it's a lot better than any cheap Chinese padlock I've supplied with any gear.) Both of these have 3mm shackles.
The 30mm 4-pin Abus locks have 5mm shackles. They also have heel & toe locking, so are much stronger than any of the single-locking 25mm or less padlocks.
I'm fussy about padlocks. I've had cheap Chinese ones (plural) fail shut on me (the cylinders split lengthwise along the top of the keyway, because there just wasn't enough metal in it), fortunately not while anyone was locked by them, and they're too easy to pick. I've had some where there were no pins at all in the lock - you just needed to be able to turn the cylinder to open it.
I actually do have some "Red" Loc-Tite but just don't like the aesthetics of a quick link.
I know what you mean. But if you don't have a welding kit, the options for joining chain are pretty limited. It's either take what the vendor gave you or use padlocks or quick-links. Medium weight chain links can be cut on one side then twisted open and closed, and will still be strong enough to restrain someone - I've made wrist-to-ankle chain sets like that. (I usually solder the joint - it doesn't make it noticeably stronger, but it makes the joint less obvious.)
Don't be afraid to ask a vendor if they'll do a custom welded chain. It often feels like the stuff is mass produced, but it's often not. You can be surprised what customisations they can do for you, and it's usually cheap or even free.
Never tried to order from AliExpress before. Seems like a Chinese version of eBay. Anything to watch out for?
That's basically what they are. I've ordered a lot of stuff through AliExpress, from bondage gear up to whole computers, about 150 or so orders; if I want something, I'll usually go there before eBay. Comparing Ali with eBay:
- Ali's vendors are pretty much all Chinese, so the range is stuff made in China. You see a lot of the same items on eBay, but there are things on eBay you won't see on Ali. (The reverse is true to a degree.)
- I generally find Ali cheaper for a given item.
- I've found shipping more consistent and generally much cheaper. I think this is more a "China vs the rest of the world" thing than an "Ali vs eBay" thing - if you find the same vendor on both platforms, they usually have similar shipping costs. There is a bunch of reasons China does export so well, and logistics is a big part of that.
- Ali has its own logistics service. I pretty much always select "AliExpress Standard Shipping", and often pass on vendors that don't offer that - it usually costs a bit more, but is consistently faster (to NZ) than China Post or other arrangements. Some vendors offer it as their default free shipping option.
- Ali's rating system incentivises good behaviour from its vendors. They really want that fifth star, and will do a lot to get it. I've had vendors just ship replacement products when there have been problems, even if they're weren't really obligated to so.
- Inevitably there are problems - out of the 150 or so items I've bought through Ali, I've had a handful of problems - most have been resolved either directly by the vendor, or through Ali's disputes process. I think I've only once been dissatisfied with the process. The magic words, "do I need to raise a dispute?", often get problems solved quickly. I've found getting things fixed/refunded with eBay much harder and slower. Note that I use eBay a lot less, so my impressions may not be based on current behaviour.
- A lot of what's on Ali is "cheap Chinese crap". I've had a lot of stuff that hasn't been used very much or didn't last long, or just wasn't very good. You get what you pay for, and much of what's on Ali is low-end. When I have bought more expensive items, they've generally been good value. The cheap stuff ... I figure that a few failures are part of the price of access to cheap gear.
- You do need to read the descriptions and look at the photos with a critical eye. The word salad in the item header is often meaningless, especially around materials; there's an "item specifics " listing in every listing that I believe is what the vendor actually commits to, so if it says "stainless steel" in the header, but not in the specifics, move along... Likewise, that's where you find that "leather" is actually PU or worse. (There's pretty much no leather BDSM gear available from Ali, although I have bought some quite nice leather items in the past from Chinese vendors running their own sites.)
- As noted, a lot of vendors will customise if you ask. Some are just resellers, but a lot are actual factories or have the sorts of relationships with factories that allow for customising.
There's also DHGate. I haven't had as good experiences with them than with Ali (but I have bought very little from them). It used to be that I'd find things on DHGate that weren't on Ali, but that hasn't been true for a long time and I generally just stick to Ali, and head to eBay if I can't find what I want.