A really well-designed combination lock

Until you read the reviews on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Master-Lock-1500iD-Combination-Assorte...

I had the plastic one used in an exterior location, which isn't a good idea – was always finicky and difficult. The metal one seems to be more reliable. I wouldn't trust it somewhere I cared greatly about security, but combination locks aren't generally great in those cases.

One of the difficult parts is telling anyone else how to use it. Up-down-left-left-right, but only after you pushed it in to reset it? With a standard combination lock all I have to tell someone is the combination, and one of the great parts of a combination lock is that you don't need to copy a key or anything in order to delegate opening it.

So in my opinion it's only an okay lock.

A well-designed product is not just one that had a clever idea in the concept. To be a well-designed product, it must also be reliable, usable, and above all have great build quality.

As someone who bought one of these and threw it away in disgust after being unable to open it once I supposedly set my own combination, I'd never call it a well-designed combination lock.

As uptown says, the reviews on Amazon alone bear witness to the fact that this is a shoddily built lock which often fails one of the only tests that really matter for a lock, namely, can you open it?

I'd rename this article "A really clever idea for a combination lock (that failed in execution)."

It seems like it would be easy for someone to watch you enter your combination from a distance.