Wisdom is said to increase with age and experience. However, the quantity of keys a person has to carry also seem to increase with the natural progression of our age and maturity. Pocket size, however, does not increase. Therefore it is only natural that at some point one’s collection of necessary keys will have increased beyond the capacity of their pockets. How is one to overcome this societal dilemma?
The clever folks over at GetKeySmart.com have devised a very usable solution which will allow one to exchange their gargantuan mass of keys for something visually akin to a Swiss Army knife for their keys. It’s also priced attractively, so it should fall well within one’s typical budget.
Disclosure: I purchased my KeySmart 2.0 unit and one extension for it prior to offering to do this review because I completely stand behind my opinion given here as to the value of this product. In exchange for this review, however, I was provided with a few accessories with which to expand my review.
Purpose
The goal is to reduce the massive (and sharp) mass of keys you may be carrying into something far more manageable and comfortable to use. This is done by organizing the arrangement of the keys so that they are side-by-side facing one another in two rows.
Packing experience and initial observations
The packaging is basic and easily opened. Inside the branded bubble mailer envelope were the pieces of my KeySmart 2.0 and the extension kit I ordered, neatly packaged in separate zipper bags. Also inside was a card explaining that there were assembly instructions online in the event that I’d need further guidance. The illustrations provided at that site were well-prepared and easy to understand. It seemed that much effort was placed in the initial user experience, and that showed in how neatly everything had been done.
Assembly
This product obviously needs your keys, so it comes unassembled. In it’s simplest state there are two flat plates and two screws. One plate has a set of threaded grommets into which the two posts will thread. Then the two screws are threaded into those posts in order to secure the other plate to the unit.
You’ll be placing your keys on the posts, stacked and oriented in such a way so as to point the notched edges to the inside of the unit. A small plate is slid onto one of the posts in place of a key so as to serve as a place to attach the KeySmart unit to your existing keyring. Black spacers are provided so that you can end up with both ends being even (in case some keys are thinner than others or you do not have a sufficient quantity to balance the two stacks otherwise). The screws have black rubber o-rings on them so that you can tighten them down so as to hold the keys and plates tightly enough to make the keys stay in place. The screws are designed so as to be turned by the edge of an American penny or similarly thick coin.
What if there is not enough space for your keys on the unit? No problem! It’s designed to allow you to thread additional posts into the two you get with the main KeySmart unit. Each extension kit allows you to add 10 more keys (5 per side) to the base unit. The extension kit includes more spacers for you to use to make the two stacks even.
Pros and cons
Pros
- is relatively inexpensive
- is well made and sturdy
- reduces the space needed for your keys
- prevents damage to pockets and legs from your keys
Cons (or minor issues)
- won’t necessarily solve the problems of keys with unusual shapes or sizes (such as some car keys as pictured)
- takes a fair amount of trial and error to get keys stacked in such a way that they are easily accessible and line up well
- bent keys can cause issues lining up the stacks
Verdict
Buy one…right now. You won’t regret this purchase. This is seriously one of the best personal organization investments I’ve made. It solved my issues with having to carry so many keys. Plus there are a number of accessories that can be purchased to make your KeySmart 2.0 even more useful.