Uncrate is an evil site – it makes you spend without you realizing it. I ended up getting so much shit ¹ Not everything was from Uncrate, though. because of it!

First, I appeased my sartorial urges by getting Wurkin Collar Stiffs. I also got myself a glorified bag-organizer in the form of the Nau Fluent Stash. I also indulged the photographer in me by getting a pimped out BlackRapid RS-7. ² I actually already have an RS-Sport, but found out that it wasn’t compatible with modules. So I got the 7, then pimped it out with a BRAD, Buck, Joey J-2 and FastenR-T1 Even got a Spyderco Sharpmaker for maintaining my Waimea

But all those cannot compare to the awesomeness that is my new Keyport Slide

Read on for my mini-review/impressions

Keyport 101

The Keyport comes in a metal box that’s roughly the size/type of an Altoids container and comes with six colored nodes.

The “point” of the product is that you can put multiple “inserts” on it (normally keys). The inserts can be a form of key blades, or accessories purchased from the Keyport store (all will come at an extra cost) There are 3 slots on each side for a total of six blades that can be consolidated into one FOB

Due to the nature of keys ³ All keys are uniquely cut, and there are hundreds of thousands of key blank types out there ordering a Keyport is not necessarily a “one-click” deal. ⁴ Unless, of course, you’re only ordering the shell. You’ll need to download a PDF template, print it out, put in your key(s) on the template and take TWO pictures of them from each side, properly labelled with any information that might be useful.

You will then upload the resulting image through Keyport’s upload facility. The reason for all this is because their internal team of locksmiths will study the keys you sent so they know what types of blank blade(s) to send along with your order. You will then take those keys to your trusted locksmith and have them cut the keys to match. I believe you can also send your keys to Keyport and have them do everything on their end. But that would be less secure for obvious reasons.

The most complicated bit would probably have to do with car keys. Most cars today have keys (or key FOBs) that have built-in transponder chips. This chip is proximity based, and the car’s engine will only start if the chip is present and a few centimeters close to the key. This is so only approved (i.e. official) keys work with your car.

That’s why in the picture above, you can see the car key coming with two inserts; the actual key blade, and another insert for the un-programmed RFID chip. ⁵ So just remember that if you plan to use a vehicle that has such requirements, you’ll automatically be using 2 slots on the Keyport. In my case, one of my car’s Key-FOBs got damaged beyond use – basically the actual key part of it broke off (also damaging the plastic that holds it in place). I decided to take the chip out of the FOB and ordered a chip-blade without a transponder chip installed. Then manually glued the damaged FOB back to a usable state – to be used as a standalone unit for opening/locking the doors/trunk.

I’m guessing all transponder chips are roughly of a standard size – which was why the “unchipped” RFID blade’s hole allowed a perfect press-fit. I still opted to glue the chip onto the blade to be on the safe side ⁶ You never know when that chip can pop-out and getting lost – leaving you with an unusable key

Better Safe than Sorry

I ended up ordering every [practical] accessory that can be ordered – regardless if I was going to use them. So along with the 6 key blades, I also got the USB insert, a bottle opener insert, a LED flashlight insert, a retractable clip, a spare end-cap, a bunch of colored and uncolored nodes.

Since there are no local distributors of the Keyport, I figured just order everything in case I change my mind about my “configuration.” But for now, my “current six” are 4 keys (car, bike rack, house, and condominium), the LED flashlight, and of course one slot will be taken because of the car’s transponder chip 🙂

PROS

Practical

I can’t really say you’ll end up with a much smaller footprint – because that’s a relative thing. Some people don’t have car key FOBs (for opening and closing doors), some people’s keys may all be small, some people may use really small keychains. All these factors contribute to whether or not your “setup” is to be considered “impractical” or not.

Take for example the size comparison of the Keyport as against my old setup. While it is much more compact, it’s not too considerable a difference for any other person to justify dropping $130 for a “cosmetic upgrade”

Why is this considered a PRO then? Because while I can’t claim “size” I can, on the other hand, say that you have a more practical and comfortable setup. The benefit of the Keyport keys aren’t going to hurt you when they poke your leg through your pants pocket. Or they won’t make an annoying jangling sound when you decide to let them hang outside. “Fumbling” for the right key will be a thing of the past.

So even if you have a separate key-FOB for your car (which I do) which you think defeats the purpose of having a Keyport, it still doesn’t change the fact that your Keys are much more compact/organized/etc.

Beautiful

I’m a sucker for good design – and the Keyport doesn’t disappoint. It’s not a stretch to say it’s the coolest looking keychain you can own – not to mention the one of the more functional ones.

Good Build

While the Keyport has plastic components, it’s surprisingly sturdy. Made to withstand 20lbs of torque. Average torque applied to turning a key on a lock is about 1-3lbs. Being a byciclist who’s got carbon components – I’m very much aware of torque values.

The end cap is what opens up to change the inserts, that’s also where you connect your lanyard straps, etc. Given that it’s plastic, I was worried that all those factors would make it likely candidate for separating from the shell accidentally. But it seems the Keyport guys have thought of that as well. I discovered that if both inserts at opposite ends of the shell are in their retracted state, you cannot open the cap even if you tried manually. To open the Keyport, you’d have to “engage” those two inserts (or at least slide them away enough)

In short, the chances of it accidentally disengaging is virtually nil.

CONS

Price

While I think it’s worth the price of admission, I cannot deny that the Keyport’s expensive for what it is. The shell’s about $50, but it’s practically useless unless you get it with blades. The cheapest blades can be had fora about 5 bucks. So that’s an extra $30 at the very least. And all this is doesn’t include the cost of having your keys cut by your local locksmith. In my case, I paid another Php2k (50 dollars) ⁷ But mostly because some of my keys were high-security so the cost of having them cut was more expensive than the rest Granted, I opted to go the best (hence expensive) locksmith in our part of town – after all, I only had one shot at cutting these blades; blades that aren’t available locally.

With all the inserts I got, everything comes out at approximately $250. But if I had stuck to the “basic configuration” (6 blades and the shell) that’s about PhP 5.5k (130 dollars).

I for one, am a person willing to pay a premium for stuff that’s functional and beautiful. I mean that’s precisely why I chose it over the common jangly, convoluted keychain setup everyone else puts up with. So the premium for me was definitely worth it. That and this used to cost $300 – so the price has gone down drastically since it first came out – which makes me feel better about my purchase 🙂

But that doesn’t change the fact that you’re spending at least $150 for a glorified keychain.

Buggy USB

The USB drive was a bit “picky”; it would work on some machines, but wouldn’t on others. It’s definitely not an issue of the actual ports, because I tried using different USB drives (or iPhones/iPods/iPads) on them right after and those worked flawlessly.

The Plastic Parts

While concerns of the end-cap disengaging accidentally is a non-issue, there still is the possibility of some external pressure being able to crack/break/shatter the plastic parts (i.e. a really bad fall, crushing force, etc.).

I hope Keyport would offer some sort of conversion kit that replaces the plastic bits with metal/aluminum versions of it. I’d gladly pay for that.

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That’s about it, nothing more to say really save that I’m very happy with my Keyport. And as of this writing I’ve successfully influenced my old high school teacher to get one as well 😉

I apologize if I wasn’t able to discuss the actual “assembly” of the Keyport (i.e. how the nodes are installed to the inserts, and how the inserts are installed into the shell) But I’ve included a video review I found in YouTube below – this is the same review that helped me decide whether or not I really wanted a Keyport 🙂