Padlock buying guide
Updated: October 2026
You are comparing amazon.co.uk padlocks for a locker, a shed, a gate, a chain or a suitcase, and the titles lean on heavy duty. A padlock buying guide is useful when it puts the questions in an order, because the listing will not tell you whether the hoop fits the hasp or whether anyone has published a security grade. This page is that order. Prices and stars for the twelve listings live on the [padlock comparison](/hub/door-and-window-security/padlock). Peter F. read those amazon.co.uk pages and public UK sources on 20 October 2026. This is not a laboratory test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
You are comparing amazon.co.uk padlocks for a locker, a shed, a gate, a chain or a suitcase, and the titles lean on heavy duty.
You are comparing amazon.co.uk padlocks for a locker, a shed, a gate, a chain or a suitcase, and the titles lean on heavy duty. A padlock buying guide is useful when it puts the questions in an order, because the listing will not tell you whether the hoop fits the hasp or whether anyone has published a security grade. This page is that order. Prices and stars for the twelve listings live on the padlock comparison. Peter F. read those amazon.co.uk pages and public UK sources on 20 October 2026. This is not a laboratory test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Lock type | Shackle | Body | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Diyife Diyife 52 mm combination padlock | 4-digit combination | 8 mm, 304 stainless | 52 x 26 x 84.5 mm | 9.4 | about £13.99 | View offer |
 NovLock NovLock 8 mm combination padlock | 4-digit combination | 8 mm hardened steel | 54 x 27 x 85 mm | 9.4 | about £14.99 | View offer | |
| Best value |  GRIFEMA GRIFEMA 4-digit padlock | 4-digit combination | Hardened steel, diameter n/a | 79 x 43 x 22 mm | 8.8 | about £3.78 | View offer |
On this page
Start with the job, not the title
A locker, a shed, a chain and a suitcase are different locks, even when the search results stack them into one sentence. Name the job before you sort by stars. A suitcase or a gym locker wants a small body and a code several people can share. A family gate that only keeps the dog in is a low-risk latch. A shed that holds the tools for the house is a different threat, and the fitting pattern for that door is on the padlock for a shed and gate page. A chain needs a hoop wide enough to pass the link and short enough that a bar has little room to work.
The Squire CP40 in this set, about £13.00, is the concrete warning. The listing points it at lockers, bags and cupboards and tells you to choose a larger Squire for gates and sheds. Matching the brand to the dearer CP50 does not turn the CP40 into a gate lock. Once the job has a name, the next sentence is a tape measure on the hasp or the chain.
Measure the shackle, then distrust the title
Measure three things in millimetres on the fitting you already own. Shackle diameter is the thickness of the hoop that must pass the staple or the chain link. Horizontal clearance is the width inside the hoop. Vertical clearance is the height inside the hoop, from the body up to the curve. Use the shortest hoop that still closes. Spare metal is what croppers and a bar can work on.
Listings in this set disagree with their own size fields. The SEPOX pair, about £9.97, says 58 mm in the title, 40 mm in the model name, and 46.5 mm for the shackle in the components line. Diyife’s item dimensions read as a 51 mm cube in one place and 52 x 26 x 84.5 mm in another. GRIFEMA, about £3.78, does not state a shackle diameter at all. If two numbers on one page disagree, measure the staple and check the lock when it arrives. Fit still says nothing about a grade.
Ask for a grade, and treat silence as ungraded
BS EN 12320:2021 is the current British Standard for padlocks and padlock fittings. It sets six security grades, from 1 to 6. A durability line sits apart from the security grade, and corrosion resistance is a different digit again. Sold Secure’s SS 303 map lines its marks up with those grades: Bronze with CEN 3, Silver with CEN 4, Gold with CEN 5, and Diamond with CEN 6.
None of the twelve listings here states a CEN grade or a Sold Secure mark. If the page is silent, treat the lock as ungraded in public view. Squire’s own page rates the CP50 at 5/10+ on Squire’s scale and describes an 8 mm shackle. That is a maker note you can read. It is not grade 5 of BS EN 12320. ProtectUK’s lock advice still cites BS EN 12320:2012. The 2012 and 2021 editions are different documents. Do not invent an insurer minimum. Some policies name a grade, and the policy wording is the source.
Mechanism and weather come after the fit
Choose a re-codable 4-digit combination when several people must get in and the risk is low: a locker, or a family gate you are not treating as a strongroom. Choose a key when the door is a shed you do not want to open by feel in the dark. Insight Security treats combination padlocks as low-level security. Ten thousand codes, which is what you get if every digit runs from 0 to 9, is the size of the number space. It is not resistance to cutting, leverage or a weak hasp. The full argument is on the combination padlock versus keyed padlock page.
The word weatherproof, and a sentence about 180 hours of salt spray, are seller wording. They are not an EN 1670 corrosion class. No marine-stated model sits in these twelve. An inland shed can live with a covered mechanism and a metal that still opens after rain. A coastal site needs a lock the maker has stated for marine use, which means leaving this set.
What the price band is really buying
The shelf prices captured here fall into three bands, and they are the prices on those pages. The entry band is about £3.80 to £8. The middle is about £10 to £15. The top of this set is about £20 to £21, the CP50 at about £20.50 and the JMIATRY pair at about £20.99. Under £10 you are buying a deterrent, not a published grade 3. Stars mean people could set a code or turn a key and live with the size. They do not mean the shackle was cropped in a test.
The black CP50 on amazon.co.uk is not the blue CP50 list price of £43.99 on squirelocks.co.uk, and the listing’s country of origin is China. Call a fitter if the door is rotten, if you need a BS 3621 mortice rather than a padlock, if an insurer has named a grade you cannot see, or if the hasp must be bolted through masonry. Who each named lock is for is on the best padlock page.
Common questions
What should I decide before I look at the price?
Name the job, then measure shackle diameter, horizontal clearance and vertical clearance against the hasp or chain you already have. Ask whether the listing states BS EN 12320 or a Sold Secure mark, and treat silence as ungraded. Choose a code or a key, then match inland cover against a marine-stated lock if you are on the coast. Price, stars and review count are the last filter, and only between locks that already fit.
How do I measure a padlock for a hasp or chain?
Close the hasp, or hold the chain link, and measure the hole the hoop must pass, in millimetres. You need the hoop’s thickness, the width inside it, and the height inside it. Buy the shortest hoop that still closes over that staple. If the listing gives two sizes, as the SEPOX page does with 58 mm, 40 mm and a 46.5 mm shackle line, measure your fitting and check the lock in your hand before you drill.
What if the listing never mentions BS EN 12320?
Then you cannot treat that lock as graded. The 2021 standard describes six security grades. Sold Secure Bronze, Silver, Gold and Diamond map to CEN 3, 4, 5 and 6 in SS 303. None of these twelve pages states either mark. A maker’s own score, such as Squire’s 5/10+ on the CP50, is not a CEN grade. If your insurer has named a grade, the policy is the document that matters, and this shelf may not meet it.
Does weatherproof mean the lock is certified for a British winter?
No. Weatherproof and a 180-hour salt-spray line are seller sentences. They are not an EN 1670 class, and a salt-spray hour count is not the same thing as that classification. None of these twelve is sold as a marine lock. Inland, look for a covered mechanism and metal that still moves after rain. On the coast, you need a marine-stated lock, which means a different listing from the ones compared here.
Is a 4-digit combination as secure as a key?
It is a different problem, not a higher grade. A 4-digit lock has 10,000 codes if every wheel runs from 0 to 9, and that count is not resistance to cutting. Insight Security treats combination padlocks as low-level security. A code suits a locker or a low-risk family gate. A key suits a shed you will not want to dial in the dark. Both can fail if the hasp is only screwed on from the outside.
When is a padlock the wrong product?
Stop when the timber is rotten, because a hasp fails with the wood. Stop when the door is solid enough for a BS 3621 mortice rather than a padlock. Stop when an insurer has named a grade the listing does not show, and when the hasp has to go through masonry. Those are fitter jobs. A new padlock on the old outside screws does not repair any of them.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources from the research digest, used for this page in October 2026. Prices, stars and review counts are from the amazon.co.uk listings in the product files. None of the twelve listings states a BS EN 12320 grade or a Sold Secure mark.
- BSI Knowledge, BS EN 12320:2021 padlocks and padlock fittings (retrieved October 2026)
- SIST EN 12320:2022 preview, durability and corrosion (retrieved October 2026)
- ProtectUK, locks (retrieved October 2026)
- Sold Secure ratings (retrieved October 2026)
- Secured by Design, secure sheds and outbuildings (retrieved October 2026)
- West Yorkshire Police, shed and garage security (retrieved October 2026)
- Squire, how to choose a padlock (retrieved October 2026)
- Insight Security, ten factors when choosing a padlock (retrieved October 2026)