I recently made the decision to invest in an Abloy Protec2 after rediscovering my bump key set. Not having a safe (I don't have kids around.. ever), and traveling abroad occasionally; I decided to turn my entire condo into a safe by investing in an unbumpable/virtually unpickable [1] lock.

I realize many folks think key bumping is not a huge concern, since most criminals will just kick in a door - which I agree with - but that's a reason to reinforce your door jam and door/hinges (something I've also done). The main risk of bumping or picking is not knowing. I am not under the illusion that my home is impenetrable - but basically someone would have to literally break their way in - no different than a safe. Not having any physical signs of break-in are a big problem in the event of police response or insurance claim. So short of bring a remodeling crew with them, I'm not concerned. Plus it's not about being impenetrable - it's about being a hard target.

Anyway, I purchased the Abloy Protec2 w/lockable thumbturn[2]. This way I can trade off the daily convenience of having a thumbturn for the security of a double deadbolt when I am gone for extended periods of time. There's also the option of an emergency key that will only allow you exit if the thumb turn is locked, but cannot be used to enter from the outside. It's also impossible to unscrew the deadbolt from the inside, since the screws holding the lock together are only accessible through a hole in the thumbturn that requires you to unlock it.

Install is a bit more intimidating than your standard bumpable Schlage from Home Depot. Functionally it's pretty similar, just much better made and comes a little less assembled then your standard lockset. The hardest part is having to cut down a little metal piece inside that actually turns the mechanism - it has to be sized to the width of your door. The instructions recommend a few different ways to do this. A vice and dremel would be ideal, but I don't have a dremel and a hacksaw gets you nowhere fast. What worked for me was scoring it with a cold chisel and then breaking it with vise grips.

The first problem I ran into was whichever idiot had originally drilled my door didn't do it on-center. I had to order a shim which is sold for narrower doors which required a frustrating shipping delay (I hadn't thought I needed it since my door was within the specified width). This meant temporarily reinstalling my old Schlage. So if your door is on the narrow side or does not appear to be centered in your door, I recommend ordering the shim. [3]

Second problem I ran into was the deadbolt was not throwing smoothly. This required drilling into the door slightly more so it could accept the longer throw of the bolt into the door when it is unlocked. Pretty straightforward.

And then that was it. Operates smoothly like silk and requires very little force with the key to unlock the bolt. My old Schlage was better than the Kwikset preceding it, but operating the Abloy is the next level of mechanical precision.

In concert with substantial steel jamb armoring and additional armor around the actual lock itself, my front door is now a pretty hard target which gives me a lot more confidence when I travel. I am by no means impenetrable, but most would-be thieves will simply move along. While the Abloy Protec2 is definitely expensive; I look at it in terms of an investment that protects me as do my firearms. Except it does it near 24/7 with minimal effort from me.

If you're unfamiliar with bumping, there are lots of videos on youtube, and having bumped deadbolts myself - yes it is really is that damn easy. The lock companies downplay it because they know their locks are crap.

(I am not affiliated with security snobs nor abloy).

1. There are rumors of attacks against the Abloy Protec2 requiring special tools, but frankly if someone is going to target me with that level of effort, there are weaker chinks in my armor.
2. https://securitysnobs.com/Abloy-Protec2-Single-Cylinder-w-Lockable-Thumbturn-Deadbolt.html
3. https://securitysnobs.com/Abloy-Deadbolt-Spacer-Ring.html