Pragmasis Shed Shackle security anchor

Ground anchors are fantastic if you've got a bit of hard standing to drill into, but what if your shed's on decking or earth? The Pragmasis Shed Shackle is the next best thing.

The Shed Shackle is a reinforcing kit for your shed that turns the shed wall into a secure locking point. You get a hardened, powder coated steel shackle and two long plates, plus a short one, and the bits go together to form just about the most secure option available to anyone without a proper floor.

The main shackle fits to a vertical beam of the shed, and the short plate can be used to bridge horizontally to the next beam to help resist twisting attacks. Pragmasis supplies shear bolts that break at a certain torque to leave a smooth conical surface. The shear bolts can dig into the wood a bit if it's soft but the nut does eventually come off, so perservere.

Once fitted it’s impossible to remove without removing the section of shed wall that it's anchored to. I'm on my second shed shackle, the first still being firmly attached to the shed wall at my old house.

The lock loop is 50mm tall, so you can get in a hefty chain (Pragmasis says it'll take two of the company's Protector 11mm chains, or one 13mm and one 11mm at the same time) or other beefy lock. No point compromising here, it's not like you need a lock you can carry around.

Unlike a ground anchor the shackle fits at frame height which makes it a bit easier to use, and improves security by making it harder to rest your lock on the floor for attack by bolt croppers.

The array of pieces means that you can fit it pretty much anywhere that's convenient. When not in use it's unobtrusive and only juts out a couple of inches from the shed wall.

Pragmasis claims to have sold over 1,000 Shed SHackles, and never one defeated, or even attacked. There's also a version for steel sheds if you want to beef up the security of a metal bike shelter.

Verdict

It’s hard to imagine how a shed-mounted anchor could be more secure, or more versatile, and if you can't fit an anchored lock point then this is a great next bet.