OnGuard Brute U-lock

At just over £40 (less online) you'd expect mid-range performance from a U-lock but the Brute proved itself to be a tough cookie and it's a great lock to sling in your bag for the daily commute. You'll need a bag, as there's no bracket supplied, although one is available.

The Brute mates a 16mm hardened shackle with a bar made from a single piece of steel, and the locking mechanism is protected against drilling and picking. The whole lock is rubberised to protect your paintwork and you get five keys (one with an LED light) to open it with. Like we said above, there's no bracket.

We attacked our sample with our standard armoury - 3ft bolt croppers, persuader, hammer, cold chisel, screwdriver and hacksaw. The 16mm shackle was too big for the jaws of our croppers so we went after it with the persuader and hammer but after five minutes the damage was pretty cosmetic, and the lock – with a slightly bent shackle – still worked fine. Onguard claim that the lock can cope with 10 tons of pulling force. It's a fairly beefy lock and you'll certainly feel the weight carrying it around, it's even heavier then the Kryptonite New York 3000, but then it is also substantially cheaper which means that in terms of bangs for buck it's a solid choice.

Verdict

Good level of security from a mid-price lock, really good value