Winton has posted more than 1,500 videos of lock-cracking tests and lock reviews on his public YouTube channel. Wayne Winton of Tri-County Locksmith, covering Glenwood Springs and Aspen, Colorado.Richard Reichert, owner of Major Lock & Glass in Ridgewood, Queens.Vincent Divittorio of DV Locksmith & Hardware, in Astoria, Queens.Gerard Corsini, owner of Joseph Lock and Alarm in Jackson Heights, Queens (New York).If you’re looking for a guide to deadbolts that can be controlled via app or smart-home integration, read The Best Smart Lock. If the Battalion isn’t available, the Prime-Line U 9539, which we also looked at, is virtually identical. One complaint: The screws it comes with are just 2 inches long, when 3 inches or even 4 inches is much better-you may want to find longer screws for a stronger attachment to the doorframe. It also mounts to the doorframe with four screws many standard strike plates use only two. That’s because, like them, it features an integral metal-lined bolt-hole, which adds strength against kicking and other forms of forced entry. After considering about a dozen, we settled on the Battalion Strike Plate: It’s affordable, simple, tough, and very similar to the robust strikes many high-security deadbolts come with. The better kind is known as a reinforced strike, and installing one is a cost-effective security upgrade that experts consider nearly as important as the deadbolt lock itself.
The strike plate is the metal opening where the deadbolt engages with the doorframe-and strikes are not all the same.