Well, if you've already got a dead one, there's no reason not to see how well the undamaged part stands up to attack by various tools...
This is a very useful opportunity
Could someone who knows this person suggest they do a few tests & film (or otherwise document) the results? Perhaps this could be a way of recouping the cost of the lock - contributions?
They have already done that over in the other place - clicky
Yup, sorry. I forgot about this thread. Here it is:
Since the lock was toast I had a go cutting it up with various tools.
From left to right we have a junior hacksaw, side-cutting pliers, small bolt croppers and long handled end-cutting pliers. Ignore the cable lock.
Hacksaw - cuts through easily given very good support in a vice but is much slower and more awkward in other situations. When cinched tight to a pole I think it might not be possible to get a hacksaw on it at all. Even a tiny bit of wiggle makes it very difficult to saw.
Side-cutting pliers - Very hard work. I tried both nibbling at it and flexing the lock back and forth to fatigue it but neither method worked very well. I did manage to get through eventually by taking small bites and levering against an immovable object. I suspect this is what the thief was using.
Bolt croppers - These were highly ineffective. They made a cracking noise on the first cut but seemed to do relatively little to the steel bands. I think it was mostly just compressing the sandwich together without cutting.
End-cutting pliers - These were quite effective. I was able to nibble through fairly fast with the beefy head and long handles. However, the bulk of the head makes it hard to get a suitable angle on the lock and I suspect that when actually locked to a bike a thief might not be able to get the angle.
I have no other experience cutting locks and all the tools above were cheap and unloved. On the other hand, I feel a bike thief is unlikely to be rocking Knipex side-cutters and I was working mostly at a comfortable height with the lock in a bench vice.
I would love to know how easy a regular cable lock is to cut through for comparison but am unwilling to sacrifice one. The one in the picture is 8mm diameter and roughly the same length as the Ottolock and weighs 300g. The long Ottolock weighs about 240g so it is lighter while being (I strongly suspect) more resistant to attack. I feel that a huge advantage of the Ottolock over a cable lock is the ability to cinch it down tight - I don't think this aspect can be understated. A cable lock can generally have a loop pulled into a comfortable position to be worked on. When locked up tight I think one might be able to make it impossible for a hacksaw to be used and almost impossible for bulky end-cutting pliers or bolt croppers. Side-cutting pliers will slip in but as I found and as shown by the real thief is is not very easy to get through with these.
Overall, I am quite impressed and would rather like one. It is light and easy to pack whilst offering what I feel is significant resistance to petty thieves. However, I agree with @Tangoup52 that it is rather expensive compared to other options. I'll be keeping an eye out to see if we get a proper UK importer which should drop the price considerably.