Popplock T2

T2 is nice, is secret, is difficult to open, and is definitely a collectible lock. Let's see why.

T2 was made in 2 different version: a limited version was made out of stainless steel and thus is rarer. The only difference with both version of the lock is the material used, the solution of the way they work remain the same, of course.

A nice feature that I like with this lock is that you can opened it by unscrewing the front pannel and see the mechanism. And if you like, you can even create a plexi cover to put instead of the metal cover so that you can admire the mechanism while solving the lock.
But well, it makes it a very easy lock them. The main difficulty is that you cannot see what you're doing while trying to solve it. And even if you have feedback from the lock, well, it's difficult to solve. And you always need to pull the shackle to see if you have solved the lock as, unfortunately, the shackle does not pop up :-(

Your tools: you have a key and something like a rod. The first version of the lock had only one tool which was the key with a small rod on it's top, which gave a clue: you could only use the key or the small rod, and not both together. Whereas, with the 2 tools you now have, you can use both at the same time. You follow?

You will hear some clicks while you turn the keys inside the keyhole, and sometimes you will be blocked....and at some point you may solve it without understanding what you did :-)
The interesting thing is to open the lock to see the mechanism.

I had difficulty to open the lock and I do feel it's not easy to repeat. But obviously it's highly collectible, it's a popplock after all! Plus it's still fun to play with it. Give it a try!

Popplock T7

One of (if not the) the biggest popplocks, the easiest one and the one that many did not like, let me introduce you the popplock T7 and explain some things about it.

You see, a big lock! Don't be afraid this is easy!!

You should solve it under 10 seconds which, regarding the price, does not seem to be worth the money spent. Notice that I say "seem" and I don't say "is not worth".

There is a clear close feature to the revomaze puzzles: this popplock has like a maze inside the core and you need to solve it to open the lock. So it's not something new because the revomaze puzzles already existed before the release of this puzzle. First disapointing thing. Now the revomazes are more difficult and will puzzle you for much longer time as one wrong move and you start from the beginning. For this puzzle you will not start from the beginning. I don't feel this is a bad point, but that may be a second disappointing thing for hardcore puzzlers :-)

So what's good with that puzzle?
Well, first you can modify the inside maze by putting pins here and there, so you can create you own maze and try to solve it. I love this feature, because it's not common that you can modify a puzzle (and thus its difficulty), let me know if you can have the same nice feature in other puzzle, because I don't have any example right now.
Now the second good thing is that there is like a "safety" mechanism that allows you to be able to solve the T7 (free the core) if you made either a too difficult maze or an impossible one!! I love this feature, this is not a new one because you can find in many Tom Lensch puzzles, for example, such mechanism that allows you to start again the puzzle.

A quick warning: as you will have to push and pull the core, take care with your fingers.
With some popplocks you need an extra care when playing with them as you could hurt yourself because of moving parts: T3, T5, T7.

So despite its easy difficulty (maybe Rainer should have put a more difficult maze when shipping the puzzle?...), this puzzle has some really nice features, and I am sure you will try to solve it several times. Well, and if you intend to collect all popplocks or if you're a trick lock lover, then no doubt you will try to get it :-)