Ace Hardware has a nylon coated cable ring with a screw lock, sometimes they also a brass quarter-turn connector -- just twist the cable loop into a figure-eight and it separates. Highly recommend this one, as a fan of having good pocket stuff. Had mine for years and it's never failed.

The one caution I have is not about the key ring itself - I have some of these, and they work great. But County Comm has a bunch of really, really cool stuff. So caution one: be ready for many impulse buys. Caution two: don't expect to hear anything from County Comm if you have problems or questions. My experience with trying to get responses from them has been... unsatisfactory.

Ditto on the cool stuff @ county comm comment. I got a tactical response bag from them for carrying odds and ends and it is built like a tank. The whole web site is like cool tools for soldiers of fortune.

I hope this one's better than the others I've tried. I keep my keys in my pocket, and somehow the barrel comes unscrewed leaving me with a a pocketful of loose keys... yuck!

@Hanker - So far I've done my worst on the (CountyComm) ring to pop open, damage, or otherwise flummox it, and I haven't had any issues. It actually gets a little more supple after a couple of weeks as the cable settles in, and I often have a hard time feeling if I have a keyring in my pocket at all (good news for me, maybe not for some).

@Eric - Too true. I ended up ordering a Bail Out Bag (I've used it primarily when camping), some other small tools and various ephemera. All the prices were great and I love all the stuff so far.

I was sent two complementary luggage tags from a certain airline with these cables on them -- I kept the cables since they looked like a good re-usable.

I was planning on putting an order together for County Comm, and now I've got another thing to throw on there! Awesome
As to their customer service, my first order with them was messed up (looked like I got someone else's order). Emails took longer than I would have expected, but they more than took care of the situation in the end. But do beware the impulse buy -- they have too much cool stuff.

Google or search eBay for "cable key ring". Many about half the cost (with shipping) of these. But are they as good?

I have the exact same problem @Hanker has stated. Still I continue to use it.

I use the ones from CountyComm and they have been great. No issues with unexpected opening. My wife was very pleased with her's after a series of not so great previous key rings.
In the past I used the ones that open when twisted in a figure eight and had them open in my pocket a few times. Scary when you are far from home and almost lose your car keys. The ones from CC have been flawless.
Retail is not CC's primary business so sometimes there will be a wait for a response. My experiences have been good but, as always, YMMV.

Picked up a couple of these on an order from them. Yes the barrel will come unscrewed eventually but it take quite a while, just look at it occasionally and tighten as needed... Other than that I prefer these cables over the split ring type.

Also sold by Muji, I've got a couple and wouldn't be without them now!

I clip all my keys onto it with mini spring clips, that way I can keep the barrel tight but still remove a key when needed.

I had one of these for at least 15 years (the nylon coated one) and it finally died last year. I haven't been able to find a replacement locally, and have gone back to the awful split ring, so this is a great find. Thanks for posting it.

I have several, however, there are issues, as these cables age, where the ferrules, begin to work themselves loose, even when fully engaged tightly. I resolved this problem using thread lock compound.

Save money and take an old leather shoelace and use THAT as a key ring. You can make as big or small as you want.

Plus, it looks better as time goes on.

BTW, the web site designer for County Comm need to move into the new Millennium. I haven't seen a web site that looks like that since 1997 or so. YIKES!

The MOMA store sells an attractive cable keyholder with an aluminum fob:

http://momastore.org/museum/moma/ProductDisplay_MoMA%20Aluminum%20Cable%20Keyholder_10451_10001_48891_-1_11536_11541_null_shop_

It cost me $10.95 with shipping.

Where do those mini spring hook clips come from? Like on the Streamlight? I would buy a gross of them, but have been unable to locate them!

I have one of these cable rings I use for my motorcycle keys. Two observations:
1.) The cable has started to fray in a few areas on mine, which leaves some very sharp, very 'poke-y' strands of cable sticking out. I've used a small pair of precision cutters to trim it down, which helps, but I still occasionally get stabbed by one of the stray ends.
2.) Using this on my motorcycle, which is a single cylinder 'thumper', I had the screw part unscrew itself from the vibrations of the bike. Luckily, I caught it before I lost keys, but something to be aware of. Like #14 above, I solved this with a dab of thread locker.

Even with those caveats, I still like mine & might pick up a couple more.

--JOsh

Apply "LockTite" on the threads. 24 hours after reading this KK review, my cable key ring disengaged. The keys remained in my pocket, the cable key ring is missing....

wonder if local bay area stores stock this. shipping is um painful for these little things.

In Europe exact same item can be found at Muji - Item Code 5383573 (Wire Key Ring)

I bought half a dozen of these and I'm sad to say it was the first thing recommended by Cool Tools that I wouldn't recommend. Even when I use the smallest length of wire it is still too big for a normal keychain. Maybe 3" lengths would work better, but I replaced my 5 standard keyrings with 5 cable rings and reverted within an hour. The cables have a fair amount of give to them and several linked together stretch out almost a foot.

Didn't work for my immediate purpose, but I'm keeping them and I bet I find more uses for them.

-Jon

Would be keen to try the cable key ring but living in the U.K. it will be years before they are available .

I tried to get some of these from County Comm (& a bunch of other things after seeing their selection!) Their website says they don't ship outside of continental USA, but they apparently don't accept even Verified PayPal payments from Canada; as I was going to get mine shipped to relatives I visit. Maybe I'll try to get to an Ace Hardware next time I'm down, but I was really looking forward to one of those County Comm bail-out bags, etc.

I got a similar one from a local hardware store. seems to be nylon coated, but the key feature is that it takes 2 turns to unscrew it. it's very fast if you need to do it, but wont come undone accidentaly.