So you’ve finally gotten around to using a hardware two-factor authentication key. You’re taking your security seriously with a tiny investment, but you’ve run into a hiccup: How do you carry this not-quite-dongle-thing around with you all the time? It’s easy to toss it on a keyring, but many two-factor keys are plastic and can’t take quite the same level of abuse that a brass key can. And, if you want to protect it with one of those folding key organizers, a bunch of them aren’t the right size to fit a two-factor key correctly. But the Yubico x Keyport Pivot 2.0 is, and at $25, it’s easy to recommend. It’s even made in collaboration with the company that probably sold you your security key.
Yubico and Keyport came together to make a version of the Pivot specifically to work with the former’s two-factor authentication hardware keys, and it’s easy to recommend if you don’t need to carry a ton of keys.
- Color: Black
- Dimensions: 3.2″ x 0.6″ x variable, 0.7 oz
- Materials: 6061 aluminum
- Price: $25
- Holds 2FA keys
- Holds other keys too
- Unique mechanism supports 1-8 keys (with spacers)
- Easy to cross-thread the screw
- Particularly big keys like car keys need to be attached differently
- Can’t hold more than eight keys
Yubikey Keyport Pivot 2.0
Design, hardware, what’s in the box
The “Yubico x Keyport Pivot 2.0 key organizer” has a superfluously long name, and I’m not going to call it that, but it’s very simply made. The front and back are two pieces of black anodized 6061 aluminum. At one end, the two pieces are secured together with a semi-rigid rubber flap, studded with a D-ring. At the other end, it’s held together by the most clever closure mechanism you’ll ever see.
That screw, together with a spring, secures your keys and two-factor hardware dongles between the pieces of aluminum, and it’s very, very well engineered. Yubico claims the key holder can fit between one and eight keys. You slide them onto the barrel post half of the Chicago screw, put the two halves together, and tighten it down with a screwdriver or a coin.
When it gets tight enough that the included spring kicks in, the magic happens: Pressure from the spring pushes everything back against the screw, and as that pressure increases, a set of detents built into the aluminum plate locks the screw into place at 90-degree intervals.
This all sounds complicated, but the effect is simple: The screw won’t come undone, but your keys will still swivel and rotate out, with just the right level of resistance when tightened down correctly. It’s hard to describe but straightforward, easy to use, and it works really well.
It comes with a handful of spacers, but unless you’re using fewer than four keys, you won’t need them. They’re just there so, when screwed shut, the stack is at least as tall as the barrel post, ensuring the super-clever closure mechanism works as designed.
The one hiccup I should note is that the screw is very easy to cross-thread. Don’t force it, just unscrew it and try again. With a thick stack of keys, that might mean spending a bit of time trying over and over, and that is a little annoying.
You can also get a short paracord lanyard that attaches to the Keyport Pivot 2.0 for $3 and lets you use things like the Nano Yubikey, though it won’t work exactly the same as a rigid key.
It sounds like this will also work with Keyport’s line of faceplates, which include things like a flashlight, charging cable, or just simple customization, but I wasn’t provided any to test that.
It holds keys — new and old
Like many of my favorite products, the Pivot 2.0 doesn’t overdo it with features. It just holds your keys — 2FA and otherwise. Since it’s one of the few ways I can be minimal in my life, given my job, I have done my best to keep my keyring small. So I’ve already been using a similar system I built myself for the last four years, so this wasn’t a drastic change for me. But if you haven’t used one of these flip-out key organizers before, there are some notable benefits.
For one, your keys will never poke you in the pocket or jangle annoyingly again. They’re all packed flat and flush, with enough resistance that they won’t flip out on their own. For another, you can blindly find the right key much more quickly — the same key will always be first and second in the stack, and so on. Third, it’s less likely that they’ll contort in a way that accidentally pushes a button on your car keys in your pocket. Even if you ultimately decide this key organizer isn’t for you, you should look into the concept if you haven’t. But the execution here is very good, particularly if you have a hardware 2FA key.
The Pivot 2.0 leaves enough space at one end that you can hook a finger under the tips of your keys and easily flip them out. And, importantly, the screw that holds your keys in place is sized perfectly to accept a hardware 2FA key. Some other key organizers that I’ve tried don’t have enough space to fit all key types, and hardware 2FA keys, for whatever reason, often have very narrow holes.
Two-factor authentication is always good, and you should have it enabled (ideally, with a hardware key) on every account you can. But it isn’t always convenient. Outside the minor pain of the process itself intervening every time you sign in to an account, there’s also the tedium of carrying the key around with you. The Pivot 2.0 doesn’t eliminate those issues entirely, but it does make it easier to keep that key on your person, where it’s easy to plug into a laptop or phone as required.
It’s a good product, but two impediments could affect whether or not it’s right for you. First, there’s a limit to the number of keys it can carry. Yubico says it can hold a maximum of eight, which seems right to me, depending on their thickness. If you need to carry more than eight keys at a time, this might not fit for you. Unfortunately, that immediately excludes many of the sysadmin types that would otherwise most enjoy a product like this.
The second, more minor issue is car keys. The only comfortable way I’ve found to attach a car key to the organizer is via the D-ring on the end. That isn’t an impediment by itself, but it does ruin some of the fun by making one of your keys hang freely. There probably isn’t a solution to that which would work for all car keys, but it’s something to keep in mind if you have an oversized or thicker key that you need to carry with you.
Should you buy one?
I think the Yubico x Keyport Pivot 2.0 key organizer is an easy buy at just $25. It won’t be perfect for everyone, but if you don’t carry a ton of keys with you and you’d like a snazzier, quieter, and more organized way of carrying them around, together with two-factor authentication hardware, this is it — particularly if you have a Yubico-made 2FA key. They fit it like a glove. If you use a tiny two-factor hardware key, you may have to use that optional lanyard I mentioned, but the longer styles fit very well.
Sure, the Pivot 2.0 is more expensive than your standard round keyring, but it’s quiet, you won’t poke yourself in the pocket with your keys, and even your two-factor hardware will fit in it. And the price is right — some snazzy key organizers like my old leather one might run you twice that much (or more) and have a worse design. As we head into the holiday [editor’s note: Ryne dragged his heels here], it’s a prime price for an office gift, something for a friend, or a stocking stuffer.
Buy it if:
- You want a compact key organizer that works with 2FA hardware keys.
Don’t buy it if:
- $25 is too steep for you for a key organizer.
- You don’t carry a 2FA key — though you should, and I am shaming you.
Where to buy:
The Yubico Keyport Pivot 2.0 is available at the followign retailers:
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