How to Choose the Right Safe

Are you in the market for a safe?  Many people own a safe as a further means to protect their valuable assets or documents.  Some people use safes as a way to keep their guns locked up and away from the hands of little ones and possible intruders.  Safes can be extremely effective at protecting and securing assets.

There are many different safes on the market today.  There are numerous safe manufacturers as well as several different types of safes (used for different purposes). How does one go about choosing the right one?

When choosing a safe, it is important that we first determine how it will primarily be used.  Some questions we may ask are:

1. What do you wish to store in it? What is the approximate value of the items? This will help us determine what fire or burglary rating we want.
2. Where do you want to install it? This will help us determine our weight limits as well as influence our burglary and fire resistant requirements.  Sometimes we may want to install a safe in a location that may not be the best place and this needs to be addressed (e.g. installing it in a high traffic area).  Although it is best to put a safe in a less accessible spot, we need to be sure we can feasibly move it to that location.  Keep in mind that safes can be tall and/or wide and extremely heavy.  Once it is installed, we don’t want to be moving it again anytime soon.
3. How often will it be accessed and by whom (1 person or multiple)? This will allow us to choose one that will stand up to the frequency of use.  Also we will know what sort of lock and handle we need.
4. What is your budget? Sounds like a simple question but safes can be costly.  Yes, there are inexpensive safes out there but you do tend to get what you pay for.  However, there are very good quality safes that are reasonably priced.

After answering the above questions, we can look at the various types of safes in the market.  Here is a list of the types of safes:

• Gun Safes (Rifle Safes, Pistol Safes)
• Home Safes
• Jewelry Safes
• High Security Safes
• Commercial Safes
• Fireproof Safes
• Wall Safes
• Floor Safes

Do you still need some more information to begin your search for the right safe?  Here is a partial list of safe manufacturers:

• American Security (AMSEC)
• Browning
• Gardex
• Brown Safe
• Guardall
• Hamilton Safe

But, which one is the right one?  Again, it depends on how you are using it.  If you will be using it to store items worth $10 you should be fine with your average Sentry safe from a big box store.  However, if you are using it to store items worth $100,000 then you will want to invest in a quality safe.

If you are interested in purchasing a safe, let us know.  We can help you choose the right one for your needs.