Every safe manufacturer will have a different method of telling you that their safe is the best and most secure out there. That doesn’t mean that you should trust the first safe manufacturer you come across. It’s wise to shop around and compare different manufacturers for your next safe purchase.
But how do you go about comparing different manufacturers for your safe? Also, are you only looking for new safes or are you interested in the used safe market as well?
The first thing you should do is do a comparison on some of the most fundamental features you need in a safe. While some safe manufacturers may make some outrageous claims about the safety of their safes by making their own ratings, these fundamental features boil it down to basics: what features do you really need to look at when shopping?
Size and Dimension
We’re not only talking about outer measurements and dimensions, but also the inner dimensions of the safe, which are just as important – if not more so.
Inner dimensions determine how much stuff you’ll be able to fit in the safe, so you always may want to consider the interior cubic capacity of the safe. Some manufacturers, unfortunately, do not provide this information, so looking at the information they provide you regarding outer dimensions will have to be the next best thing.
Weight
A safes ability to protect from fire and theft comes not only from inner insulation for reinforced steel plating, but from the safe’s weight.
A heavy safe will likely be insulated with fire-resistant materials. Take note of whether the manufacturer’s safe insulation are made from fireboard, which is a light-weight material that actually doesn’t protect it well from fire. On the other hand, poured concrete will protect very well from fire.
You’ll find that the best fire and burglary safes are the ones that weigh the heaviest – many times heavier than safes that use only fireboard.
Thickness of the Steel
Yet another important consideration. The higher the number in this case, the more protection you get. The general rule here is anything that has steel walls that measure one-quarter of an inch thick or more, or has steel doors with a half-inch thick steel reinforcement or more, will be a fairly secure safe.
A safe could be heavy, but it doesn’t mean its all steel. Find out how much of the safe’s weight is contributed by the steel, as opposed to any cheaper composite material.
