Security is an essential aspect of prepping. But it doesn’t always have to be against home invasion. You need to be able to protect your assets from anything. Fortunately, all you need is a safe.
Personal safes are the ideal way to hide and secure a variety of important goods. This includes important documents, gold, and firearms. A good safe can protect these items from theft, fire, flooding, and more. But there are a few things to consider before making the investment.
Locking Options
There are three primary ways to lock and unlock your safe. Keys, Dials/Keypads, and Biometrics. Keys are handy in that you only need to have the key, no memorization required. But if you lose that key, you’re out of luck. Rotary dials and keypads are nice in that you never need a physical item to unlock it, as long as you know the combination. This also poses a secondary risk of either forgetting the password or writing it down somewhere in an effort to remember it (don’t do this).
The final option is biometrics, such as fingerprint scanners. This is a more modern option that doesn’t require an item OR a memory. The only problem here is that they require a power supply to retain functionality. And if you’re off the grid or have limited access to power due to a SHTF scenario, that can be a problem.
In the end, choose whichever option is more comfortable to you personally. I’m a forgetful person, so I would rather have a key than a password.
Consider Your Needs
If you’re someone with a LOT of things you want to secure, then you need a larger safe. If you travel frequently or want security in your car, then a smaller, portable safe is a better option. There’s no single safe that will best suit everyone, pick the one best for you.
To save you some effort, I’ve researched some safes and found two options that will be more than suitable for most people, without costing thousands of dollars.
The first is the First Alert safe. It’s fire resistant, so it should survive a house fire. It’s not only waterproof, but buoyant, so it’ll float. Makes it good for boats or heavy floods. It’s also purely mechanical, so no need to worry about providing power.
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The other is the SentrySafe. This is for if you move around too much or want something more portable than the First Alert. It’s still fire and tamper proof. It’s tough as nails but very affordable.
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Final Advice
Here are a few final bits of advice for how to make the most use out of a personal safe.
- Always keep it locked. It’s pointless otherwise.
- Don’t tell others what the key is for/where any written passwords are.
- Hide the safe. Security doesn’t show off.