If you’re looking for a gun safe, then this short guide will explain why MOST gun safes suck and the new type of “ultralight” gun safe I use myself.
You’ll also discover some pretty shocking facts about traditional gun safes that the industry does not want you to know…
And finally, I’ll give a complete review and reasons why I chose the SecureIt Agile Ultralight 52 Pro as my gun safe:
Prices accurate at time of writing
Read on to discover why I chose this safe and think it’s a good choice for most people.
Let’s start with how gun safes work into your home defense plan…
Why I’m a Believer In “Decentralized Gun Storage” For Home Defense
While not as sexy or fun as going to the range and shooting thousands of rounds, it makes sense to consider how you store your guns when making your home defense plan.
In short, you want your guns secure and hard-to-access by unauthorized people such as children or burglars…
But they also need to be accessible enough that you can get to them quickly for home defense.
The problem is that most of us live in a “typical” modern home, with multiple rooms and possibly multiple floors…
So, if you buy just one giant safe and throw all your guns in there, then what happens if you’re not in that room during a home invasion? You could be sleeping upstairs when someone breaks in the front door…
Or in the basement or living room watching TV, away from your guns when the door is kicked in…
If you live in more than a 1-bedroom apartment, then it makes sense to think in terms of “Decentralized storage” when you start shopping for a gun safe.
In other words, instead of one large, giant, heavy safe – you might think of having multiple different storage areas for your guns.
Now, a lot of gun owners already do this on a basic level. For example, you might have a pistol for you and your spouse in a fast-access safe right on your bedside nightstand, and the rest of your guns in a giant, traditional gun safe located elsewhere.
But, I think there’s an even better solution than using a traditional gun safe.
5 Problems I Discovered With Traditional Gun Safes
When I started looking for a gun safe, I did what most everyone does…
I was looking for the biggest, heaviest, most secure safe that advertised holding the most guns.
What I discovered was actually pretty shocking…
1. Most gun safes are not even gun safes
In the 1850s a guy named Silas Herring patented a fire-proof, secure gun safe design that used double walled steel filled with cement or plaster.
Good, expensive safes that follow this same design are rated by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) as U.L. Class TL-30 gun safes… the key word is “Safe”.
However, since the 1980’s most of the popular gun safes available were made with a cheaper, less secure and not fireproof design. In fact, the design is so different that these companies went to UL and created a new classification called RSC – “Residential Security Container”.
The key point here is the classification does not use the word “safe” because UL would not allow the word “safe”. That’s because the RSC containers do not meet the minimum performance standard to be called a safe.
To get the Residential Security Container (RSC) certification the “safe” instead only has pass a test performed by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) where the goal is to open the safe with a 4″ in diameter or greater hole.
The test uses hand tools that must be shorter than 18″ and weigh less than 3 pounds. The testers have 5 minutes to open the safe, and if they fail then the safe can be labeled as a Residential Security Container (RSC).
In other words, the RSC certification will only protect your guns against thieves using hand tools for 5-minutes!
The modern thief most likely will use power tools and can get into your safe in just a few minutes.
2. Most guns safes are not fireproof.
It’s important to also know that The UL RSC classification has nothing to do with fire ratings…
In fact, unless it says “UL-Class 72 350-X”, it is not certified by UL to be a fireproof safe because there’s no fire component to the RSC rating.
If you see a sticker on the door that says “Fire Certified” or “Fire Tested” all it probably means is that the manufacture of the gun safe developed their own fireproof tests and subjected their safes to it.
3. Most Gun Safes Can Be Cut Into Easily
When I was shopping for safes, the big, traditional heavy safes looked so tough with the huge, thick doors and massive locking mechanisms…
But, as you can see in this video below, you can cut into a modern gun safe with a cheap circular saw in less than 2 minutes!
In short, any gun safe can be broken into like this… unless it’s double walled steel and filled with cement.
So, all the expensive, heavy traditional gun safes that look super secure really aren’t.
They just LOOK that way, because they have huge, secure-looking locking mechanisms. But that’s more aesthetics than anything…
4. Most gun safes do NOT hold their advertised capacity.
One of the most frustrating things about the traditional, big, expensive gun safes is that they pretty much all have the same carpet-lined layout designed to hold your guns:
And with that interior design, they advertise a specific capacity of holding 18 or 24 guns, but they usually hold MUCH less.
Or you have to cram your guns in there and they bang into each other every time you take them in and out because of the poor design…
A lot of this has to do with the fact that traditional safe interiors were designed to fit older rifles and most of America now uses modern sporting rifles like the AR-15. Almost everyone uses various types of optics these days too.
5. Traditional gun safes are extremely heavy
At first, when you’re shopping for a gun safe, you think the increased weight means it’s more secure…
But as you’ve seen, the majority of that weight is from the drywall interior and not the steel and it does nothing to secure the safe against a thief gaining access.
About the only thing it does is make sure a thief can’t pick up your safe and run out the door with it.
But it makes them a pain to move.
Two funny stories… I actually have a neighbor that right now has had a gun safe box sitting on his porch for over 6-months because he is going to need some serious help to move it into his house. I also know people that have sold their homes and left the gun safe because it was too heavy to move.
Lastly, if you’re in an apartment or renting a home – the last thing you want to do is move your 600-lb gun safe every single time you move into a new home.
Why I Chose The SecureIt Agile™ Ultralight Gun Safe
When I did the research, and started thinking about what I actually want my gun storage plan to do, I decided to go with the SecureIt Agile™ Ultralight Gun Safe.
Specifically, I chose the The Agile™ Model 52 Pro because it came with all the bells and whistles for organization:
Prices accurate at time of writing
This gun safe is called “ultralight” but it’s still a solid 105lbs. So, it doesn’t seem flimsy when you put it together. That’s also a benefit…
Because it’s so light, and because you bolt it together yourself, they actually ship it to you in flat packaging making it cheaper to ship. They call this their “Knockdown™ Technology (patent pending)”.
The video below goes through many of the features, but I’ll also highlight some of the things I love about it…
5 Things I Love About The Agile Ultralight Gun Safe
1. It appears well made and durable.
While it’s lighter than other gun safes, it does not feel like a flimsy “gun cabinet” or cheap firearms storage you might get at a big box store. It’s made of heavy gauge steel and cam driven, half-inch thick, harden steel bolts to lock it. The way the metal is bent, it doesn’t easily give access to a prybar to the cabinet.
2. The locking mechanism is push button, silent and has key override for backup.
The locking mechanism is a simple push button affair that you can program easily. It is also silent, so you can enter your code to get to your guns without making any noise. And if an EMP hits or your battery fails or for whatever reason, it comes with a key override as a backup way to lock/unlock.
3. It advertises 6-rifle storage and it actually holds 6 rifles.
With their cradle-grid technology it actually stores six AR-15 rifles easily, with varying barrel lengths, with optics and tactical accessories like lights and lasers installed with no problem.
4. There’s a ton of room for accessories and other organization features.
I have multiple handguns inside along with other accessories that go with the guns.
5. It’s modular, and easy to expand as needed.
What I really like about it is, as soon as I fill this gun safe up, I can add additional ones to it (like their “Quad Kit”) or I can get additional safes, but store them in other locations in my house (decentralized storage).
Why CradleGrid Technology Is So Cool (And Used By Special Forces Command)
One of the best parts about this safe is the “straight-line access” and organization that comes from their CradleGrid™ Technology.
Instead of the afterthought of interior design of other gun safes, SecureIt actually designed this technology, in conjunction with the U.S. Army Special Forces, when they came in to help them re-design their armories.
They called it “CradleGrid” and this system features a single moving part, the cradle, which universally fits every weapon simply by repositioning it on a grid that is affixed to the back wall of all SecureIt gun safes, no tools required.
The second part of the system is a universal base designed to accommodate the butt stock of any weapon. The base is tiered to ensure proper lean angle, so your guns don’t fall out.
CradleGrid was also designed to accommodate weapons with optics attached, so you’ll never need to re-zero because your optics getting knocked around.
And you get what they call “straight-line access” to each and every weapon.
You don’t need to move other weapons out of the way. Your rifles don’t bang into each other. You can clearly see a comprehensive view of your entire weapons line-up for maximum efficiency.
Organization of any kind is NOT my strong point, so I will take any help I can get and the Cradlegrid system makes it a lot easier – I love it!
Where To Buy SecureIt Agile Gun Safes For The Best Price
I’d recommend going straight to the manufacturer’s website. The model I bought and recommend is the Agile Ultralight Model 52 Pro because it comes with all the organizational accessories you could possibly want:
Prices accurate at time of writing
But of course, they also have multiple models and configurations that you can check out on their site here.
They also have other products other than safes. If you’re like me, then you will definitely want to check out their gun walls & gun rooms page and dream over what bedroom you can convert into a walk-in armory 😊
The SecureIt 90-Day Money-Back Guarantee
Another thing I like about SecureIt is their guarantee, here it is, in their own words:
“If you buy a SecureIt® product with CradleGrid™ technology and it does not perform as promised, we will refund the price of the product within 90 days of purchase, no questions asked. Simple, strong, straight forward. Just like our products.”
That makes it easy to try their gun safes and see if you like it.
In short, if you’re in the market for a gun safe, I highly recommend the SecureIt Agile Gun Safe line because you get the tactical benefits of decentralized storage in a secure, highly-efficient and customizable gun safe that can expand and be customized to fill your needs.
