Things to Consider When Buying Best Personal Safe

You’re probably used to seeing those huge security safes in banks and offices. Even home safes can be quite big and heavy.

However, there are smaller personal safes as well. The best personal safe can offer you security, but can also be manageable and portable.

Personal safe can come in handy for securing smaller items like jewelry, cash, and passports. You can easily hide it in your closet or drawer.

You can also use it while traveling to protect passports and cash from thieves. Robberies can happen in the safest of spaces when you’re a tourist.

Best Personal Safe for Indoor and Outdoor Use

These best home safe reviews and personal safe reviews explore in detail whether you can get the value for your money.

Comparison Of Best Personal Safe–In 2024

1. Safego 141 Portable Safe

The Safego 141 Portable Safe looks just like a handbag. This small personal safe give you the security of a safe with the style of a bag.

Made from ABS plastic, it’s lightweight but still quite sturdy to protect your stuff from pickpockets. The lock of the safe is high quality, made from nickel-plated zinc alloy.

You have two access options: a combination lock and a key lock. It can easily hold your phone, keys, wallet, small camera, sunglasses, and passport. The interior capacity is 88 cubic inches.

The steel cord of this handbag-style safe is essentially a handle. However, it’s adjustable and doubles as a security cord. You can tie the safe anywhere you like thanks to the cord. The cord is 17 inches, which is just the right size.

This is best for traveling with, as it only weighs one pound. Available in five colors, you have plenty of options to choose from.

The best part is that it’s highly durable, as the materials of this personal safe are water-resistant and rust-resistant.

2. Beach safe Portable Safe Box

For those looking for a personal safe to carry on the beach, this might just be what you need. The Beach safe Portable Safe Box is a unique product designed, keeping in mind the stuff you usually carry to the beach.

You can put pretty much all the important belongings like id documents, wallets, cash, mobile phone, watches, etc. This has a four-digit combination lock, and a handle built within its body.

You can use the handle to carry the safe and also tie it to a fixed object. It’s made entirely from high-quality ABS plastic and has a texture on the surface.

The weight of the Beach safe Box is just 31 ounces. So even with all the stuff inside, it would not be too heavy to carry around the sand. You get a three feet long cable to securely tie it when you’re going away from it.

What makes this the small personal safe are some of the extra features they have given. You have an interior light and a cooling fan so that your electronics do not get overheated trapped in a safe in the bright sun.

Also, there’s a solar-powered battery pack to charge phones and tablets.

3. BagKool Security Case

One of the best personal safes out there, the BagKool Safe, is small enough to be used as both a handgun safe and a personal safe.

Since it’s made for securing a handgun, the construction and security are pretty good. In this version, you have a simple key lock.

The lockbox is made of 16-gauge heavy-duty steel. The inside has a soft foam padding to ensure no objects get damaged or scratched by the solid steel surface.

Good thing is you can even remove the pads to make more space.

This complies with all the travel requirements of TSA for traveling with a handgun. However, you can also use it for storing valuable things when traveling.

Since it uses a key lock, you just need the keys. There are no batteries or electronics involved in this simple security case. The security cable is provided with the case, which is crucial for a portable personal safe.

You can also attach it to the dashboard or the bottom of your seat in the car.

4. Honeywell 5101 Small Security Safe

The Honeywell 5101 Security Safe is a DOJ approved personal safe, made with high-quality materials. The brand’s name does not need any introduction, as it’s pretty popular for home appliances and is a global company.

The 0.27 cubic feet safe is spacious enough to house most of the personal stuff that you need to hide.

Since it’s all heavy-duty steel, you can also use it as a gun safe to hide a small pistol or handgun. In fact, it has been approved by DOJ for firearm safety.

The two live bolts, combined with the thick steel door, provide reliable security. The digital lock is pretty easy to use. However, if you forget the code, you can override it with manual keys.

A thief or a burglar would not be able to pry open as the hinges are concealed.

The interior is soft, so there will be no scratches on your valuables. You can mount it inside the house, anywhere you like.

Alternatively, you may fix it inside a cabinet or closet, as it’s quite small. You need to set up a three to eight-digit code, which is quite easy to do.

7. TigerKing Digital Security Safe Box BGX-D1-43JJD

This model from TigerKing takes personal safes to the next level. Not only is it pretty advanced, but it’s also quite a looker.

The digital safe box will blend in with any type of room decor. The beige color differs greatly from the conventional blacks and greys of security safes.

The 2.05 cubic feet volume is more than enough for most of your personal things. Then you have a smaller size as well, which offers 1.4 cubic feet capacity. What makes this the personal safe box is its touchscreen lock.

This is super easy to use as you just touch and enter the code. Speaking of security codes, you can set up two different codes for this security safe. When the digital lock needs to be bypassed, you can use the manual keys.

The door features four one-inch live steel bolts. Even the door is super thick, measuring 2.8 inches.

In addition to that, you also have an alarm that runs for about 60 seconds when the wrong code is entered again and again. Most personal safes are not big enough for keeping a laptop.

However, this is quite large, so you can place a laptop up to 14 inches big. The interior is properly lined with a soft lining, and the shelves are removable, maximumly using the volume.

8. TigerKing Digital Security Safe Box BGX-5/D1-30XH-1

The TigerKing Digital Security Safe Box is the best personal home safe on account of its features and stylish look.

Although it’s compact, it’s still quite big for a personal safe. You get 0.8 cubic feet and 1.5 cubic feet capacities in this model.

The code length can be up to eight digits that are hidden when you enter them. The screen also features a low battery indicator.

Therefore, you can always be on top of the batteries and make sure they are replaced on time.

Even if the batteries die and you cannot access the digital lock, you can use the emergency key to open the safe.

This safe keeps records as well, up to 35 records of when it was accessed. This information can be very useful if you share the safe with someone.

You have a built-in LED light for increased visibility in the dark. You can easily fit in large objects like your laptop.

The interior is super soft, thanks to the lining. The interior drawer acts as secondary storage, providing even more protection.

9. Dorfin Digital Small Safe

The Dorfin Digital Small Safe is yet another basic but functional personal safe box. You need a three to eight digits security code to operate it.

There are manual keys as well that can override this digital code. You have all the necessary functions you would need in a personal safe.

The best part about this small safe is that it’s incredibly sturdy. Just the door is 4mm thick, whereas the two locking bolts are 0.75 inches each.

On a physical level, it offers the same security a high-end home safe would.

You can mount it by using the hidden anchors. It’s both wall and floor mountable, although given its size, it would be better to mount it to a wall.

The digital lock requires four AA batteries that come with the product. This is a lockbox, designed for use at home, so it does not come with any tethering cable.

As a result, it’s not the most portable small safe. Since it’s so sturdy, it weighs a bit more than your average mini safes (6.75 pounds).

Good Sides:

10. Stack-On PDS-1500 Drawer Safe

The Stack-On PDS-1500 is a drawer safe that you can easily hide in your drawer.

For this reason, its door is on the top that makes access pretty easy. You can also mount it inside the drawer or shelf using the pre-drilled holes.

The PDS-1500 features concealed hinges and two live-locking bolts that will give any prying burglar a very tough time.

For extra security, it also goes into a timeout period after three wrong code entries.

You even have fastening hardware, if you want to carry it with you when you travel. Made of solid steel, it’s pretty sturdy and heavy for a small drawer box safe.

The weight of this drawer safe is 13.2 pounds. You can also see the status of the safe on the small display on the digital keypad.

As usual, you also have backup keys in case batteries die. Speaking of batteries, it takes four AA batteries included with the safe.

Buyer’s Guide

When buying a personal safe, you should consider most things you would consider when buying a home safe. However, there are a few things that are different. Here’s what you should know about small personal safes:

● Portability

Unless you’re specifically buying a small safe for use at home, you would ideally want a portable personal safe. The main point of having a mini-safe box is to be able to travel with it. It should be small enough that you can fit in your luggage.

● Weight

Personal safe should be lightweight. However, that does not mean you compromise on quality. Even those security safes that are made of solid steel can be lightweight.

Personal safes that are made of plastic are the most lightweight. If you will be lugging the safe around quite often, you might want to buy something like that.

●  Security Cable

Most personal safes are designed to be travel-friendly, so they are not always mountable.

Even if they are, it would be such a hassle mounting them and then unmounting them to take with you. This problem can be solved with a security cable.

Wherever you go, you can take the cable with you and use it to secure the safe to a stationary object.

This way, no one will be able to steal the safe itself. These wires should be of high quality too, preferably steel. You don’t want a thief easily cutting the wire.

●  Locks

There are quite a lot of choices when it comes to the type of locks. Which lock is the best is a whole another debate.

However, you should always pay attention to the type of lock and locking mechanism.

You can go for a simple key lock. However, combination locks remain the most popular choice for a small travel-friendly safe.

For those you will probably use at home, you can go for a digital lock with a numeric keypad.

Biometric locks are not that common for small portable safes. However, they do allow quick access if that’s what you’re after.

No matter what type of lock the safe has, make sure it has a backup key. You would be worse of getting locked out of your safe while traveling than you would at home.

FAQ

How do I hide a personal safe?

The smaller the thing, the easier it is to hide. That’s just the case with a personal safe. While there are special hidden safes out there, you can easily hide a small safe in your home.

Even when you are packing it in your luggage, you can hide it. The best thing to do is to avoid obvious places like your bedroom or closet. Many small safes can easily fit in a drawer. You can hide it in the attic or behind the stairs.

Some people like to mount their safes into the walls and hide it with a painting. However, that’s going to need a lot of work. When traveling, you can put the safe in the luggage’s lining provided it has a zipper.

Otherwise, wrap it in a shirt and place it among your clothes. Even if the safe is not hidden, make sure the keys are and that you remember where they are.

Where should I keep the small safe when traveling by air?

When traveling by air, you have to be wary about the contents of the safe. So it depends on what you plan on putting inside the safe.

If you are traveling with a gun safe, always put it in the checked baggage. Keep in mind that you may, at any point, be asked to open the safe.

If you do not have a gun for your personal safety, you may put it in the carry-on. If it has valuable things like jewelry, you should keep it in the carry-on. It depends on what is inside the safe and if the safe can be scanned by the TSA.

Conclusion

Even if you have a big home safe, having a secondary safe for personal use can be pretty useful. The major advantage is traveling as you can store all your valuables in it.

You can then go about your day as a tourist with the peace of mind that your things are safe. Also, many people have a hard time looking after their stuff at the beach.

There has to be an attendant at all times. These safes can solve this problem, and the entire family can hit the waves.

References

Gun Safe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_safe

Gun Safety With Kids in the House: https://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/gun-safety-kids

Gun Safety Guidelines: https://www.nashville.gov/departments/police/safety-information/gun-safety

How Gun Safes Work: https://science.howstuffworks.com/how-gun-safes-work.htm