Vital Impact 23 Gun Safe VI-23 Review

A relatively unknown brand in the safe industry, Vital Impact gun safes are sold exclusively at Sportsman’s Warehouse and are their private label brand. They contract other manufacturers to build safes for them and just slap their Vital Impact logo on it. Overall, these Vital Impact Gun Safes are not very good quality, however this new model, the Vital Impact 23 Gun Safe VI-23 is made by Stealth Safes and is a very high quality product sold at an unbelievable price.

Lock – Vital Impact 23 Gun Safe VI-23

UL Approved High Security Electronic Lock – NL UR-2020

First and always most important for any safe is the lock. Vital Impact includes the NL UR-2020 high security electronic lock. This lock is UL approved as type 1 which is the highest security rating possible. NL is one of the three major lock brands I recommend with SecuRam and S&G being the other two. I highly recommend this lock and it is very high quality. Finally, the parts are globally sourced with the electronic boards and lock body produced in Europe and the keypads coming from Korea. The lock has over 1 million possible combinations and designed for decades of trouble-free use.

Hard Plate and Re-Locker

This lock is also protected by both a hard plate and internal spring-loaded re-locker. The Hard plate is a piece of hardened steel that absolutely destroys drill bits. The internal re-locker fires if the lock is punched through securing the bolts in place. Both of these are essential security features and included on this safe.

Burglary Rating – Vital Impact 23 Gun Safe VI-23

Let’s start with it’s CA DOJ, California Department of Justice, approved status. California has by defacto set the standard for ratings when it comes to inexpensive gun safes. Sellers must send four gun safes to a testing agency in the US where they do a torture test. This includes attacking it with several different tools including grinders, saws, screwdrivers, hammers and more. Once approved, the test results and two of the safes are sent to the California Department of Justice where they review all of the data and provide a pass or fail result. Once passed, it’s added to the roster of approved firearm safety devices for sale. All in all, Vital Impact took the time and spent the money to get all of their safes approved for sale. So how did they accomplish this feat?

Security – Vital Impact 23 Gun Safe VI-23

First, they started with a 14 gauge steel door and body. Most of the safes you will find in this price and quality range will have 16 gauge steel.

Next, Vital Impact adds four active 1″ solid steel locking bolts on one side of the door and four 1″ solid steel deadbolts on the hinge side. This ensures that even if you were to saw off the hinges, the door would remain locked because it has bolts on both sides.

Advanced Security Features

The UL rated high security lock, steel hard plate and re-locker are the key differentiators between the competing entry level gun safes that use an unrated and poor quality Solenoid electronic lock with a key override. Any safe with a key override is going to be less security. Key overrides can be easily picked so their only purpose is to give you access when the lock fails. Why not just go with a high quality, high security lock that will open every time. In my opinion, this is really what separates the Vital Impact 23 Gun Safe VI-23 from the competition.

Fire Rating – Vital Impact 23 Gun Safe VI-23

Next, the Vital Impact 23 Gun Safe VI-23 is fire rated for 30 minutes at 1200 degrees. Nearly all of the so called “safes” in the price range, are not actually safes, they are cabinets and have no fire rating at all. This includes products from Barska, Secure-It and many of the Chinese brands on Amazon whose names are unpronounceable.

Add in the Palusol fire expanding door seal and this Stealth Gun Safe will be able to survive the standard house fire that burns for 20 minutes.

Style and Function

When it comes to the finish and interior features, the Vital Impact 23 Gun Safe VI-23 stand outs even more. It has a high quality and durable paint job that can be described as a crinkled matte black and black 3-spoke handle. Typically you’ll only find the textured black powder coat on these types of entry level safes. This paint is built to last for decades and gives the safe a tough look and feel. Finally, an American Flag is included on the bottom of the door to give the safe that U.S.A. touch.

Once open, you’ll see a molle door panel organizer on the back of the door with all the accessories included that allow you to store your pistols, magazines and other small items on the back of the door. Also included is an electrical outlet that adds power to the inside of the safe. This can power a light kit or dehumidifier without batteries.

Warranty

Now the final feature I want to point out on the Vital Impact 23 Gun Safe VI-23 is that it is backed by a 2 year parts and labor warranty and a lifetime warranty against break-ins and fire. That warranty is double the closest competitor which simply tells you that they believe in the product. Stealth is the company that honors the warranty and will pay for a safe technician or locksmith to come fix your safe on-site and at absolutely no cost to you. In addition, they don’t require you to ship the safe back to the factory warranty either. All in all, this is a reliable warranty that you can trust from a trustworthy company.

The Bottom Line

Would I buy the Vital Impact 23 Gun Safe VI-23 to store my valuables? If I was in the market for an entry level 23 gun safe, yes I absolutely would. With the UL rated lock, hard plate and internal re-locker, this gun safe is built much stronger and is loaded with many more features than the standard entry level gun safe. Finally, it’s sold by a reliable company with one of the industries best warranties. All in all, the Vital Impact 23 gun safe is the best entry level gun safe on Sportsman’s Warehouse.