Barska AX13200 Floor Safe
Pros
- Thick Gauge Steel
- Drop Slot
- Bolt Detent
- Carpeted Bottom
Cons
- Unbranded, Unreliable Mechanical Lock
- Made in China
- Missing Gas Strut Door Assist
- No Hardplate or Relocker
- No Warranty or Support from Seller
“Junk cheap Chinese Product. Combination lock does not work till matter how many times you try it. Complete Waste of Money.”
Cristopher Wingle from Amazon.com
In true Barska fashion, they have developed what might just be the worst floor safe on Amazon. While it may look similar to the Stealth B1500 or AMSEC B1500 Floor Safes, it is quite different and something you should seriously avoid. Barska has a reputation for using thin steel, low quality locks and then not providing any help whatsoever when things inevitably go wrong. In this review of the Barska AX13200 Floor Safe, I will help you understand everything that is bad about this product.
Lock
First and always most important, is the safes lock. Barska uses an unbranded, Chinese made mechanical lock that has no security rating. I can’t stress enough just how terrible of an idea it is to use one of these locks. The low quality often causes the numbers to shift in shipping and they are the easiest locks to manipulate, if they work at all. They will come stiff, hard to turn and will completely frustrate anyone who tries to use them. When it comes to mechanical locks, it is vitally important to use a UL Rated Type 2 lock made by S&G or Big Red. These are the only two companies that make high quality, reliable mechanical locks. Yes, they are more expensive, but if your safe doesn’t open because of the lock, what good is the safe?
Security
When it comes to security, the Barska AX13200 Floor Safe has only a 9 gauge steel thickness listed on the page. What they don’t explain is whether that is the doors thickness or the bodies thickness. Considering the safe weighs 87 lbs, which again we don’t know if that is just the safes weight or the shipping weight, I would make the assumption that the body is 9 gauge and the door is thicker, somewhere around 1/2″ which is comparable to the other brands. If I am correct, the steel thickness is good, however when it comes to floor safes, the bodies thickness is practically irrelevant because the safe is installed in concrete on those 5 sides and the door is most important. The Barska AX13200 also has three steel locking bolts that, again, are missing their thickness. It does not list if it has the essential security features like a hardplate and a relocker protecting the lock but considering this is Barska and they like to cheap out on everything, I would also assume those are missing if not advertised.
Function
One of the features I do like about the Barska AX13200 Floor Safe is that they include a bolt detent that keeps the bolts locked in place until you close the door and then they fire automatically. This floor safe also features a drop slot for items like envelopes, cash or documents. Floor safes are not typically the best option for daily drops and you would be better suited with a drop safe for that purpose. A critical missing element is a gas strut to help hold the door open, the safe will lie on its internal hinge and if the door slams down, could easily break a finger.
The Bottom Line
At the end of the day, the lock is the most important component of any safe and I would never trust a Barska lock as they use unbranded, cheap, Chinese made, lowest quality locks available. Their warranty is the worst in the business as they require you to ship back the product for them to perform service. This doesn’t work very well when it is installed in concrete and their customer service will just tell you too bad, looks like you are out of luck. My recommendation is to stay far away from the Barska AX13200 Floor Safe and purchase a high quality floor safe such as the Stealth Made in USA floor safes, the AMSEC C Series or the AMSEC B series.
