Champion Estate ES-12 Home Safe Review

Champion safe company is based out of Provo, Utah and do their manufacturing in both USA and Mexico. Overall, they have some pretty good safes, building them to UL RSC burglary specifications with high quality S&G locks. In this review, I will explain why the Champion Estate ES-12 Home Safe is perfect the home.

Lock – Champion Estate ES-12 Home Safe

UL Approved High Security Electronic Lock

First and always most important for any home safe is the lock. The Champion Estate ES-12 Home Safe comes standard with the S&G electronic lock. This is an excellent quality lock made by the oldest lock company in the United States. UL Approved type 1 is the highest security rating available.

This lock features a 6 digit electronic code that is easy to program to your own custom combination. In addition, the lock opens 10,000+ times on just one battery. Finally, there are over 1 million possible combinations.

If all that is not enough, S&G’s high-security electronic locks are proven to withstand military-level EMP attacks. S&G tested this lock using the U.S. military’s highest EMP impact standard. An independent lab applied a radiant transient electromagnetic field on this keypad following the Military Standard MIL-STD461F, Method RS105 at 50 kV/m peak exposure. At the end of the testing series the S&G locks were still fully functional.

Internal Re-Locker and Hard Plate

The lock is thoroughly protected by both an internal spring loaded re-locker and an internal hardened steel hard plate. If a burglar decides to drill through the front steel plate they would then hit the hard plate, which is designed to absolutely destroy drill bits. Then, if they get through that and attempt to punch out the lock, the internal re-locker fires causing the spring loaded pin to drop down and stop the bolt-work from opening. It’s two more layers of defense and security for your protection.

Security – Champion Estate ES-12 Home Safe

The Champion Estate ES-12 Home Safe is UL approved as a Residential Security Container. This means it can withstand adequate burglary attacks for a period of up to 5 minutes with several different tools.

To pass the test, Champion started with an 11 gauge steel plate door and a 14 gauge inner steel liner. In addition, the entire body is built with 12 gauge steel. Securing the door are eight 1″ solid steel locking bolts that cover all four sides. When combined with the UL rated high security lock, hard plate and internal re-locker, this is a very secure safe.

Fire Rating – Champion Estate ES-12 Home Safe

The Champion Estate ES-12 Home Safe is fire rated for 1 hour at 1350 degrees. This is accomplished with three layers of fire insulation. Finally, an intumescent door seal lines the entire door edge and expands up to 7 times its size during a fire to seal out smoke and heat from entering the safe.

Style and Function

The Champion Estate ES-12 Home Safe series is available in an ivory or bronze gloss. Hardware includes a black chrome 3-spoke handle with matching keypad. Inside you’ll find a high quality plush velour interior. There are four sets of adjustable or removable shelves and four drawers designed for jewelry. Once the door opens, the LED light kit automatically illuminates the safe interior and it plugs into the included electrical outlet. Finally, the back of the door features a door panel organizer with a pistol holster, small pouch, large pouch and key or jewelry rings. All in all, this is a top of the line interior.

Warranty

In Champions own words: “Many companies claim to have the “best” warranty … After careful examination, you will find that our warranty is unsurpassed by other safe companies.” Champions lifetime warranty covers break-in, attempted break-in, home fires and defects in materials and workmanship. What it does not cover is the lock which with this safe would only be covered for 2 years and by S&G, not even Champion. Sadly, this is not the “best” warranty, not even close. Nearly every single company in the industry offers this and American Security, Browning, Liberty, Rhino and Stealth have equal or better warranties. Fort Knox and Vault Pro offer comprehensive lifetime warranties that cover all components of the safe. Even SnapsSafe and Sports Afield offers a comprehensive lifetime warranty that cover the lock so while this isn’t a bad warranty by Champion, they are completely wrong, it’s not the “best”.

The Bottom Line

Would I buy the Champion Estate ES-12 Home Safe to store my valuables? Yes, I definitely would. With the UL RSC burglary rating, UL Type 1 S&G Electronic Lock, 1 hour fire rating and very high quality interior, this is an excellent home safe perfect for the closet. Your wife will even approve of this one.

With that said, there are safes that have even better features and are Made in USA. The American Security BF Home Safes feature a thicker 1/2″ steel plate door, thicker steel plates in the body, and is made right here in the USA. All in all, I would recommend buying an American Security BF home safe instead of this.