Sports Afield Tactical LZ 8+2 Gun Safe
Pros
- Water Rated for 7 Days in up to 2 ft of Water
- Comprehensive Lifetime Warranty Covers All Components of the Safe
- 14 Gauge Steel Construction in Body and Door
- Extra Thick 1.5" Solid Steel Locking Bolts
- Impressive Black-Out Styling with Matte Black Paint
Cons
- Low Quality Solenoid Lock - Not UL Rated
- No Hardplate or Relocker
- Made in China
Based out of Tacoma, Washington, Sports Afield has been the fastest growing gun safe company over the last 7 years. They sell primarily through big box stores like Costco, Wal-Mart, Tractor Supply and Home Depot. While they don’t have a great reputation for quality and are considered low end in security, they do offer a full comprehensive lifetime warranty covering all components of the safe. So, if anything were to go wrong, you can rest assured you are covered. In this review, I’ll explain why the Sports Afield Tactical LZ 8+2 Gun Safe only provides the illusion of security.
Lock – Sports Afield Tactical LZ 8+2 Gun Safe
First and always most important for any gun safe is the lock used. The Sports Afield Preserve 18 gun safe features the standard Chinese Solenoid Lock with key override. This is not a particularly good lock with known issues and quite easy to break into.
Because it has the key override, it does not come with a hard plate or re-locker. I consider these essential features for a gun safe in addition to a UL Rated lock made by NL, SecuRam or S&G. These locks are unbranded, un-rated and prone to failure. In my experience, this lock will inevitably fail and you will end up using the key to get in. However, you can get replacement parts under their lifetime warranty. Unfortunately, they will not install these parts for you. This lock does retain the batteries on the inside so be sure to keep your keys handy when the batteries die.
Security – Sports Afield Tactical LZ 8+2 Gun Safe
The Sports Afield Tactical LZ 8+2 gun safe is CA DOJ approved as a firearm safety device which is not a difficult test to pass but does ensure it has the absolute most basic security features. This gun safe is built with 14 gauge steel construction. The door features six thick 1.5″ locking bolts with three active and three deadbolts on the hinge side. This gun safe also comes with an audible alarm which helps alert you if your kids are tampering with the safe in another room.
Fire Rating
The Sports Afield Tactical Gun Safe is fire rated for 40 minutes at 1200 degrees. Keep in mind, this is not independently verified by a testing agency like ETL or UL. This rating is only a factory test where we have to take their word for it. Also included is the essential Palusol Fire seal that expands to multiple times its size during a fire to keep smoke and heat from entering the safe.
Water Rating
The water seal is rated for 7 days in up to 2 feet of standing water. This safe measures over 5′ tall so that does not include the lock which sits at about 4′. Floods don’t typically get that high so it is a great option. Sports Afield and SA Consumer products are the only brand that offers a quality waterproof gun safe. The lifetime warranty also covers fire and natural flood.
Style and Function
The Sports Afield Tactical LZ 8+2 Gun Safe SA5520LZ is by far the best styled safe that they offer. It has a matte black finish with flat black 3-spoke handle and black keypad. Even the logo at the bottom is far superior to their other models and they really nailed it with the tactical black-out styling. The interior is completely modular with panels similar to a gun wall running along the back. The door panel organizer is 50% molle and 50% zippered bags making it adjustable and a much better design than their traditional organizer. Also included is a UL rated electrical outlet for a light kit or dehumidifier inside the safe.
The Bottom Line
Would I buy the Sports Afield Tactical LZ 8+2 gun safe to store my firearms or valuables? No, I would not. With the low quality Solenoid Electronic lock, no hard plate and no re-locker, I can not recommend this safe.
Some gun safes that are in the exact same price range and are significantly better include the Stealth EGS14 Gun Safe and Kodiak KB5520ECS Gun Safe. The reason I like these safes so much better is that it has a UL rated high security electronic lock, CA DOJ burglary rating, tested 30 minute fire rating and is sold by a reliable company with a lifetime warranty.
Not the Sports Afield gun safe you were looking for? Check out all of the Sports Afield Gun Safe Reviews Here.
