Dorm Safes Ranking Factors: Security, Storage Capacity, Reliability, Spatial Footprint
Overview
Perform a quick search on Amazon.com for Dorm Safes and you’ll see a plethora of pathetic options. Starting with the POS Amazon Basics security safe, you’ll find it anything but secure as it can be opened with just your hands in under 5 seconds. Just bang the top, spin the knob and you’re in, it’s pathetic. Next you’ll find several cheap plastic options and a storage box, all of which I can get into with a screwdriver. Then we start to see some better quality items made of real steel with real electronic locks and most importantly no Solenoids. Read below for my top 3 picks in the Dorm Safe category.
#1 Best Dorm Safe – Stealth Best College Dorm Safe
Review
It’s way too obvious which item in this category is the killer, it’s the Stealth Dorm Safe. The first thing you notice, is that it looks nothing like the other safes in this category due to its patented vertical design. It looks more like an old school computer desktop than a safe making it perfect for small spaces like dorm rooms and RVs.
This safe is extremely secure and has most of the same features you’d find on high end home safes. On the face of the safe is a UL type 1 Electronic Lock made by NL and this lock is now considered the best electronic lock in the industry with a 99.99% reliability rate. Stealth has had zero lock failures and one bad keypad in the thousands of units they’ve sold. This is a key feature as students will likely be locking up their laptops, phones, medication and other daily valuables. Imagine getting ready to go to your final and your safe doesn’t open. Stealth prevents that from happening with this lock. Add in a thick solid steel door, two steel locking bolts, full steel body and a high strength security cable and you have the most secure Dorm Safe ever made.
What I love most about this safe is the storage capacity. Since it’s vertical, you can store a laptop sideways and place all your smaller valuables on the three welded in shelves. I found that it can double perfectly as a marijuana safe with your pieces on the left side and all your containers and pipes on the right-hand shelves. It’s also big enough to fit an 18” laptop and you can charge it while it’s in there by placing a power cord through the two 1” holes on the sides.
This safe by far has the smallest special footprint considering its vertical size and the most storage capacity. Stealth has continually been coming out with innovative products compared to the rest of the generic Chinese crap on the market. When you’re looking for the best Dorm Safe on the market, choose the Stealth Best College Dorm Safe.
Read Individual Review of the Stealth Best Dorm Safe
#2 Best Dorm Safe – Stack-On PS-1508 Laptop Safe
Review
The Stack-On and Barska Dorm Safes are essentially the exact same product with the only difference being the electronic lock vs. the biometric lock and slightly different dimensions. In terms of security, the Stack-On PS-1508 uses 2 live action locking bolts that retract after the correct combo is entered into the 9-button electronic lock. Stack-On brilliantly uses a time out period after 3 incorrect attempts preventing your roommate from trying every single combination while you’re in class.
For storage capacity, the Stack-On Laptop Safe is slightly wider than the Barska and can store up to a 19” laptop. Since it has the horizontal design it is more limited in the additional items you can keep in there especially without an additional shelf. So while it has a larger storage capacity than the Barska, it also has a large spatial footprint and where space is limited, it may be too big for your needs.
In January of 2017, Stack-On replaced their entire electronic lock line with a new system that has been reported as a significant improvement. They moved away from their traditional Solenoid lock that Amazon Basics is currently using and designed the safe so that it cannot be bumped open, a significant security issue of past items. Since it’s still a relatively new item, the verdict is still in progress.
#3 Best Dorm Safe – Barska AX11224
Review
Barska is notorious for using as thin of steel as possible in their safes. It’s so thin, they won’t even mention the thickness anywhere on any site. They also utilize an extremely basic biometric lock that is ridiculously easy to bypass by using a piece of clear tape to copy the fingerprint of the user and after customers have complained about this issue, they simply suggest to wipe off the reader after each use. The only thing I like about this safe is the motorized locking bolts as a bump attack is impossible and to their credit, the bolts are quite secure.
This is the smallest safe in this category which means it also has the smallest horizontal footprint. The way they did the dimensions are a bit weird as you can only fit a smaller laptop up to 16”, however they give you 14” of height but no internal shelf. It creates a weird bulky looking item that takes up a lot of space without storing a lot of items.
When it comes to reliability, I love the Barska Locks. I’ve been testing the compact biometric safe for over 4 years now and it has reliably opened for me every single time without having to change the batteries once. You read that right, I haven’t changed the batteries in 4 years and it has a motorized locking system…. Unbelievable. So while it has the least amount of security, at least it’s decently reliable. That’s why I’ve chosen it as #3 for my best Dorm Safe.
Comparison Chart
| Security | Storage Capacity |
Reliability | Spacial Footprint |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stealth Dorm Safe | #1 | #1 | #1 | #1 |
| Stack-ON PS-1508 | #2 | #2 | #3 | #2 |
| Barska AX11224 | #3 | #3 | #2 | #3 |
