Editor’s note: This is the fourth and final article in a series on mechanical and electronic “lock boxes”. In this piece we’ll review the Viking Security Safe VS-12SX Lockbox. Priced very competitively and chock full of cool features, it’s an excellent option for gun owners or folks who just want to keep their valuables safe.
The official name of this product is the Viking Security Safe VS-12SX Two Gun Capacity Pistol Handgun Safe with Mechanical Simplex Lock.
This is a full-on mechanical safe.
It opens on top with a Simplex Lock 5 pushbutton mechanism. As explained on the Viking website, there are “no electronics, no keys, and no batteries to worry about”. (Well, you will need batteries for the light but it’s not going to impact the locking system).
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A mechanical lockbox is something to seriously consider. I tend to forget about installing batteries and I suspect a lot of other folks fall into this category. Of course the caveat is you won’t be able to wave a magic wand (an RFID tag) and have the box open.
You’ve got to do it manually with the push-button style lock.
The good news is that the Simplex lock is a proven, decades-old system. You can refer to the video below for an excellent primer on how to set a Simplex lock. The fellow that made the video, Dave Goetzinger, strikes me as an unbiased pro and through his video review I became familiar with the Viking Security Safe VS-12SX.
Dave is the founder of Handgun safe research whose mission is to find the flaws in handgun safes and make these discoveries transparent. If Dave says a safe is well engineered I suspect it is. That was his determination with this Viking product.
His work, which includes hacking lock boxes, has resulted in the recall of a several products. His bottom line is:
“Handgun safes are not required to meet standards before being put on the market in the United States. As a result, these devices are not properly evaluated for security vulnerabilities before being sold to gun owners.”
Goetzinger has a beef with most imported safes from China. The issue for him is that many Chinese safes “are built from copied and recycled designs. No engineering, says Goetzinger goes into Chinese-made safes.” (The Viking website explains that the safe was “designed in San Francisco but made in China”.)
So back to the product.
The VS-12SX is a very robust container. It has a heavy-duty lid with a gas assisted strut lift. Inside is an LED light (powered by batteries) to illuminate the interior. (This light is the safe’s only electrical component and has nothing to do with the lock system).
Inside the lid there’s a (removable) pouch to store whatever you like. (Maybe a passport or cash?) There’s a housing for the Simplex lock inside the cover so it can’t be knocked off from the outside.
The Simplex lock, which is standard on the higher end products, is well, simple to use and incredibly dependable. It’s been around for decades and is a proven product.
Dave Goetzinger, founder of Handgun Safe Research, suggests that you practice opening the safe and write down the combination someplace for future reference!
If you use it to stash valuables (other than handguns) you can place it in a less obvious place than the bedroom. Some experts suggest under the kitchen sink, in the pantry or underneath a bathroom sink (other than the “master” bathroom).
The interior storage area, roiughly 9 1/2 by 11 inches, slighly bigger than a piece of typing paper, is sufficient for keeping a couple of full sized pistols and a few magazines or perhaps a box of ammo. The interior is lined with foam on the bottom and on the sides.
Need a little more depth in the box? Just remove one of the foam liners on the bottom. That way you can store up to three handguns if need be. Two on the bottom and one on top. Just protect the bottom two with the second liner.
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If you have any questions on set up, customer support at Viking is quite responsive. When I review products this is always part of the equation.
If you’re planning to make this a bedside gun safe, you’ll want to secure it to to the floor, wall, or similar anchor point. You don’t want someone walking away with your unopened safe. It comes with a cable as well as lag bolts (and four holes drilled into the bottom of the case) which will enable you to anchor the safe down. (FWIW Mr. Goetzinger is not crazy about using the cable. He reckons it’s better to use the bolts to secure the safe).
Additional Specifications:
- Laser-cut alloy steel construction with a 5mm door top opening with Gas Assisted Strut Lift.
- Fully Mechanical Genuine Simplex 5 Pushbutton lock with single PIN access combo among 1000 combinations to choose from
- Stainless steel 40mm deadbolt
- Lock Chamber shields the Simplex Lock on the inside, preventing forceful intrusions while keeping the safe locked.
- Heavy-duty steel construction with seamless welding and scratch-resistant military coating
- Foam interior all around, LED light, and accessory pouch
- Impact-resistant and pry-resistant by design
- 100 % Service & Solution warranty provided
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Bottom Line:
How does the VS-12SX storage compare to the competition? I’d say very favorably. The popular Ft. Knox Pistol box’ inner dimensions are 11 5/8″W X 3 5/8″H X 10 1/4″D. The V-Line Brute is 12” x 9” x 3.25″. In other words, almost exactly the same.
Michael Scharf, a certified NRA instructor from New Jersey I spoke to says, “the VS-12LSX is perfect for the house or transport”. Says Scharf, “I use the VS-12LSX to store my firearm in the car when required.” (Carry laws around the country often forbid gun owners to bring firearms into certain places such as banks and daycare centers so they must temporarily be stored in an automobile).
Scharf is also a fan of the Simplex lock. “I have three boys”, he told me and keeping the firearms away from his kids is a prime concern. He’s sold on the VS-12LSX security features and feels it offers great value. (He also is a fan of Viking’s customer service, which was responsive to his questions).
That brings us to the competition and the pricing. The Viking VS-12SX runs $239 on Amazon. The V-Line Brute runs $372 and a the Ft. Knox pistol safe is $300.
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Essentially the VS-12SX is a clone-like version of the Ft. Knox pistol safe with exactly the same locking system. It’s less expensive than similar products but there’s nothing “cheap” about it.
How can they sell it less expensively?
It’s made it China. That’s not a deal breaker. As mentioned above, what you don’t want as part of the equation is the design or engineering done in China. In this case it’s engineered in the U.S.
It has a few more bells and whistles than the Ft. Knox product which is the closest competitor. This includes the lighting system, the nifty pocket inside the lid, lagbolts (which saves a trip to the hardware store) and a cable with a lock.
The lighting system is powered by two batteries (which are provided by the manufacturer). At first I figured the lighting falls into the “nice-to-have-but-not-necessary” department. After a while, when I started experimenting on where to actually put the safe I realized the lights come in very handy. Let’s say, for example, you’ve elected to put the Viking in a dark corner of a closet or pantry. A light really helps to see what the heck is in there.
If you want to remove the light to make more room for your stash, that’s easy to do. (You can even remove the pocket on the lid, which would also provide incrementally more room).
If you haven’t figured it out already, I really like the Viking Security Safe VS-12SX Lockbox. It’s priced right and does the job. And no, you’re not sacrificing quality or security with the lesser price. Just remember to write the combination down someplace!
Rob Kay is a technology columnist for the Honolulu Star Advertiser and the creator of FijiGuide.com. He is also the editor of the On Target Hawaii section of Hawaii Reporter where he covers firearms related products.