Vaultek Barikade Series 1 Compact Pistol Safe (Biometric + Lid Organizer)

This is the 2nd Vaultek I have bought. I own a series 10 gun safe as well as this series 1 Barikade. I bought the Barikade because the shape was more in line with the space I wanted to put it into. While the exterior dimensions are very similar, the shape is different. the series 10 opens on the wide side where the Barrikade opens on the narrow side. Both safes have a biometric access and a key pad that works well. The series 10 has Wifi, the Barikade does not. Getting in touch with your safe over an app or opening up the safe remotely may or may not be important to you. If it is, go with the series 10 or 20. Both safes are great and do exactly what I want them to do, that is keep access restricted to only authorized individuals and not children or the unauthorized. I have two comments as to the Barikade, the first is that I wish it had a self opening mechanism like the V10. It only pops open and then you have to push it up yourself to access your weapon. Not necessarily a good thing in the middle of the night or if speed is your concern. I would much rather be able to just reach in and get the weapon instead of playing around with the lid. The second point is that the instructions for programing the keypad need work. neither the book nor the video are easy to understand. Basically, press the programing button, wait for the keypad to light up and put in your code. then release the programing button. then put your code into the pad, press the program button until it beeps and the green light comes on and you're done. You don't get that from the instructions. Other than those two items it's a really good gun safe and I would buy another Vaultek again. If WiFi or self opening feature or opening direction are not a concern, go with the Barikade as it's cheaper and just as good as the 10 (or 20) series. Both will hold a compact weapon like a glock 23 or a sig P320 and a spare mag without a problem. If you you want to put a 45 or a dirty Harry 44 mag in it, then you should go to at least the 20 series as they won't fit well if at all in the Barikade or the 10. Vaultek has a really nice "fitment" template on their website that's worth checking out before you buy any of their safes to make sure your weapon will fit..

Very good quality, both fingerprint and code work great.

I have bought Vaultek products in the past and they are generally to be of excellent quality. I was in need of a small secure safe that I can use for traveling which would hold one firearm. I settled on the Barikade series 1 due to its lightweight and portability. I bought it from Amazon and when I got it the right side of the lid was crushed in. The box was unharmed, which means that it was crushed at the factory before it was put in the box. Absolutely terrible quality control. Using the key, the safe would not even open. I went through Amazon and did a return exchange for a new safe. I got my new safe today and imagine my surprise the new safe had the exact same damage. The right side above the key was crushed down and the safe would not even open with the key. You can see from the pictures how the safe is warped and will not sit flat on the counter. It was exactly the same as the first safe, the box was undamaged. That means the safe was packed by someone who was visually impaired. I used a screwdriver to pry the lid open. The tolerance between the 2 sections is too great and allows the upper lid to be crushed over the lower lid

I'm very glad I got the one with the fingerprint reader as it is quick and it's one less darn password/PIN I have to remember. It holds my Glock 27 and two magazines no problem next to my bed. I have more faith in this unit than any plastic one that only relies on a PIN or button combination. By no means a gun safe but far better than a trigger lock and faster to get to. The unit is impatient, meaning, when you are going to program it with a fingerprint or a PIN, you need to do so quickly otherwise it will timeout and you have to start again. So read the instructions a couple of times for the operation you want to do so you can quickly do it. If you pause for too long then the unit times-out and any attempted change is canceled. That would be my only complaint but it is a very minor one. Comes with a cable, good instructions, lag screws if you want to mount it, and two keys that can open the unit without requiring power (yeay!).

Great handgun lock box! Keypad works well, but 3 out of 5 times I have to try the biometric unlock function multiple times. Doesn’t always unlock on first fingerprint attempt, but it does eventually work.

Love this safe. Fingerprint reader, code, and key access all work well. Seems very well designed and high quality. I have it in my couch console and was able to run the secure cable through the couch console metal hinges. Safe fits my pretty large Springfield XDM 9mm with 4.5 inch barrel. Very happy with this safe so far. Seems worth much more then $150.

This is my third purchase of a Barikade lock box, this one my first with the biometric function. Very high quality, easy set up instructions but you have to follow the instructions very specifically, don’t miss a step and you’ll easily set up the new code and biometric functionality.

Amazing