These Shorts show StopBox boxes and a Vaultek ViSN in setup, combination and pull tests on a mock car seat, each with its words written out below it.
As filmed, both StopBox boxes came free by hand at 7 and 9 seconds, and one box opened in under 14 seconds with its code reset out of view. The Vaultek ViSN hit the five-minute setup cutoff with no new code, then came free by hand at the tip of its tether.
These are clips from one test on one day. The written accounts are the StopBox car safe test and the Vaultek ViSN car safe test.
The Shorts and their words
He Couldn't Reset the StopBox in 5 Minutes
Today we're out here doing some testing on different safes. I don't even know. I think I've paid like [...]. This is like their buy one, get one free. So we've got the full-size one and a compact. All you have to do is set up a new code, attach it to the chair. First one to do so wins. Three, two, one, let's go. This is our first composite box. If it takes more than five minutes to get one code in, the box loses, and either your instructions suck or your box sucks, one of the two. Five minutes is going to cause anybody frustration. I didn't realize that you had to kind of take it apart to reset the code. He's in, three minutes and 36 seconds. It's a bust. The StopBox beat Lance. He didn't get it switched. He didn't get the combo changed in the allotted five minutes. We're still going to try to hook it up to the chair and use it on the default combination and see how hard it is to yank it off.
They Opened Both StopBoxes Without the Codes
At this point, since it's a StopBox, we're just trying to do the fingerprint actuator, right? Okay. On your mark, get set, let's go. Neither of these guys know the code. The codes have been reset out of their view, so they're just trying different things to see if in the first 20 seconds, maybe a minute. Okay, so that took Austin less than 14 seconds. We're a minute in. Oh my gosh, you got it open. So that took him a minute and 10 seconds to guess the combo. I didn't know his combination, and I just, I pushed the [...] in, and I went here, went here. I was able to guess this in less than five seconds too. It's hard for me to believe this is a real product. If the only goal is to stop a five-year-old, maybe that makes sense.
Both StopBoxes Came Free in Under 10 Seconds
We're going to do the pull test, and if you can't do the pull, then again, you get to move on to the tools. Whoever uses the weakest tool, weakest tool being on the far left side of the tailgate, wins. So you've got five minutes to get this safe open or free. First one to get it free wins. Three, two, one, go. Oh. Seven seconds. Oh, nine seconds.
StopBox Verdict: Fast Access Isn't Car Security
That was surprising. So they've got their boxes. Austin, what would you think? Well, it is, I mean, it's very fast to get into, not really helpful in a car. Plastic just breaks. Well, we both picked it in, what, barely around a minute, the most. But as soon as you pick it up you can tell [inaudible].
This Smart Safe Lost the 5-Minute Setup Race
Up next we've got the Vaultek ViSN. One thing that we just noticed is they do not include batteries. This is a [...] safe. Remember the rules? You got to set it up with at least one new code and have it attached to something. And we are ready in three, two, one. Let's go. Downside of a safe like this, with the Wi-Fi and all the other trinkets and gadgets, is it's very power hungry. We are currently three minutes in and it feels like the longest learning curve so far. But I think it looks pretty sick. Sincerely, the goal here is just to find out what the best safe is. Maybe one of these safes fits a better use case for you. If the [...] one fits your needs, great. If this [...] one fits your needs, great. If mine fits your needs, great. But be safe. Officially we did hit our five-minute cutoff. So far all the other safes have been set up in less than five minutes. So this one has taken the longest so far just to get a single code put in.
We Ripped This Premium Smart Safe Free by Hand
We've got the Vaultek. It feels like the strongest build so far. Cable seems sturdy. The goal is who can get it off first with the least amount of tools. You've got to try for at least 30 seconds using only your manpower, and then you can choose the tool that you want to go to next. All right, on your mark, get set, go. Oh my gosh. Oh my gosh.
Nice Safe. Weak Tether. Our Vaultek Verdict
It felt hefty, it felt like it was going to be strong, and I think the inertia from the weight of it just ripped it right off. The failure point of all these has been that tip. They've got to figure out a different way for cable ties, like, literally I'm just giving my competition the secret sauce. But if you had something like this inside here. I think that Vaultek probably has a good product for a [...] safe. But for the tether, again, the tether is the weak point. It's a good shape, it looks like it's quality made, but it's too high-tech for me. Seems like a nice safe, just not for maybe putting it in a car.
The safes that replace a cable
- Boosted Safe Elite: 16-gauge steel. Opens with fingerprint, keypad or key.
- Boosted Safe Basic: 16-gauge steel. Code and key, no batteries.
- Shop car safes: All six safes in one place.
- Will it fit my car: US passenger vehicles from model year 2003 have the anchors. Check yours.
- Compare the models: Every model side by side.
- The pull test: The written results from this filmed test.
- StopBox test video: Setup, combination guessing and the pull.
- Vaultek ViSN test video: The longer cut of the Vaultek round.
- Car safe rip-out test video: Seven safes, one mock seat, the full film.
