GunVault GV1000CSTD Mini 1000 Gun Vault, Black

Good construction, good quality, and easy access. Yes, it is much easier to change the batteries with small hands. Luckily, my hands are very small. It was still a bit of a challenge to get the battery in the clip properly, but not enough to be a deterrent. My small hands do make the buttons more of a challenge, but with practice I can open it easily, even in the dark. It it accepts combos including more than one button at a time, so there are tons of possibilities for combinations. Also, if the battery runs out, there is a key to get in.Mounting it is a bit of a problem for me... Wall is impossible, floor is difficult to get at, and my nightstand is not the type you want to put holes in. For now it stays on the nightstand at night, and gets hidden away during the day. Eventually I may make this a downstairs safe (there's a shelf where it can be easily mounted) and get a Speed Vault for the bedroom. Either way, it still rates 5 stars for me. I get quick access and kids don't, and that's what matters.

The only gun safe I will use. These are perfect to mount vertically on the side of the bed. I also keep one mounted near each door of my house. I have a double gun version at my main entrance for my visitors that like to store their EDC while relaxing at my place. You can fit two regular frame pistols in the standard size, but it's tight and they can rest on top of each other. The double safe holds a lot and includes a shelf to keep them separated. I have my double laying flat and it easily holds 4 pistols and some extra mags. There is a low battery indicator when you open the safe, but I swap mine out every year when I do my smoke detectors.The keypress combinations can be kept really simple and I feel a lot more comfortable opening these in a hurry in the dark than any keyed or biometric safe.

This is a good way to secure your handguns. It is NOT a biometric fingerprint reader. It is simply a user-programmable touch lock. You pick the buttons to push to make it spring open. It uses one, 9-volt battery that lasts a long time. If the battery dies, it comes with a key to open it. You can mount it to a wall or shelf to prevent someone from just walking away with it. It has relatively thick gauge steel and I think it would be very difficult to pry open. It's a good way to have quick access and secure it from unauthorized access. There is also a way to see if someone has unsuccessfully attempted to access it. It's all in the included instructions. Because there are just four (4) buttons that are easy to feel, you can quickly open it without looking or in the dark.

This is the third unit of this model I have purchased over the years. The other two have been working flawlessly for several years, and I was very pleased with their performance and value for the purpose. Based on this I purchased a new unit for a new home I recently moved into. The unit worked fine for about 6 months, after that the unit would not open reliably after inserting the code onto the keypad--sometimes it would open, sometimes it would not. I had indeed ensured that the unit had a fresh 9 volt battery in it. Obviously this is unacceptable for a gun safe that you may require to one day save your life--it has to open reliably every time or you may be in trouble when you need help the most. Since it was 6 months since I bought it through Amazon and the return window had passed, I made contact directly with the manufacturer, Cannon Safe, who stated that they offer a 5 year manufacturer's warranty for product defects, which this clearly was. The original customer service person I spoke with took down all my info and requested a copy of my original receipt, which I provided. He told me I would be receiving an e-mail within a couple of days providing shipping details for the replacement. Several days passed, so I sent a follow up e-mail to him and asked status--no response. A week after the original call I called again and spoke with a different person despite asking to speak with the original guy I had dealt with. This new person began by saying that they would not be able to replace the unit because that was Amazon's responsibility. I informed him that Amazon's policy was a 30 day return window, and thus the manufacturer would be responsible assuming they had a written warranty, which Cannon Safe clearly had. He changed his tune after that and said he would be escalating this incident to his supervisor to see what they could do about replacing the defective unit. Later he e-mailed me asking for all of the information again that I had already provided to his cohort in customer service. He told me to expect an e-mail in a few days from them providing shipping details for the replacement. If I ever receive that I will provide a follow up to this review. For now, I feel like I really got the run-around from Cannon Safe.Follow-Up Review - 6/14/18: After all the hassle, I must report that I finally received my replacement unit today from Cannon Safe and it seems to open properly so far.