Wildfire season starts soon, and we love this safe that can save your valuable documents
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In our increasingly digitized and paperless world, it’s often easy to forget how important physical copies are—especially in an emergency. Even if the Internet doesn’t go down, during a situation like a flood or a wildfire, where many people are suddenly on mobile devices checking loved one’s welfare, payment and documents apps can slow down to the point of being nonfunctional. And in a time where you need them.
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This is why a portable safe is so important. After extensive research, we think the SentrySafe Fireproof and Waterproof Safe Box CHW20221 is a great balance of security, features, and portability, especially if you live in a flood zone or area prone to wildfire. In fact, we’ve named it one of the best fireproof safes of 2023.
The SentrySafe is rated by Intertek (formerly known as ETL) to keep contents safe for up to 72 hours while being completely submerged in water. This can provide a huge peace of mind if you are unable to immediately retrieve your safe and need to wait several days to return home. The CHW20221 model of SentrySafe is also rated to be fireproof for up to half an hour, which is more than we can say about anything else in our house.
We also like that the inside isn’t just a blank cavity. There are straps built into the lid for easy access to documents such as passports. The rest of the interior is large enough to hold A4-sized paper, which means you won’t need to fold or wrinkle important documents to store them.
When it’s go-time, the SentrySafe has a nifty handle to make it easy to grab. The whole unit weighs around 20 pounds. In our experience, that’s just the right amount of heft—light enough for an adult to carry, but heavy enough to include all that protection.
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Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.