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Product: Liberty HD-90 Key Vault
Specifications:
- Exterior dimensions: 2.5″ x 10.3″ x 8.3″ (H x W x D)
- Interior dimensions: 1.3″ x 10.6″ x 7.1″ (H x W x D)
- Weight: 5.1 pounds
eBay often has them, but it’s hit and miss.
I went to a bar last night. Yeah, yeah, you don’t care about my social life. The point is that I can’t legally carry a gun into a bar in Arizona. Well. Under certain circumstances you can. But those circumstances didn’t exist last night so no gun for me. I could have simply put my gun out of sight in the console or glove compartment and most likely been fine. I prefer a bit more security, though.
Note: I was not drinking. I’d been out of town for over a month so I just stopped in for some food and to see a few people.
In the pictures below you may notice that my example is not pristine. That’s because it’s not new; I’ve had it for several years now. This review is not based on a couple weeks worth of experience. I’ve lived with this vault for some time now.
Table of Contents
Bars aren’t the only issue
Going in to a bar is not the only sticky situation. I have a PO box I have to check from time to time. Carrying in a post office is illegal. Courthouses, jails, places with signs, etc., are all non permissive environments. Depending on where you live and what your day is like there may be several places you can’t carry your gun.
Leaving your gun at home if you’re planning on going into a non permissive environment is an option, of course. Just probably not a good one. After the bar I had some shopping to do and did not want to be disarmed while doing so. I rarely go to the post office and then home; I do that while I’m out and about doing other things.
There’s also the problem that you may not know you’re going to a place that doesn’t want your gun. Your wife calls and you need to go to the school to get a child. Your boss wants you to go to the post office. You’re injured badly enough to go the Emergency Room but you can still drive yourself. You decide to go see a movie and are confronted with a shiny, new “No Weapons” sign.
In some cases, like the theater or a grocery store, you can just walk away. If there’s a sick child and you’re headed to the hospital you don’t have that option.
A better way
This is what I currently have in my car. As you can see in the next picture, it comes with a small, coated, steel cable to attach to something else so it can’t simply be carried away.
You can see a little notch at the top of the picture. That’s where the cable goes when you close the box.
The next two pictures show the setup in my car. I have a hatchback; the safe is under the cover inside the hatch, alongside my 4-way lug wrench and other things I normally have with me. The plastic carrier is a cargo tray on top of the spare tire and that’s where it goes.
As you can see in the first picture below, the cable runs from the safe to a built-in cargo hook in the car. The next picture shows the same hook with the cover in place. There’s no indication that there is anything attached to the car.
As I said, my car is a hatchback. And I sometimes have people inside the car that I don’t want asking questions about the little gray box. So it’s under the hatch. That does create one glitch for me: I have to get out of the car, go to the back and take my gun off to store it. That is outside and potentially visible. It’s just the compromise I’ve had to make; I’m as smooth, quick, and unobtrusive as possible when disarming. I normally just remove the gun while leaving the holster on. If there’s a wall, bushes, fence, or other concealment I can back up to I will.
I previously had a Crown Victoria that had been a police car in its previous life. I did not have the passenger issue so I kept the vault inside the passenger compartment. The mounting points for the cage between the front and back seats were still there. Those worked wonderfully. Tuck it under the seat and with that dark, rubbery material they used in place of carpet it just disappeared.
Dimensions are great; what will it hold?
Well, it will hold a 1911, an M&P Shield, and a spare mag for each.
That is more than I normally carry but a good example of the capability.
This is more typical of what I’ll have in it. My Sheild, Beretta Pico, and the spare mags for each. The Shield’s holster is an IWB that I don’t bother to take off; I know of nowhere an empty holster is illegal.
Level of security
I’ve mentioned low visibility a couple of times now. That’s because the HD-90 is not really a safe. It’s 16 gauge steel. It’s not designed to be impregnable, just difficult. A thief can, sooner or later, get inside it. Or if they have a bolt cutter they can cut the cable and take the whole thing.
It’s designed to be, and is, a good compromise between security and convenience. Tools are required to get into or remove it. If the thief has no tools then you’re good.
The goal is to create friction. The harder you make it for someone to steal your stuff the more likely they are to simply move on to someone else’s stuff. For less that $50 this is a pretty economical and effective way to create that friction. Since we’re talking about a gun (or two) that I really don’t want to give a criminal that seems reasonable.
TSA Compliant
Some of you may be forced to endure the torture of modern airline travel. You have my sympathies. If you wish to take your gun with you there are some pretty specific rules you must follow. Here is the relevant TSA page.
As you can see, the HD-90 fits the criteria. You can even use the cable to attach it to the inside of your suitcase.
Other uses
In my particular situation I really only need this in my car. As mentioned above, it’s a good option for airline travel. It could also be used as a quick access safe at home next to your bed, garage, or anywhere else you want to securely stage a handgun or two. I find it pretty quick to unlock it, but as with anything else defense related: practice, practice, practice. Set it up how you want it and run through unlocking it over and over until it’s second nature.
While I use it for my gun there’s no reason it can’t be used for other valuables, as well: wallet, watch, etc. at the beach. That sort of thing. Use your imagination.
Cons
Nothing is perfect. What don’t I like about it?
- Note the interior dimension of height: 1.3″. A Sig P226 or P229 is 1.5″ wide. An M&P 2.0 is 1.3″ exactly. So know your gun’s dimensions. My single stacks are fine; a full size Smith & Wesson will just fit. My XDm fits perfectly.
- The cable isn’t fixed in place until you close the lid. It moves a lot if you’re not careful and if it gets out of its slot the lid won’t close. Of course, that also means that you know the cable isn’t where it belongs.
- Once you unlock it the key stays in the lock until you relock it. Or at least turn the key to the locked position. My key tends to be on a ring with quite a few keys so it’s something I had to get used to. On the other hand, I guess I’ll never lock the key inside it.
Where do I get one?
eBay or Amazon are the best places.
As I said above, it’s readily available online. The links above will take you to the product pages on the respective sites. Disclaimer: by using those links I’ll make a small commission. Won’t cost you anything at all.
We want our guns to stay ours and not end up in a criminal’s hands. So head on over and pick up something that will help make our world a little safer.
