But we think the price and size are worth tolerating because this safe gives your stuff a greater chance of surviving a disaster. The additional protection makes the 1114 noticeably larger and heavier than other safes of similar capacities-it weighs 42 pounds and takes up the same amount of floor space as a mini fridge. It’s large enough to hold both letter- and legal-size sheets of paper without your having to fold them. Honeywell also says the safe will keep spray and flood water out for 100 hours. It’ll be cooler down near the floor, where you keep your safe. A house fire can peak at about 2,000 ☏, but this kind of heat occurs at the highest points in your home, namely the attic or at least the ceiling. The Honeywell 1114 Lightweight Fire and Waterproof Chest is independently verified by the safety organization Intertek to keep personal items safe during a fire for up to an hour-twice as long as the competition-in conditions as hot as 1,700 ☏.

Plus, according to a fire expert we spoke to, their two-hour-plus protection ratings offer diminishing returns since most house fires are out within about an hour. For starters, they cost at least three times as much as our top pick (and often several times more), and they weigh so much (at least 100 pounds) that they’re difficult to move once in place. It’s important to note that although there are safes that offer a greater degree of fire protection, they aren’t designed specifically for documents as our picks are, and they have other disadvantages.

That means it has the greatest potential among document safes we’ve seen to keep your stuff-including irreplaceable documents, photos, and essentials like passports and birth certificates-secure. It’s independently rated to last longer in higher-temperature fires than other safes of its size, and it will keep its contents dry longer when submerged in water.

We’ve tested more than a dozen safes over the years, even burning five of them in a controlled fire, and we’re sure Honeywell’s 1114 Lightweight Fire and Waterproof Chest is the best document safe you can get for your home or office. But if the time comes, chances are, the safe will be worth far more than you paid. A fireproof safe is the kind of thing you buy hoping its capabilities are never put to the test.

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