Yale YSV/200/DB1 Budget Safe Review

Yale’s YSV/200/DB1 is an affordable and compact home safe, ideal for protecting small, medium value items. Insurance approved to protect up to £1,000 with an easy to use digital code lock, this home safe offers everything most homeowners could need in a compact safe. But is this enough to satisfy our team of security experts? Get the lowdown on the pros, cons, and overall quality of Yale’s budget safe with our expert review.

What's good

  • Price Everyone likes a bargain and this safe is certainly competitively priced, offering great value for money.
  • Electronic lock A keypad is always my preference over basic key locking because you can change the code to something that only you will know.
  • Ease of use Locking the safe is straightforward and the door feels quite sturdy with a reassuring clunk when you close it. You can set a PIN code with 4, 5 or 6 numbers which you can change as often as you like and don’t worry if you forget the code or the batteries run flat, the Yale Budget comes with 2 back up keys for instant access. Be careful not to lock keys in the safe!
  • Fitting There are pre-drilled fixing holes in the back as well as the bottom so you can secure the safe to the wall or floor. Take a read of our ‘How to install a Home Safe‘ Guide for more info.
  • Reliability For such a low price point we receive a surprising low number of faulty units and rarely need to send replacements. A 12 month warranty is included as standard although more expensive safes offer 2 years or more.

What's not so good

  • Back up keys I know I said earlier how useful these can be but they are often misplaced, accidentally thrown away with the packaging or more commonly locked inside the safe. I speak to someone everyday who has locked the back-up keys inside their safe – for safe keeping!
  • Fixing Bolts Although included I would prefer something a bit sturdier. They will happily secure the safe to the wall or floor and you might find them more than adequate but replacing them with longer bolts would be my advice.
  • Security This is certainly not a high security safe and with the right tools and time, eventually it could be opened. The thing to remember is this will keep out most opportunist thieves.

Verdict

The Yale Budget is one of our best selling safes for two reasons; it’s cheap and it’s made by Yale. Let’s not kid ourselves; you get what you pay for. I wouldn’t recommend it for expensive jewellery but it’s great for storing your passport or maybe a birth certificate – ideally the sort of stuff you need to keep safe and in one place. If you are looking for something that’s cheap and cheerful then you really don’t need to look much further than this excellent little safe by Yale. To see more information or to purchase the Yale Budget Safe Click Here.

4.5
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