The exclusive Safari Hinge is perfect for this hunter
One of the unique features offered by Visalia Safes is our exclusive “Safari Hinge”. This hinge is a traditional piano hinge but, instead of being mounted flush with the front of the safe, it is mounted on the side. This allows the door to swing all the way open, allowing for easy access to the interior of the safe.
We’ve been asking our customers what they love about their Visalia Safe and Alejandro (who is “Alex” to his friends!) sent us a note to tell us how much he loves the safari hinge. Here’s what Alex had to say:
I bought my (Visalia) Safe about ten years ago after seeing (Visalia Safes) at a hunting show. (Ed: it was the Sheep Show, in Reno, Nevada). I actually have two gun safes. The smaller one I’ve had for a while and it was my first safe. It has a rack for my long guns that spins, which I thought was pretty clever when I first got the safe. After a while, I realized that the rack used most of the interior space, even though it didn’t actually seem that big. You just can use the rest of the space and still spin the rack.
When I first saw (Visalia Safes), I liked the safari hinge right away. It just swings completely open, so you can really get easy access to the whole safe. I have two pull-outs (Ed: our exclusive rifle pull-outs) that I can adjust to fit all of my long guns. They slide in an out and I can access the last gun as easily as I can access the first one. When I open up the door, it just swings out of the way and I can pull out my pull-outs and go. I have (ammunition) storage on the door and some drawers for my optics where they sit in cut-outs that (Visalia Safes) made for me.
What I really like about my (Visalia) Safe is the safari hinge because it makes my safe so much more usable than my old one. I only store things that I don’t use as much in my old safe. The things I use are all in my (Visalia) Safe now. It also looks great and has a really cool acid finish (Ed: our “rustic finish”). If my wife lets me, I will probably buy a bigger safe to replace the two I have.
Design of the Safari Hinge
The Safari Hinge is a standard piano hinge that is mounted on the side of the safe, rather than flush with the frame. The piano hinge design maximizes the strength and longevity of your safe by distributing the weight of the door across the whole hinge. This design also prevents sag in the door from weight, guaranteeing the tight joint around the door frame for the life of your safe. Best of all, it offers the same level of security as our standard hinge. It can be placed on either side of the safe or both sides for two-door safes.
Benefits of the Safari Hinge
Unlike a standard piano hinge, a safe door with a Safari Hinge can almost completely open. The benefits to that are two-fold. First, by opening beyond the range of a “regular” door, a safe with a Safari Hinge offers you far better access to the interior. There are no hidden nooks or crannies: every inch of your safe is accessible. Second, because the interior space of your safe is more accessible, you can interior of the safe door for more convenient storage without losing overall space in your safe. Options such as ammunition storage, pistol storage or even additional door-mounted rifle racks are all possible.
Because of its design, the Safari Hinge does require more space to open. It is best suited for safes that will be placed in relatively unobstructed areas. Safes that are built for specific spaces like closets, bookshelves or other confined spaces are not well-suited for a Safari Hinge.
Safari Hinge is only available from Visalia Safes
Visalia Safes originally developed the Safari Hinge decades ago, after a customer complained that his existing safes “lost” much of their interior space because it was so hard to get to. Our engineers designed the hinge to enable him easier access and better storage options on the inside of the door. As our customer’s safe was uniquely decorated to reflect his love of the many hunting safaris he’d gone on, it was referred to internally as the “Safari Hinge” and the name just stuck.
While the first Safari Hinge was built to solve a specific problem, it proved so popular with everyone who saw it that we decided to offer it on all of our safes. Today, the Safari Hinge continues to be a sought-after feature among custom safe buyers. Now, as with our first safe, it is a Visalia Safes exclusive. If you are looking for a safe that offers you superior craftsmanship, custom features and unrivaled accessibility to the interior, get in touch with our expert sales team and learn how much a Visalia Safe with our Safari Hinge can offer you. You’ll be surprised by how much you can get, and delighted that you get exactly what you want.