Every figure carries its source
Each specification in a comparison table on this site is stored with the URL it was taken from and the date someone read it. That is why the small arrow beside each figure goes somewhere — it is the manufacturer or dealer page the number came from, not a citation to ourselves.
This is enforced rather than intended. The site will not build if a published figure is missing its source or its date. A page that fails that check does not deploy.
Why some lists here are short
Most comparison pages in this category list five to ten products because five to ten is what a page is supposed to have. We list what we can source.
The vault door page has two doors on it. The NBC filtration page has three systems. In both cases the previous version of the page had far more, and the extra entries did not survive being checked — several cited model numbers that do not exist in the manufacturer’s catalogue at all. A short list that is true is more use than a long one that is not.
What we will not publish
- A price we cannot link to. Dealer pricing is quoted rather than listed in much of this category. Where we publish a figure it comes from a real listing on a real date, and it will drift — check before you buy.
- A photograph of a product we have not photographed. There are no product images on this site. Generated imagery is very good at putting a plausible badge on a plausible product, and a reader cannot tell the difference. Spec tables and diagrams carry the information instead.
- A rating out of ten. A decimal point implies a measurement. Where we prefer one product we say which and why, and we say who should buy the other one.
- An unresolved note. “Varies,” “check with the manufacturer” and “approximately” are research notes, not facts. If it is not resolved it does not go on the page.
Standards worth knowing
Much of what is marketed in this category leans on standards that readers are not expected to look up. It is worth knowing what they actually cover:
- UL 752 rates bullet resistance by level, against a specified round and number of shots. A door “built to Level 8” is not the same as a door tested and listed to it.
- EN 1063 / BR ratings are the European equivalent. BR8 is a rating class, not a model number, and it appears in product names often enough to be worth checking.
- FEMA P-361 and ICC-500 govern storm shelters and safe rooms. “FEMA compliant” is a claim about a design meeting published criteria, and it is verifiable — ask which criteria.
How this site makes money
Some links here earn a commission. Where a product is sold through dealers — which is most of this category — the link goes to the maker or an authorised dealer and earns nothing at all.
Commission never decides what appears on a page or in what order. The most frequently recommended products on this site earn us nothing, because the good ones in this category are mostly quote-only.
Corrections
If a figure here is wrong, it is worth more to us to know than to look consistent. Tell us and include where the correct number is published, and we will fix it and re-source it.