Like many out there, I was looking for a solution that could keep my kids and guests away from my (only) firearm.

This was one of the hardest choices I have ever had to make when it comes to a purchase decision.

It was easier to pick my firearm, red dot and flashlight than it was picking a storage/quick access solution.

While trying to make up my mind, I read, watched and listened to anything I could to try and understand the best solution for me. I went from small box's like the stop box, to small safes of all kinds, to bigger safes, to hidden concealment furniture to small safes again and so on and so forth, every time being led on by a new piece of information or logic that made the first choice irrelevant.

I won't go into the logic of my shopping journey, because it is very specific to my needs, however eventually I got back to small safes, and now I had to choose a specific model.

I felt that amongst many other good options, I would be pretty happy with either the Fort Knox Original Pistol Box or the Steelhead Outdoors Fast Access Safe.

To me it seems that the Fort Knox is a slightly better product, mainly due to it having thicker metal, slightly more room, and not a tiny bit least, a gas strut, that helps open the super heavy chunk of metal lid and also allows for single handed operation of the box as well as being a tad cheaper.

But, as you may have noticed by the title, I chose the Steelhead Outdoor, why?

Because to me it is significantly more aesthetically pleasing than the Original Pistol Box, and that matters.
I will be seeing this safe everyday twice a day at least, and for who knows how many years.

Unfortunately the Steelhead Outdoors Fast Access Box not only doesn't have a gas strut but it doesn't even have a hinge stopper of some sort, meaning the (super heavy) lid is free to open up until it lies flat on its back in one plane with the bottom portion. And of course when closing the lid, you need to be careful not to drop it on your finger or something because it is a total free fall if you do.

Single handed operation? not a chance, and if you attempt it, be ready to make a lot of noise clunking the lid on the wall (or worse, on the floor) so you can take out your firearm. what you would actually end up doing most likely is using both hands, one to open the lid and the other to retrieve the firearm.

For me that didn't sit well with what I expected from my bedside fast access box. I expected, being able to shoot one hand over, punch in the combo, open the lid and take out my firearm all in a few movements and with one hand.

A gas strut was a must.

So after I researched this a bit and found nothing specific for the Steelhead outdoors fast access box, I started searching, measuring and searching again, while trying to think of a DIY way to get what I needed.

Eventually I settled on these, not entirely sure I can get them to work with my safe (there wasn't an option to buy only 1 but that turned out to be perfect because I needed the top connector from 2 struts and I also broke one): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AHHCHBK?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title&th=1

I had to tweak them a bit and enlarge the hole on the connectors of the strut (simple two second drill to enlarge the hole so the screw can fit).

But when everything was locked in, I immediately knew that this was not just any improvement, it is mandatory for any purchaser of the Fast Access Box by Steelhead Outdoors.

Disclaimers:

-You would probably have a hard time doing this with the smaller box. I specifically got the larger fast access box, and while this mod may work for the smaller boxes, I doubt you would be left with enough room, but then again maybe it is less crucial on the smaller ones as the lid is lighter and the usage is potentially different (i.e., not bedside).

-If you mount your safe to something and make use of the mounting holes, you will have to find a workaround to mount the bottom part of the gas strut. My goal from the beginning was to do this in a reversable manner as possible (meaning not having to drill in the box or something like that) and therefore I made use of one of the bottom mounting holes, also because I do not use them. Instead I secure my safe with the thick cable you can get with your fast access box.

The process is pretty straight forward, and I will be adding some photos to illustrate, but there is nothing much to it to be honest. And also, I am sure that this can be done a thousand time better than what I have done here, however, for me this works, its solid and strong and feels good.

I also added a drop of wd40 to the hinges so they don't squeak, and you have a super premium feel when opening the safe, almost like Darth Vader's helmet coming off, while the strut expands.