Another year has passed, and apparently my wife has not grown tiresome of the obsessive / compulsive gun owner she reawakened in me one year ago today. If there is one thing she is good at, it is making everything in life work. She is a master at systematizing damn near anything. Given that I work in a world of technology, it seems diametrically opposed to the purely mechanical equipment associated with shooting.

So today, on my birthday, she bridged my lifestyle gap just a little bit. In fact, just enough to make me start wondering what other ways there are to do so. Enter, The Gunbox.

This is a brand new device that prevents unauthorized access to one’s primary self defense pistol. While there are a lot of other devices that perform a similar job, this one seems to do it just a little bit better. Not to mention, I’m not going to be restricted to keeping the thing in a drawer because of sheer ugliness. The immediate geek consumer in me almost wants someone to walk into my bedroom and see it on my nightstand.

So to break it down into the basics, here’s white I love this thing:

• If the demo videos online are accurate, it is tougher than most.
• It is prettier than most. It looks like, if Apple made such a device, it would look like this. In fact it matches my MacBook Pro.
• It has two USB ports built in the back so I can charge my iPhone and any other device I’d want to plug in.
• It opens via IR bracelet, or biometric fingerprint reader.
• It opens by itself via hydraulic struts that compress when the box is closed.

I’m in love with this thing. It is a tank, and I look forward to opening it every day to access my every-day-carry items that I want to keep out of the reach of my children, and household visitors.

A friend of mine who came over to wish me well on my birthday pointed out that anyone could just walk into my house and walk out with the box, to which I replied, “Anyone? Really? Give it a try then.”

I mean even at the most basic level, I lock my doors. Even when I’m home, I lock my doors. So his first observation alone that anyone could walk in was incorrect. He must’ve forgotten that he had to be let into my house by someone from the inside, me.

All joking aside though, I hadn’t yet employed the cable accessory that allows me to tether it to a secure object. I also pointed out that it has a motion sensor, so if the box is moved, an alarm starts to sound. I admitted that while it sits on my nightstand, it isn’t meant to be a gun safe. Nor is a gun safe meant to be a means of quick access to a weapon for home defense.

The Gunbox is designed to be a device that restricts unauthorized persons from accessing a loaded firearm that can be quickly accessed by the owner in the case of an emergency; and for that intended purpose it does an outstanding job!