Product Review: Cryptosteel
By The Crypto Monk
After reviewing Cryptotag, i had to logically give a try to Cryptosteel. It was the first physical metal backup system introduced on the crypto market in 2015 after a succesful crowdfunding. Let’s see what is is about and how it works.
Why did they choose stainless steel?
The company decided to use 304-grade German stainless steel for multiple reasons. First of all, this is one of the most common stainless steel which makes it affordable and easy to find.
It offers a great combination of strength, resistance to heat and corrosion. The melting point is around 927 °C or 1,700 °F. This is resistant enough for most of serious situations. However, in some rare cases, it might not be enough to survive. A house fire can sometimes reach 2700 °F.
First impressions
You will receive your kit in a minimalist eco friendly packaging. It is very small and fits inside a medium sized envelope.
This kit includes:
- 2 plates allowing you to add 24 words
- over 245 uppercase letter tiles
Please note that this set is made for Mnemonic seed phrases. If you would like to store Hex or any other key, you should order a different set of tiles.
How it works
When you open up the device, there are 2 different sides where you can store up to 48 tiles (max 4 tiles per word).
There is a small trick to release the lever and slide the tiles into the slots. First of all, you have to turn the screw clockwise into horizontal position. Then use a small tool to press on the lever inside the long slot to open the frame.
It is as easy as it gets but you don’t have to force on anything or you could bend the lever.
Once you have filled your Cryptosteel with all the needed tiles, you can find a safe place to store it.
Note: if you want to see a crash test, you can look at 99Bitcoins’ video released in 2016.
Conclusions
Cryptosteel is a great product overall. This set is available for $99, which makes it cheaper than the Cryptotag system (reviewed here). There are only extreme situations where it could be put in trouble (extreme temperatures or a desintegrating smash).
Disclaimer : this article is not a partnership. I wanted to test and review a backup device and the team decided to customize it for me. More reviews of products will come in the future.
