Falcon 25 Series: A Budget Grade 1 Exit Device That Meets Code

Posted by Kent on 28th Jul 2026

By Kent · Lock Depot Staff Writer

Not every exit door needs a Von Duprin 98. A church hall, a small retail back door, a community-center side exit: these need a real code-compliant panic bar, but they do not need the top-shelf device that guards a mall entrance. That is the gap the Falcon 25 Series fills. It is Allegion's value exit device, and spec'd on the right door it saves real money without cutting a corner that matters.

Budget does not mean it skips code

Let me kill the worry first. The Falcon 25 is a Grade 1 rim exit device. It meets the panic-hardware requirement the same as the expensive bars. It carries the listings a fire marshal checks. A budget device that did not meet code would be worthless, and this one is not. What you give up versus a Von Duprin is cycle life and the deep bench of trims and options, not code compliance. On a door that opens a few dozen times a day instead of a few thousand, that trade is free money.

When I spec the 25, and when I do not

I put the Falcon 25 on low-to-moderate-traffic exits where the budget is real and the door is not abused. Church, small office, storage building side door, a second exit that mostly sits there until it is needed. It does that job for years.

I do not put it on a school corridor, a busy retail main entrance, or any door that cycles thousands of times a day. That door earns a Von Duprin 98/99, because the higher cycle life pays for itself before the cheaper bar wears out. Buying down on a high-traffic door is the false economy that gets you a callback in eighteen months. Match the device to the traffic, not just to the budget.

From the counter: the 25-R is the rim version, the most common and the easiest to install, mounting on the surface of the door and latching into a strike on the frame. EO means exit only, no outside trim, push to get out and nothing on the outside. That is the right build for most secondary exits, where nobody needs to key in from outside. If you do need outside entry, you add night-latch trim, and you order it that way up front.

Finish, and matching an aluminum door

The 25 comes in the standard exit-device finishes. 26D satin chrome is the workhorse for a painted or hollow-metal door. If your door is aluminum storefront, the 25-R-EO in US28 anodized aluminum matches the mill-finish frame so the bar disappears into the door instead of standing out against it. For a stainless look on a heavier door, the 32D satin stainless holds up in a wet or coastal spot better than a plated finish. Match the frame, and the cheaper device still looks like it belongs.

Common questions

Is the Falcon 25 code-compliant?

Yes. It is a Grade 1 rim panic device that meets the panic-hardware requirement. Budget refers to cycle life and options, not code.

When should I step up to a Von Duprin instead?

High-traffic doors: school corridors, busy retail entrances, anything cycling thousands of times a day. The higher cycle life pays for itself there.

What finish for an aluminum door?

US28 anodized aluminum to match the frame. 26D satin chrome for painted or hollow-metal. 32D stainless for a wet or coastal door.

Lock Depot stocks the Falcon 25 rim exit device in the common finishes, exit-only and with trim, in stock. Start at the Falcon hub, or read the storefront companion piece: Von Duprin 33A for an Aluminum Storefront Door. Or call 877-365-5625 and tell us the traffic and the door material. We will tell you honestly whether the 25 fits or whether you should spend up.