Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

All in all this is a great drive for the price and size of storage. I purchased this drive for the sole purpose of editing my video and photo files on the go and switch from computer to computer without uploading large gb files to the cloud. Here are my conclusions: The drive is quite small and lightweight. I have used quite a bit of the LaCie rugged drives in the past and they can be fairly bulky. This drive could slip easily into a slim laptop neoprene case or even a jacket pocket. (See photos). The marketing says its scratch resistant but I dont see that being a reality. The plastic casing on top and bottom is your standard ABS so im sure you will be able to get a scratch or ding or 2 over time. The USB port on the drive itself is a full size USB-C type connector and it is colored the correct Blue (pantone 300) indicating it is in fact a USB 3.0 port. The packaging states USB 3.1 Gen 1 however that confused me because technically USB 3.1 is Gen 2. I tested the speed (see photos) and the average rate was 120.5 MB/s read and 122.5 MB/s write. This is where the drive gets the most stars. USB 3.0 average speed tables are around 60 MB/s so the 3.1 format is clocking at x2 the speed which is just about right, comparative to other 3.1 USB drives. Now to put that into comparison for folks who really need all the speed they can get, the average internal HD clocks in about 300 MB/s so keep that in mind. A USB external drive isnt going to give you the same kind of results. So choose your use case for these types of drives carefully. Testing against my Seagate 5tb tabletop external drives which are also USB 3.1 the write speed is about the same but the read speed on my Seagates are only 95 MB/s. The bench computer is a 27" iMac i7. The drive comes formatted as FAT32. I reformatted it to be a standard Mac OS Extended (journaled) which is compatible with Time Machine so you can use this for your Mac OS backup drive. I like the convenience of attaching the USB cable to the exterior so you don't have to find another place to store a cable, or possibly forgetting it all together. Keep in mind the clips that hold the USB cable are removable. They slip into a silicone rubber channel and do come out if you pull the USB cord hard enough. I don't see a reason why this should be an issue but its also designed not to be permanent so keep that in mind. The cable is also short. I would say 12" port to port. There's 2 non-slip rubber channels on the base so that it wont slide around too much on your desk and the same soft silicone rubber around the entire edges of the drive. They don't stick out past the hard plastic top and bottom however so not sure how effective they would be in dampening the shock from a fall on the corners which is probably the most lethal spot. Keep in mind this drive is NOT a SSD drive (or it would cost a lot more) so don't drop it while it's in use. PROS: Lightweight Fast 3.1 USB r/w Small Size Convenient Cable Storage Low Cost CONS: Not as durable as can be. I give it 4 stars for its construction/durability Not a SSD drive If you like my review please give it Helpful thumbs up!