Recommended USB Stick

[felixrosbergen]

Gents,

Can somebody recommend a good USB stick?

The requirements are in order of importance:
- Reliable
- Sturdy
- Attached Cap
- Largish capacity
- Small physical size

I dont' have much faith and the cheap plastic thingies when they dangle from your keychain all day.

 

[WayneW]

http://www.corsair.com/products/survivor/default.aspx

for small size:
http://www.kingston.com/flash/mobile_kit.asp
http://www.kingston.com/flash/usb_microsd_reader_bndl.asp
this thing is much smaller than most thumb drives, although it is not the most protected device

 

[electron]

I have 1 Sony Micro in my wallet, plus a Sandisk Cruzer Micro and a Crucial Gizmo (free) on my keychains, have had them for years, my keychain is huge, and they are still working fine. Sandisk is probably my favorite, as they stand behind their warranty, and are pretty quick.

 

[mustangcoupe]

I went with a cruzer titanium becasue of the metal case construction. If I had seen the corsair wayne linked to I would have gotten one of those :/

 

[TXFlatLander]

I have to agree with Dan and Mustangcoupe on the SanDisk Cruzer Micro. I didn't want a cap because it would come off in my pocket or get lost, and I didn't want it to be big. The Cruzer Micro has fulfilled all my requirements and then some, plus it is made by SanDisk.

The USB connector retracts back into the body which is nice. Sometimes you get a little pocket lent that will get into the USB connector but that is as simple as blowing it out or using a paper clip to dislodge it. The titanium edition that Mustangcoupe mentioned is all metal housing.

If you watch Buy.com deal e-mails (I know about the other thread ), they will run a Daily or Weekly Deal on them every 2-3 months. The best Buy.com deal I saw for a Cruzer Micro was 4GB for little less than $7 + free shipping about 3-4 months ago.

 

[gatchel]

Sandisk... I have had every size Sandisk Cruzer from 512MB to 16GB currently. I have never had a problem with any of them. I do not like or use the U3 software though.

Buy the biggest you can afford. In our area Walmart has the best in store deals, usually half of the price of the local Best Buy, etc. I purchased the 16GB months ago at Walmart for about $50 when it was $120 at the local Radio Shack or BestBuy.

 

[BLH]

I have a SanDisk Cruzer Micro 8GB and like it. Got it a Walmart.
The SanDisk web site has a small program to permanently remove the U3 software if you don't want or need it.

 

[mustangcoupe]

The SanDisk web site has a small program to permanently remove the U3 software if you don't want or need it.

Thats the first thing I do is remove the U3 stuff... (I think you have to pay for their apps) then I load the suite and apps from portableapps.com and fill her up

 

[felixrosbergen]

Going a bit OT, but i just started looking into PortableAps and it looks pretty cool.

I'm very interested to see how this can work in combination with TruCrypt or other encryption without need admin rights...this seems to still be an issue.

 

[AnotherOne]

A word to the wise - do NOT use USB cards for long term data storage.

 

[dutchyn]

A word to the wise - do NOT use USB cards for long term data storage.

This sounds like the voice of experience; (I recognize it from somewhere). Care to expand on that?

 

[felixrosbergen]

This IronKey looks very cool..but pricey and it still seems that the cap is not permanently attached...i notoriously loose my caps...

 

[AnotherOne]

This sounds like the voice of experience; (I recognize it from somewhere). Care to expand on that?

The company I work for did a bunch of tests on these over the last 2 years testing about 100 memory sticks from 1 gb to 8gb by writting a known pattern on the entire card. Only 2 of the memory sticks had no errors after 2 years. Most had errors after 1 year. There were tested every month by comparing bit by bit the whole card.

Bottom line, these are not approved for archieval storage.

 

[Neurorad]

Jump drives WILL fail eventually. Plan on it.

I've been using a Lexar Jumpdrive Sport for about 5 years. Cap can be removed, but will not fall off. Water resistant design.

Go figure - not made anymore, but still available.

I just used it to carry a Powerpoint lecture to a noon conference.

It's been in my pocket or my briefcase pretty much every day.