Once upon a time I have a Verbatim Store n Go Micro USB flash drive that I always carry with my keychain. It has saved me multiple times when I had to copy some files and I don’t bring my main USB drive. Sure this Verbatim is not the fastest USB drive with its “historic” 2.0 speed (with all my other USB devices are on USB 3.0 speed already), but the super thin form makes it an ideal backup so I basically carry USB drive everywhere as long as I remember to bring my house keys.
Then, once day I realised that my thin USB drive is no longer with my keychain. the rubbery “flap” is still attached, but the part that actually contains the storage and the USB connection was gone. It broke apart without I noticed. I quickly learned my lesson that putting a USB drive in a keychain means heavy challenge for its physical endurance. It needs to survive all the rough treatment that my keys experience on a daily basis. So when searching for replacement, I decided to find something with USB 3.0 speed this time, and must be made on solid metal body. My choice went to Kingston DataTraveler SE9 G2.
Kingston DT SE9 G2 has all-metal body, making it super solid and sturdy. I almost believed this is the ideal USB drive for my keychain until I realised a new problem: the size of its USB connection is actually slightly bigger than standard. Plugging it to my iMac’s USB port works fine. However, I couldn’t plug it into some of my USB hubs, or at least I need to use some brute force to force it in. Another issue is a typical Kingston issue: the USB drive gets really hot after significant data writing sessions. Having to wait until my USB cools down a bit before I can touch it defeats the whole purpose of having a faster drive.
My next choice goes to Sandisk Ultra Flair. It’s Sandisk’s version of thin and small USB flash drive. Not as tiny as Ultra Fit, but I prefer Ultra Flair because it’s not too small and I can still grab it easily to detach. The transfer speed feels slightly faster than Kingston DT SE9 G2. Maybe I will publish separate post on transfer speed. The temperature after long write operation is a lot more bearable. And most importantly, its USB connector use standard size. It fits well in all my USB hubs.
Sandisk Ultra Flair quickly become my new favorite. I’m glad I got myself a unit with good capacity this time (128 GB), so I can actually use it for a lot of things. Third time is a charm, they say. Let’s hope it’s actually true.
Leave A Comment