i-Disk Bulletproof vs. Sandisk Titanium...

The computers I use outside of my home frequently lack applications I need to use. One computer even lacks a word processor! Thank's to the wonderful open source community and free apps like these http://portableapps.com/ , I can take my stuff with me wherever I go. But I am in the market for a new flash drive. I have boiled down my choices to one of the two:

1) Sandisk Cruzer Titanium 4GB:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820171250

The price is about $40 including shipping.

Pros:

-retractable plug mean no "lost caps"
-thin profile means it will fit easily with keys
-fast
-thin profile means it will fit into ports that are difficult to reach
-not plastic

Cons:

-water resistance? (none listed)
-without a cap, there is no protection from water, dirt, and other day-to-day junk
-the "Titanium case" is only plated, not through-and-through, and it is *not* actually titanium, but another metal

and,

2) Pretec i-Disk Bulletproof 4GB (no, it's not actually bulletproof!)

http://www.ptiglobalusa.com/bulletproof.html

Price is $90 before shipping.

Pros:

-waterproof; the o-ring seal keeps out water
-the business end unscrews off the top, so it is very easy to remove and use
-not plastic
-does *not* look like your average USB flash drive. I think this is a real benefit, because it just appears to be some keychain ornament, and nothing more, making it less likely to be stolen.

Cons:

-because it has two parts that unscrew, it means you can lose one of them
-because it is short and stubby, it may not fit in some cramped USB ports (I'm thinking Dells)
-pricey

I intend to install some Portable Apps, maybe Damn Small Linux (if I can figure out how to partition it/get Win and Linux to place nicely together) put this on my keychain, and forget about it until it is needed. The Pretec keeps water out, which is pretty important; I don't want to drop my keys in a puddle or be caught in a rainstorm on my bike and lose my data. I also like how it appears nothing like a traditional drive. However, it *is* twice the cost. The Sandisk is thinner, meaning it should fit into any USB port, but water and dirt may be problems. Both drives get very good reviews (I've spent a couple hours looking through the opinions on the 'net).

What do CPF'ers think?

The Cruzer you linked is not the Titanium version, but the regular PC-ABS version. That being said, I own two of them and love them very much. I wouldn't worry too much about water. Contrary to popular belief, water won't hurt electronics when they are not energized. If it gets drenched, rinse it out with fresh water, shake it out, and let it dry and it'll be fine. I've done this many times with friend's cell phone that took a dip into the pool, ocean, or washing machine when they thought the phone was DOA. I have been eying the Titanium version with the liquid metal casing (which is 2x as strong as titanium BTW) as it comes on sale every now and then at Office Depot for around $35 for the 4GB every now and then. What I really like is that the Titanium Cruzer has one of the fastest read/write speeds without going into a another price range, and even then it's right up there. Right now Office Depot has the 2GB for $30.

About the waterproofness: IMO, that's a useless feature.

I have a rebranded Taiwanese stick, 2GB, bought when I was in Germany. Nothing special, not waterproof. Forgot it by now, lessee, three times in my pants pocket during laundry. Still works great. As long as you don't run it while it's wet, what's there to damage it ? Just dry it.

About dirt getting into the plug part: Also not a big deal, unless you frequently work outdoors in swamps or the tropics. I had (actually, still have) a Sandisk Titanium, which never had any such problems before the (glued) metal parts fell apart. Superglued it back together, so it doesn't retract anymore, but it promises WAAAYYY more robustness than it has (my noname Taiwanese is more robust, IMO). Currently Sandisk is not on my high-list anymore, though, as long as they still include the U3 crap, but of the two you picked, it would be my primary choice.

EDIT: My noname one looks VERY similar to the ones Newegg sells under their own brand name. I would give them a try without a blink.

The new models have Readyboot, an updated version of the U3 system which is compatible with Vista. However, both U3 and Readyboot can be set to start automatically, only start when you choose, or totally removed so it becomes a regular flash drive. The 3rd option would be best for LEDAdd1ct since he wants to use Portable Apps with it. Removal is a simple click in the menu, and it deletes itself without a fuss. If you want it back, you can reinstall it anytime.

they say its 2x stronger than titanium, but didn't mention it was about 10x heavier!, i find it too heavy, and prefer a lighter USB drive.

Finally i decided to go for the Sony Microvault which is small enough to keep in the wallet, although it doesn't feel as strong. Since it resides in the wallet, there are some protection to it.
http://www.sony.net/Products/Media/Microvault/usm-h.html

Its ultimately going to come down to how much you want to spend, but I don't think you'll have any problems with any name brand unit. I can't see spending double on the "bulletproof" drive, but it does look cool! I have the Sandisk drive that you linked to (as mentioned earlier, its not the titanium version) and it works great, got it at Best Buy for $35. I also have 2 of the FireFly drives from Lexar that are attached to my keys, one on each set. These are the thinnest/smallest drives I've seen, other than the Sony MicroVault drives. If you are looking for small size, check out either of these two brands.

FWIW, Office Max just had the 1G & 2G Fireflys on sale for $9.99 and $17.99 respectively.

I left my Sony Vault drive in my pocket and my jeans went into the wash. Didn't notice it when I put the clothes in the dryer either... When I got the clothes out of the dryer the drive was in the bottom in 2 pieces! The dryer was so hot that the glue melted and the outer plastic case separated from the PCB board! I pushed it back together and stuck it into my system. Not only did it still work, all my files were still on it! No damage at all, I just re-glued it.

Roger

Possibly overkill for your requirments, not to mention your wallet:

https://www.ironkey.com/overview

Everyone, thank's for the replies!

Here is the correct link on NewEgg for the 4GB Titanium, which rings-up at $60 plus shipping:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820171248

1) Water Resistance- about the "just let it dry and it will be fine", noted.

2) elgarak, you said the glue on your 4GB Titanium just fell apart? That's rather disconcerting, and does not speak well of the product as a whole.

3) Marduke, I intend to wipe U3 with DBAN (Darik's Boot and Nuke), so included software is a non-issue. I *hate* almost all included software, and won't *touch* Vista. Yuck.

4) z96Cobra, it sure does come down to much I want to spend. But if I amortize that initial cost over the drive's lifespan (i.e., if it is well-made from the start) that cost doesn't look as bad.

5) kakster, I saw that one, and it does look like a super pick. But I can't find a cost anywhere, and I would need a "whatever that connector is" to USB adaptor everytime I used it.

*EDIT* I was thinking of this one here:

http://www.irondriveusb.com/

There's also the Corsair 'Survivor' that's in an aluminum capsule: Survivor Just lazy so I found one on eBay for quick reference. Or I say just get a cheap waterproof flashlight and keep a small usb drive inside it.

newegg also has the corsair survivor. I've been a little bit tempted but they are so expensive it's silly, especially the "gt" versions which are faster.

LEDAdd1ct said:

2) elgarak, you said the glue on your 4GB Titanium just fell apart? That's rather disconcerting, and does not speak well of the product as a whole.

Click to expand...

Nononono . The titanium I spoke of was a 512 MB version I bought 2 years ago. Pretty bulky bugger. Hmmm, amazing, amazon.com still sells it, see it here. And yes, that thing dropped and fell apart, when it was a few months old. Two pieces of some metal (looks and rusts like steel, actually, but not stainless) that were just glued at the edges. Frankly, I think that the 'extremely rugged', 'liquidmetal' etc. used in the description are marketing bullcrap ("Our product line is BS. The only thing we can do to sell it is to lie. I want you to call it marketing", Dilbert's PH boss, paraphrased).

matrixshaman said:

There's also the Corsair 'Survivor' that's in an aluminum capsule: Survivor Just lazy so I found one on eBay for quick reference. Or I say just get a cheap waterproof flashlight and keep a small usb drive inside it.

Click to expand...

Hmm...the "cheap waterproof flashlight" as housing *is* a good idea.......

I think I am gonna stay away from the Survivor. The thing looks just enormous. From experience with my current flash drives, an EDC drive is useless if you don't EDC it.

If the Ironkey had a capless design, I might be interested, but one, it is totally expensive, two, not capless, and three, I don't see any mention of that software working in Linux. I could always wipe it and use it "as is", and have a really tough casing for a plain-jane drive, but that is just too much dough.

*sigh*

The only downside to some of the thicker drives is that they may not fit in the recessed ports of some *cough, Dell, cough* computers. After fifteen minutes of searching, I found this:

http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=250761#

Available cheaper here:

http://www.digitalhotbuy.com/dhbstore/part/partTechnotes.do?skuNo=1083263

:thumbsup: