[TIP] Which Flash Drive is Your Favorite?

[Appletax]

Edit: The Samsung BAR Plus is faster on both read and write and has a hole to hook tags to it, too. Costs a little more. Has a 5 year warranty.

The fastest, most bestest flash drive is probably the SanDisk Extreme Pro USB 3.2.


So far, I am really liking the SanDisk Ultra Flair USB 3.0 flash drive.

64GB = $10.19 on Amazon. (Or less).

They are very slim and pretty fast.

Wondering if there's anything better for not much more money?

For backing up client data to put back on there machine after a nuke & pave, I like using the Samsung T5 portable SSD. Much faster and more reliable than any flash drive. I wouldn't even trust the SSD flash drives.

I am interested in upgrading to a portable NVME SSD, which I would also use to store my own data.

OWC Envoy Express Thunderbolt 3 Enclosure for NVMe M.2 SSD + Samsung 970 Evo Plus (overkill speed-wise, but amazing longevity-wise).


Edit: many drives have great read speeds, but lousy write speeds.

 

[Sky-Knight]

I've had oddly good luck with Silicon Power brand USB keys. They're stupid cheap though, and I'm using them typically for Windows installation media. So I don't much care about failures, I've had a few... but again they're so cheap who cares?

 

[Appletax]

I've had oddly good luck with Silicon Power brand USB keys. They're stupid cheap though, and I'm using them typically for Windows installation media. So I don't much care about failures, I've had a few... but again they're so cheap who cares?

Not a fan of cheap. Even just for Windows installations. Silicone Power sounds like a very cheap Chinesium-type company.

"You get what you pay for."

 

[britechguy]

Not a fan of cheap. Even just for Windows installations. Silicone Power

Silicon Power (Silicon, not Silicone) is a major brand. Do a search on SSDs and see how many Silicon Power units come up. And they've been recommended by a number of folks here either as their actual "go to" SSD or second choice after Samsung.

It's not likely that their USB flash drives will be substandard in any way.

Having said that, I am absolutely not brand loyal any way when it comes to USB flash drives. I have had very few fail at all, and after long use, and those that have failed have been no names and major players in the market.

This is a mature technology that's not rocket science, and the vast majority (like HDDs and SSDs) are produced by a very few actual makers and are branded for the companies that have ordered them on spec.

I buy more on "form factor" than anything else. I've absolutely loved both the "key type" and the small key fob type (which is slightly preferable in that the contacts are not completely exposed. But even the key type, when kept on my keychain for years, tend to keep going and going and going.

Addendum: Who knew that one company could have so friggin' many styles of USB flash drive?! Silicon Power USB Flash Drives
My personal preference, regardless of maker, is the "key fob" style shown as the Jewel J30 as well as a number of others. Simple, durable metal case that puts up with about as much abuse as one could possibly give it under normal use and transport. If you run over it, well . . .

 

[Sky-Knight]

Yep, no point in being brand loyal on thumb drives. If they fail so what? You have 10 more in the drawer, they cost so little RMA'ing them is a waste of time, and they're never supposed to be used for primary storage.

This isn't an SSD in a machine with a defined life cycle and support requirements, they're keychain sized too dads or smaller that happen to have a file or two on them.

Also, Windows installations will consume USB keys over time, so be ready to replace them anyway. Name brand or otherwise, you're going to lose the drives over time, they simply don't have enough NVRAM in them to wear level like a full SSD does. But again, that's part of the reason why they're so cheap!

The only people I recommend good name brand items in this space to are digital photographers. Because that IS primary storage for them, until the camera can be unloaded.

 

[britechguy]

Because that IS primary storage for them, until the camera can be unloaded.

Interesting. I haven't seen USB flash drives being used by many photographers for quite a while now. The SD card is king (and, yes, I know that's a USB-class device, but it's not a flash drive as conventionally construed).

 

[Sky-Knight]

Interesting. I haven't seen USB flash drives being used by many photographers for quite a while now. The SD card is king (and, yes, I know that's a USB-class device, but it's not a flash drive as conventionally construed).

It's rare but there are some cameras that use USB for the storage. But still the SD cards are using the same memory chips as the USB sticks, so the logic still applies. In these cases we need reliability first, cost second. Much like an SSD in a desktop or laptop.

 

[Porthos]

Plugable NVME enclosure + Samsung 970 Evo Plus (overkill speed-wise, but amazing longevity-wise).

Have 3 of these and no issues. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MNFH1PX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Philippe]

For my personal files: SanDisk Extreme PRO.
For other/professional uses: Kingston DataTraveler G4

​

 

[Appletax]

For my personal files: SanDisk Extreme PRO.
For other/professional uses: Kingston DataTraveler G4

​

Reviews show the Kingston is on the slow side. The new model, the Exodia, is dirt cheap.

SanDisk Extreme PRO is uber nice!! Ultra fast and reliable. The higher-end Samsung T7 is known to thermal throttle, so the SanDisk is better and faster.

2TB = $280... not bad.

2TB 970 Evo Plus = $220 + OWC Thunderbolt 3 NVM Enclosure = $79 = $299.

I think I am going to go the latter route so that I have an NVME enclosure to put customer's NVME's in when they have a broke laptop that needs data transferred.

 

[GTP]

I've got a bunch of thumb drives/flash drives from Silicon Power, Samsung, Lazer, Sky, Verbatim, Sandisk, Kingston, Pro Power, Lexar, Patriot and others. They range in size from 4GB to 256Gb. Most are around 5~7 years old, two of them about 10 years old.

The "Sky" brand one went through a full wash cycle in the pocket of my shirt, but after cracking it open and letting it dry for a few days it continued working perfectly. The data stored on it was all intact as well.

I use them very often for data transfer - never really for storage, apart from the Patriot drive being used as a "Timeshift" backup for my Linux laptop. It gets written to daily as Timeshift is set to do daily backups and its done this for about 3 years now.

I've never had a failed USB flash drive - ever.
My .02

 

[gadgetfixup]

All metal Samsung or Kingston drives. We don't sell plastic flash drives.

 

[Gegen Stück]

I find the whole lack of Write speed a major drag with flash drives. Goes real quick for like 30 secs then big drop off cliff scenario

 

[timeshifter]

My biggest gripe with USB flash drives is labeling them. No good solution that I’ve tried.

 

[britechguy]

No good solution that I’ve tried.

Masking tape and a ballpoint pen has worked very well for me for a very long time.

 

[Larry Sabo]

Masking tape and a ballpoint pen has worked very well for me for a very long time.

Not with those complete metal jacketed ones. There is no exposed surface after it's inserted onto which the tape can be stuck. I just write on the jacket with a marker but it wipes off pretty quickly. Still haven;t solved the problem.

 

[britechguy]

Larry,

How tiny is that drive in your picture? I have a number of "full metal jacket" drives where only approximately the first 1/4 inch, if that, is what goes into the USB port itself. Mine look very much like the ones in your picture, and are about 1.5" long. I just have a small square of masking in the position that would be "between the 'R' in 'Lexar' and the hole for the keychain" in your photo above.

It's basic labeling such as "Win10 v21H2 BIOS" or "Win11 Initial" or similar. If I had to label hundreds of the things I'd most likely come up with a coding system where some number or alphanumeric combo would match to my "cheat sheet" for what they meant.

 

[Larry Sabo]

How tiny is that drive in your picture?

That's just a grab from the seller site. Here is a picture I took of the ones I have. When it's plugged in, there is just 1/2" exposed. I've not tried to stick a label/tape on the exposed part but will give that a try.

 

[Sky-Knight]

Sticky labels do not work well on that specific drive... I've tried too! (It's a good drive too, had it for ages! Mine has the same scratches, which I find hilarious.)

These however are a bit longer: https://www.amazon.com/Silicon-Powe...&sprefix=silicon+power+usb+3.0,aps,162&sr=8-7

And I've had decent luck attaching very small brother label printer labels to them.

 

[britechguy]

And I've had decent luck attaching very small brother label printer labels to them.

Same idea. I have one of those (or I should say my partner does) but the price of the tape is insane, and since my labeling changes kinda frequently, I just don't use that label printer for that purpose. Not to mention that getting that tape off, when you want it off, is no easy feat! We use it primarily for specimen tag labels in our garden, and it withstands years of exposure without the slightest issue, and "vulcanizes" itself to the stainless tags.