LaCie XtremKey USB Flash drive

[-jc]

LaCie was kind enough to send for review their XtremKey, which is a USB Flash drive enclosed in a strong metal case. Its designed to be tough and durable, and benefits from USB 3.0 for great performance.

I can recommend this drive - even though the price is high, the build quality makes up for it. This is way tougher than other "rugged" drives I've had before.

http://www.resexcellence.com/2013/01/24/review-lacie-xtremkey-32gb-usb-3-0-key-flash-drive/

Has anyone here got one yet? I've also got a RuggedKey to review, which is also a very cool product by LaCie.

P.S. The shape of the end cap makes it look like this takes up two USB slots, but it does fit without taking up two slots.

 

[barnyard]

I had one of these. I loved how durable it was from a physical standpoint, but for whatever reason, the electronics inside heated up too much and fried themselves when plugged into my Thinkpad. It was probably a fluke, but it happened. LaCie did sent me another one (after sending mine in for warranty), but I sold it instead of taking a chance for another failure.

 

[MatLane]

I love it!

 

[-jc]

...for whatever reason, the electronics inside heated up too much and fried themselves when plugged into my Thinkpad.

When I did the speed tests, I found the same thing. It did get warm, the same also happened with the RuggedKey I reviewed. But I think this happens with most flash drives. I was still happy with them - and LaCie provides a long warranty as well which is reassuring.

 

[LaCieTech]

Hi,

Its normal for some USB keys to get warm when in use, especially the faster models or SSD versions since they use more power and may have additional chipsets besides the storage.

Another thing to consider is the design of the laptop and environment its on. I've seen cases where the laptop's vent fan was next to the USB port that the key was in and it was getting warm from passive heat. Some laptops have fans on the bottom that blow to the sides and have the same effect and so on.

The key should not get so warm that you can't touch or fry itself, those cases are generally warranty issues and we're happy to replace them. As always, be sure to have a secure backup in another location... just in case. Its much wiser to have a second copy of important data somewhere than have to deal with data recovery or losing it entirely.

~mn, LaCie