HOT: 4GB ATP Toughdrive - $44.64 with free shipping

[Kwirky]

On buy.com Canada - they also have the 8GB and 2GB models available

These are the toughest, fastest USB drives you can buy, and I don't think they've ever been this cheap. Note that buy.com takes 5% off at the checkout, so those are the prices I posted, rather than what the linked pages show.

Links:
2GB - $26.49 (need filler for free shpping): http://www.ca.buy.com/prod/ATP_2GB_ToughDrive_200X_USB_Flash_Drive_Waterproof _Dustproof_Shock_Proof/q/loc/59205/201980050.html
4GB - $44.64: http://www.ca.buy.com/prod/Atp_4GB_ToughDrive_USB2_0_Flash_Drive_4_GB_USB_Por table/q/loc/59205/203243433.html
8GB - $90.24: http://www.ca.buy.com/prod/Atp_8GB_ToughDrive_USB2_0_Flash_Drive_8_GB_USB_Ext ernal_Portable/q/loc/59205/204154324.html

Check out whats_the_big_deal's post here for more info on these drives: http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=536775

http://flash.atpinc.com/articles/images/1178/full.jpg

[BinaryJay]

Tougher than the Cruzer Titanium? That LiquidMetal alloy case is supposed to withstand getting run over by a car. Mine has been on my keychain with 2 dozen keys and doesn't even have a scratch on it.

This looks like plastic to me, and has one of those easy to lose caps to boot. Meh.

[dhklai]

Good price but why not PM Staples. Even better

[JackyTheBeaver]

Tougher than the Cruzer Titanium? That LiquidMetal alloy case is supposed to withstand getting run over by a car. Mine has been on my keychain with 2 dozen keys and doesn't even have a scratch on it.

This looks like plastic to me, and has one of those easy to lose caps to boot. Meh.

This is ATP we are talking about.
http://www.techpowerup.com/printreview.php?id=/ATP/ToughDrive_Mini

Cook your ATP in an oven @ 150 degree Celsius, then cool it down by icing it in a cup of water, finally take a 1.5kg hammer to it.

[BinaryJay]

This is ATP we are talking about.
http://www.techpowerup.com/printreview.php?id=/ATP/ToughDrive_Mini

Cook your ATP in an oven @ 150 degree Celsius, then cool it down by icing it in a cup of water, finally take a 1.5kg hammer to it.

You could do the temperature extremes that with nearly any thumb drive. Most electronics will still operate fine in temperature extremes. Note how the connector still gets bent out of shape getting bashed. A thumb drive like the titanium with a retracting connector wouldn't even have this issue.

And wow, a hammer that can crush a nut. That's one crazy hammer!!!

'Unfortunately the drive data was corrupted when I tried reading from it. Reformatting did not work either."

Sensationalism.

[Lumute]

You could do the temperature extremes that with nearly any thumb drive. Most electronics will still operate fine in temperature extremes. Note how the connector still gets bent out of shape getting bashed. A thumb drive like the titanium with a retracting connector wouldn't even have this issue.

And wow, a hammer that can crush a nut. That's one crazy hammer!!!

'Unfortunately the drive data was corrupted when I tried reading from it. Reformatting did not work either."

Sensationalism.

Well, the ATP could not be as resistant as the Cruzer Titanium, I agree on that, but its pretty good compared to normal drives... now lets talk speed, ATP have double the read speed and hald access time compared to the titanium...

I guess it all comes down to what are you looking for and what you are planning to do with it... if you are a contractor and plan to go build a house with the drive on your keychain, go with the titanium and accept the extra wait time to copy files, other than that I would recommend these ATP, pretty resistant and awesome performance for the price...

[JackyTheBeaver]

You could do the temperature extremes that with nearly any thumb drive. Most electronics will still operate fine in temperature extremes. Note how the connector still gets bent out of shape getting bashed. A thumb drive like the titanium with a retracting connector wouldn't even have this issue.

And wow, a hammer that can crush a nut. That's one crazy hammer!!!

'Unfortunately the drive data was corrupted when I tried reading from it. Reformatting did not work either."

Sensationalism.

I like both Sandisk and ATP products. I knew that eventually after a second series of impacts the drive in the above review stopped working.

http://www.auphanonline.com/articles/view.php?article_id=1498&page=6

I expect ATP to continue their excellent dust and water proof design with the tough drives as they have done with the SD Ultra cards. The bottom line is that it's a very fast drive coming from a vender with a very good reputation.

You can take a cheap Kingston data traveller and go through several washes in your pants pocket and have the metal part starting to rust - in my case and experience it will still work.

What is your points with the hammer? Why are you being so sarcastic?

[billccwu]

Looks like a good deal, Toughdrives are still one of the fastest drive out there today.

[AnubisReturns]

looks comparable to the OCZ ATV, rugged and fast, but OCZ is 1/2 the price

[JackyTheBeaver]

Here's my 2 cents.

It is my belief that this ATP is stronger than the Cruzer Titanium. Look at the review above for the Toughdrive Mini (which has only a fraction of the rubber padding) - it took a series of smashes from the 1.5kg hammer and still worked.

Judging from the video review, I can only estimate that the terminal velocity of the hammer would be around 10m/s (a reasonable guess I hope). Since the hammer bounced off the drive almost immediately I guess the impact duration is 0.02 seconds. That means the ToughDrive Mini took about 750 N of force repeatedly and still worked. (it's only after a second series of much harder smashes that the Mini broke)

The Sandisk Cruzer Titanium is rated for 3000 lb. That's just under 675N of force.

Add to the fact that the actual ToughDrive has a lot more padding than the Mini version reviewed, I believe that the actual ToughDrive is a lot more durable than the Cruzer Titanium.

You can certainly drive a vehicle over any Pen Drive (maybe even a Kingston Data Traveler) and still expect it to work, the reason is that the force of the car is distributed over a wide area, unlike a hammer impact, plus the impact duration is a lot longer. The drive would only bare a tiny fraction of the force evenly distributed by the car's soft rubber tires.

In my opinion, the hammer test is a much stronger evidence than "no key chain scratch test" or "under the car tire test".

Like the previous poster said, even if you don't favour the form factor, at least it's got twice the transfer rate and half the access time as the Titanium.

What do you guys think? Discussions are welcome.

[mahjongmaniac]

price comparison

1gig $25 -
http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?webid=669211
2gig $40 -
http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?webid=669213
4gig $60 -
http://www.staples.ca/ENG/Catalog/cat_sku.asp?webid=677613

8 gig? stooples.ca doesn't carry it yet :P

[Pricyber]

anyone tried PM with staples?

[silentvois69]

How does this compare to the Patriot Xporter XT Boost on sale at NCIX at 16gb for $69.99 after $30 mir. There's only 1 review I've seen which is for the 32gb one and it seemed like a fast drive as well.

[DualSoul]

How would the 8GB Toughdrive compare to the 16GB Corsair (~$17 more expensive at Dell for the Voyager, and ~$28 more for the Survivor (http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=546586&highlight=corsair))? Would the speed increase and durability be enough to offset the size, at their comparable price points? Or would this depend on the buyer?

[JackyTheBeaver]

How would the 8GB Toughdrive compare to the 16GB Corsair (~$17 more expensive at Dell for the Voyager, and ~$28 more for the Survivor (http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=546586&highlight=corsair))? Would the speed increase and durability be enough to offset the size, at their comparable price points? Or would this depend on the buyer?

You said it - it depends on the buyer. I would personally go for the ATP given my previous experience with it, but being someone who owns a Panasonic Toughbook and an user of two S-PVA LCD pannels, I'm really biased in that I tend to place emphasis on quality over quantity. The decision ultimately is yours.