CORSAIR 4GB Flash Survivor USB 2.0 Flash Drive

Since much bigger USB flash drives are on the market now, I was a bit skeptical if writing this review will help anyone.. It still remains 2 be seen.

I bought this USB stick about a year ago. as I was amused by all the advertised features, I did a few experiments. it's been swimming in the pool & whatnot. It amuses me 2 no end that no matter how bad I treat it, it doesn't mind one bit. Except one thing. If you own a laptop, notebook, mac, whatever of the like, beware. If you tilt it even a bit too much (and it doesn't have 2 be much really), the USB plug breaks. It still works since the electronics is left intact, but the iron USB cap comes off easily & it might stay in your connector, plus it's all wobbly & gives a feeling that it might stop working at any moment.

What surprised me the most is the fact that when I sent it back under the warranty it came back refused saying that it doesn't cover the physical damage caused 2 it. Despite the virtual "indestructible" advertisement, this is what they say. Quite a contradiction..

All in all, a good stick 2 own if taken care of when the rubber cap is off & plugged into the USB connector.

I bought the flash drive 2 put music on & send 2 my brother in Iraq. He absolutely loved it. I had no problem getting it, & the price was right.

I have a Corsair Voyager 2GB & it still works fine, however, I carry it in my pocket so it was starting 2 bend. This device is great 2 carry in your pocket, it's solid. It also comes with truecrypt which I'm really happy with, you don't have 2 partition your hadrdrive, you basically have a fully encrypted file on your drive that you mount as a separate drive on your computer. The other nice thing is that you can create as many encrypted drives(files) as you need & as big as you need. Overall very happy with the product.

The outside is durable...after all it is a metal tube screwed shut.

In my opinion they should not have included the rubber rings. They are almost pointless & will only providing an itty bit of impact protection 4 a few degrees out of 360. It would have been much better 2 have saved that cost & extended the cap a bit with knurled aluminum 4 gripping. The rubber ring slips & the cap is a bit too short.

The holes that are drilled at either end 4 a ring/lanyard/chain are drilled a little too close 2 one side 4 me. The holes should be drilled as close 2 the chamfer surface as possible. This is aluminum, not steel.

The USB plug seems 2 be supported by the PCB, not by the case. Granted, it does not seem 2 bend easily, but Ill bet one good drop with most of the force getting absorbed by the solder joints will do it. I think they should have either used a unibody structure (plug & flash case combined), or stuck an epoxied plastic insert in the end instead of a tiny little rubber boot. I think they may mention the rubber boot as reducing vibration...naaaaa...I really don't think it does anything other than keep dust out.

Corsair, if you are reading this, you almost have something here, but you can do better. This is not a model of a good engineering process, this is more of a "wow, think if we did... & lets do .... Thats sounds great, lets do that..." Thats cool & all, but you missed some of the "simple, best, elegant" design goals. Fix it & you will have even more things you can say about it 4 marketing.

Conclusion: I like my little survivor drive & I will use it with the provided extension so I dont end up bending the plug while it is in my laptop. It certainly provides a more rugged alternative 2 what I have been using. They get three stars because, with just a little more work, they could have really gotten it. They really should have gotten it without changing the price.

Throw this drive around, but be careful with the inside. The inside is durable, but not as durable as it should be. I have the chain attached 2 the tube. I recommend you attach a small something 2 the cap/flash drive end 2 reduce the chance of dropping it (gives something 2 grab onto).

This may be a bit early since I just received the darn thing, but this is my 3rd flash drive in about a year & I don't see myself destroying this one as I have the others because it comes with a cord. You plug the drive into the cord & plug the cord into the PC. Because of this cord, I don't see me accidentally kicking the drive out of the PC ever again.

If you destroy drives on a fairly regular basis, do try this one.

Cosair Flash Survivor 4GB USB Flash Drive Flash Survivor is an extremely durable, water resistant, drop-tested flash USB memory drive. By design it is perfect 4 transporting valuable data such as personal files, photos & applications without having 2 worry about damage or loss of data due 2 the elements.