LaCie Rugged SSD 1TB

LaCie has been an icon in the backup drive industry for a while and the Rugged series stands out in the crowd thanks to the very distinct design by Neil Poulton. The Orange bumper is extremely photogenic and you can spot a LaCie drive in all those Instagram photos with the travel gear laid out. You know what I`m talking about.

The LaCie Rugged SSD is the next step in the Rugged lineup moving from HDD to SSD.

I have tested the LaCie Rugged USB-C 1TB before and I had the privilege of getting my hands on the LaCie DJI Copilot 2TB and both of them have been outstanding. Let`s see if the LaCie Rugged SSD is a step up…

LaCie Rugged SSD Features

• Transfer and edit RAW 4K video with speeds of up to 950 MB/s
• USB Type-C interface
• IP67 waterproof rating
• 3-meter drop and two-tonne car crush resistance
• Protect projects with Seagate Secure encrypted USB drive technology
• 5-year Rescue Data Recovery Services
• Famous design by Neil Poulton

The most obvious difference you see when comparing with the HDD is the size. The SSD drives don’t have physically moving parts inside so they can be so much smaller and lighter. The Rugged SSD is extremely small and fits in your shirt pocket. The whole drive is now covered with the silicone rubber (instead of a round bumper on the HDD) so there is no risk of denting your drive.

The rubber gives the drive IP67 rating and can withstand drops from 3 meters. LaCie claims it can even deal with a two-tonne car driving over it with no issues – I chose not to try that out.

All you have on the drive (and all you need) is the USB-C connector port.

LaCie Rugged SSD Speed

It`s very obvious an SSD is going to outperform an HDD so there is no surprises there. The Rugged SSD can go up to 950 MB/s for 4k video transfer and as the cameras go up in resolution the file sizes go up so you need a fast drive to back up your data.

Here`s a comparison between the HDD and the new SSD drives using CrystalDiskMark disk benchmark software.

As you can clearly see there is not even a question who wins – an SSD always wins. Of course, the speed varies on what files and how many of them are being transferred. For example on large video file of 10GB takes less time than thousands of images in different folders that take up the same 10GB. This is especially true for HDD drives.

Size does matter!

The best things come in small packages right 😉 ? Well the LaCie Rugged SSD is as small as they come and this is another massive advantage to the HDD drives – the small size.

The Rugged SSD:

9.5cm x 6.4cm x 1.5cm

Rugged HDD:

13.5cm x 8.5cm x 2cm

The difference is pretty substantial if you carry the drive around with you. The Rugged SSD fits even in your shirt pocket and takes up almost no space in your gear bag. And when traveling with low-budget airlines where the cabin baggage limit is ridiculously small every inch and every gram you can spare helps.

If you pair your LaCie Rugged SSD with the Gnarbox, for example, you have the ultimate backup setup for traveling or working at home. You can back up and validate every single photo or video you have onto the LaCie drive and rest assured. Using an SSD drive makes the backup process fast and doesn’t require too much power.

LaCie Rugged SSD Conclusion

An external drive is a pretty simple product on the outside- It`s just a brick with a USB port right. But in reality, there’s so much more to it.

You have to consider the design! There are countless of small SSD drives but the unique design that separates the LaCie Rugged series drives from all others also keeps it safe. The orange rubber has become a legend and somewhat of a cult object. Every other photographer or videographer has that tiny orange superstar shining in between the usual black tech gear. Absolutely 10 points to the design!

The speed you get from such a tiny drive is impressive. Once you go SSD you NEVER go back! The traditional HDD drives are larger more fragile and susceptible to abuse and are way slower. In the year 2020, I don’t see why you wouldn’t get an SSD drive as the prices have really gone down since the technology first came available to the mainstream.

Most definitely the LaCie Rugged SSD is a MUST-HAVE in any photographer gear!

Get it from Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk