Data Storage and Data Protection has become the necessity in the today’s world. Many would definitely prefer storing on cloud but how about if you got some important files worth of hundreds of gigabytes? Security and cost to it is your major concern then how can you overcome with it? The only solution to it would be getting an external hard disk drive from the market which has to ensure that it is hard enough to protect your data. There might be plenty of portable external hard drives in the market which claim to be rugged, for which, we have shortlisted some of the best rugged hard drives which assures to keep your data safe with better flexibility.

ioSafe Rugged Portable Hard Drive

ioSafe is one of the best rugged portable hard drive available in the  market. Its unique ‘Full Metal Jacket’ technology involves a case made of solid base of aluminum alloys which enables to be crush-resistant up to 5,000 lbs, smash-proof up to 20 feet drops and can be kept under water up to 10 feet deep for three days. This lightweight rugged hard drive is capable of taking oil substances, hydraulic fluids and other chemicals up to one hour without any data loss and ensures to protect from extreme sunlight, rain, dust and ice and altitudes up to 30,000 feet.

This rugged hard drive gives an option of selecting 1TB standard hard drive or 512 GB solid state drive with USB 3.0 functionality for quick backing up files and the casing is included with Kensington lock which undoubtedly gives protection, even if it is lost to thieves. The range of data protection features is pretty impressive but it cannot ensure to protect data from extreme heat, it is expensive and besides it needs separate cable for USB 2.0 connection. In large file benchmarks, the write and read large files at 64 MB/s and 76 MB/s respectively, good performance but in that price range it has to be better. This ioSafe rugged portable hard drive might not be the best performer in the market but if data protection with broad range of security features is what you’re looking for then it’s worth your investment.

LaCie Rugged USB 3.0 Thunderbolt Hard Drive

This rugged USB3.0 Thunderbolt drive from Lacie is the third bus-powered Thunderbolt drive which comes with an option of SSD and Standard hard-drive. This new LaCie rugged hard drive comes with a removable bright-orange rubber protective case which covers just its edges, the drive is shock-resistant up to height of 1.2 meters, can withstand up to 1 ton of pressure and rain-resistant. When the rubber sleeve is removed, the drive seems to be very rugged thanks to its aluminum casing; the drive lacks the rounded corners and sleek design. It comes with micro-USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt ports, which can be used one at a time, if you mistakenly connect it to a computer using both USB and Thunderbolt then it won’t lead to any trouble rather it will connect to the host computer via the connection that was plugged in first.

It is preloaded with a standard suite of software with various features like automatic backup, one year online storage up to 10GB from Wuala, file encryption and an Eco power management utility though not so robust features comparing to what other drives offer. The good speed of read/write at 58.9MBps and 38.8 MBps with an affordable price and solid damage protection is one of the best portable drives available on the market with just an exception of SSD version offering only 120GB of storage space.

WD Nomad

The Rugged Case for Western Digital’s My Passport external portable hard drive is an affordable case, made of tough polycarbonate plastic and shock-absorbing elastomer cushion on the inside, sporting a heavy-duty latch and silicon liner that will seal out dirt, dust and moisture. The functional design also boasts of an opening for the drive’s USB connector, making it easy to access the drive even when it remains within the case but apparently if not taken care properly then the moisture and liquids can enter the case when the protective cable is opened and USB cable connected. For more protection, a molded exterior ring is added giving an option to attach a carabiner cable for convenient accessibility.

The My Passport Essential comes with 500 GB and a USB 3.0 interface, the Passport drive is well made where power supply is not required for it but the drive is not rugged or water-resistant, for protection the WD Nomad case is best option to use. The Nomad Case can be used only with the listed drives My Passport Essential, My Passport Essential SE, My Passport SE, My Passport Elite, My Passport for Mac and My Passport SE for Mac. My Passport Essential Comes with WD SmartWare software which can back up your data automatically and continuously with a password protection and hardware encryption feature. My Passport Essential 500 GB drive is a great product with affordable price but if you are a traveler and protection is in your concerned then WD Nomad Case can be the best combo to add up.