When you think about the gear you need to get started in photography or videography, your mind immediately jumps to a camera, lenses, and maybe memory cards. However, if you’re a creative who is constantly on the road or traveling, having reliable, fast, Solid State Drives (SSD) is crucial for your creative workflow, as well as backing up, organizing, and protecting your content. The best part? They don’t require a charge, and work plugged in to any compatible device, so you don’t have to worry about another device to keep powered.
Now yes, there are other drives out there that are not SSD. While they are cheaper, they also have moving mechanical and magnetic parts that could be challenged by constant travel and wear, and are not as fast when it comes to reading speeds. SSDs, while more expensive, add a level of reliability, performance, and protection that is important, especially when it comes to protecting and backing up the valuable content you create.
So now that I’ve piqued your interest, which SSD drives are the best for travel? Typically, you are looking for drives that are both ultra portable, and reliably rugged, to handle any environment or destination you find yourself in. You want a drive that can perform fast, yet not weigh you down. So here are top solid state drives for traveling creatives. They offer all of these features, and truly are necessary to invest in when rounding out your travel kit.
And this World Backup Day (it’s March 31st, by the way), there’s no better time to make sure your valuable content is stored and safe.
Start with these drives that’ll give you the security of backed-up files and make it easy to travel, all in one package.
G-Technology G-Drive, R-Series Mobile SSDs (starting at )
The G-Technology G-Drive, R-Series mobile SSD is at the top of the list for a reason. It is a drive that is amazingly rugged and packed with incredible features. Not only is it shock-, vibration-, water-, and dust-resistant, but it is crushproof at over 1000 pounds of pressure and can withstand drops at up to three meters high. It has all this protection and still fits in your pocket. Now that is pretty impressive.
In addition to its incredibly tough build, the R-Series mobile SSDs are blazing fast, reading content at speeds of 560 MB/s, making it the fastest travel SSD on this list. However, while it is blazing fast, it won’t burn out, thanks to an aluminum core that protects the drive from overheating, so you can manage, organize, and edit content and maintain your creative workflow without any issues.
If you’re looking for an incredibly fast SSD that is built like a tank, but intelligently designed, the G-Technology G-Drive, R-Series SSD is one of the best SSDs you can buy today, and is perfect for the traveling creative.
SanDisk Extreme Portable USB 3.1 SSDs (starting at )
The SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD is another incredible option, and for good reason: it combines both ruggedness and ultra portability in one package. It is water-, dust-, and shock- resistant, and can withstand drops up to two meters high. Its performance and speed is second to none, at a blazing reading speed of 550 MB/s. However, it also comes in smaller than a smartphone, and can fit in your pocket. So you get an ultra portable, ultra performance SSD that can handle the toughest conditions in the field. That’s a combination that is hard to beat.
LaCie Rugged SSDs (starting at )
LaCie Rugged SSDs, with their distinctive bright orange protective bumpers, are trusted by most professionals, and for good reason. They are incredibly fast, reading at up to speeds of 510 MB/s, and offer USB-C and Thunderbolt 3.0 options, which means universal and speedy connectivity to your devices. LaCie Rugged SSDs are also water-, dust-, and shock-resistant as well, so you don’t have to worry when venturing out on your next adventure. If you go with a LaCie Rugged SSDs, you’ll never have to compromise on performance, compatibility, or durability, and they are a perfect option for the adventurous creative that needs the latest connectivity for their travel workflow.
Samsung T5 Portable SSD ()
The Samsung T5 has become another fan favorite over the years, due to its incredibly small and portable size. Averaging in at the size of a small stack of credit cards, it is the smallest SSD on this list, yet still provides powerhouse speed, at 540 MB/s. The T5 also is built in a beautiful metal casing that is modern and sleek, while still shock- and drop-resistant, at up to two meters.
However, the best feature of the Samsung T5 SSD is its ability to password protect your work. That is a feature that is important, and unique to the T5, making it a safe SSD to use when you travel.
Now, there are other great SSDs on the market, but if you’re looking for a portable, durable, and reliable option for your adventures and traveling needs, these four are truly the best in this category.
A travel SSD is an essential part to any creative’s travel kit, and with it, comes the peace of mind, organization, and power to edit on the go, while freeing up space on your devices. Check them out at Adorama.com today.
Feature photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash
