Corsair Flash Survivor (16GB) Review

Tough, lightweight, and featuring excellent read speed, the Corsair Flash Survivor is a very capable USB drive for klutzes and outdoor types alike. Priced for less than $50 at select online retailers, the Corsair Flash Survivor doesn’t offer security features, but casual users looking for large storage capacity should find it a worthy data transfer device.

Design

The Survivor feels like the Sherman tank of USB flash drives. At 3.3 x 0.9 x 0.9 inches, it’s longer and thicker than your typical flash drive, but with it comes Grade A protection. Its cylinder body is made of rock-solid, aircraft-grade aluminum that we couldn’t flex even when we tried to bend it with two hands, and the rubber collars safeguards it from shock damage. If those durability features aren’t enough, the Survivor is also water-resistant up to 200 meters courtesy of an EPDM waterproof seal. Corsair includes a USB extension cable as well.

Performance

Writing a 1GB video file to the 16GB drive took a lengthy 3 minutes and 18 seconds, or 5.1 MBps, which was nearly three times slower than the Kingston DataTraveler HyperX’ category-leading 15.0 MBps mark, and about 4 MBps slower than the flash drive average. Fortunately, the Survivor’s read speed was good; it read the same file in a lightning-fast 42 seconds, a rate of 24.3 MBps. While that’s about 3 MBps faster than the average, it’s 9 MBps slower than the OCZ Technology Rally2’s stellar 33.3-MBps performance. Unfortunately, while the Survivor is built to withstand a hurricane, it can’t keep hackers at bay, as it lacks encryption.

Verdict

We like that Corsair Flash Survivor boasts tough-as-nails physical durability, which is backed up a ten-year warranty, but its write speeds are subpar. If you don’t require breakneck performance, this USB drive is worth a look.