LaCie Rugged SSD Pro: External Thunderbolt/USB storage

An IP67 rating means creators in the wild can utilize this super fast, high-end storage without the attending worries.

- JON L.JACOBI

For many users, an IP67rated ruggedized portable SSD will be a rather expensive piece of storage overkill. However, for the adventurous few, the peace of mind LaCie’s Rugged SSD Pro will bring when you’re out in the world might well be worth the extra expense.

The grippy, silicon covering of the Rugged SSD Pro makes it one of my favorite external drives. That it’s very fast and can be used via Thunderbolt 3 or USB doesn’t hurt, either.

DESIGN AND SPECS

The LaCie Rugged SSD Pro is available in 1TB ($400) and 2TB ($700) capacities, the same prices as Samsung’s X5 (go.macworld. com/spx5). We tested the less capacious unit. The drive measures 3.85 inches by 2.55 inches, and is around 0.7-inch thick. Inside is a Seagate (LaCie’s parent company) FireCuda 510 (go.macworld.com/f510), four-lane, PCIe/NVMe SSD.

The single Type-C port is located on one of the longer edges and supports both USB 3.1 and Thunderbolt 3. USB 3.x Gen2 10GBps would be nice, but the cross-platform compatibility is a boon. The competing Samsung X5 is Thunderboltonly, which hampers its ability to use the drive on non-Mac computers. (You’ll need to format in exFAT to access the drive on both platforms, or use compatibility drivers such as those available from Paragon Software.)

Note: Use with USB Type-C to Type-A adapter cables is not supported. Type-C is required.