I've always had a fondness for thumb drives, which is why I've historically been put off by even the best external SSDs. This isn't purely for the practicality of it, either; being able to move over data by simply swinging a pair of keys (or a lanyard if you're brave) around and plugging into a rig is something that appeals to me as a guy who wants to save the day. 'What day?' you may ask. Any, I say.

And flash drives have always just sort of been around me. Lumped into tech, or bought years prior, I've never struggled to find a tiny little drive to throw a couple of gigabytes of data onto. However, what has stopped me from actually investing in a good flash drive is how low and slow they are. Getting to something in a pinch seems much less cool when it takes you half a minute to actually move over the files.

After reading Ian's review, and checking out the performance figures for the Seagate Ultra Compact, I'm cautiously optimistic that really good thumb drives are finally back in the form of surprisingly strong external SSDs. And this one is so good we've now jammed it into our portable storage recommendations.

I've been using the Adata SD810, our current pick for the best external SSD, and though I'm a bit smitten, I would never dare to hang it around a pair of keys. The Ultra Compact, however, lives up to its name, with a truly tiny 70 x 20 x 12.5 mm frame, and a minscule weight of just 24 g.

That weight doesn't mean it's flimsy, though, with a metal frame, and surprisingly capacious storage (going all the way up to 2 TB). Flash Drives used to go as low as a mere 8 MB (though, in fairness, games didn't take up nearly 100 GB back then), so to think you could fit 250,000 of those 2003 flash drives into the Ultra Compact is astounding to me. At just shy of $100, it is a big cost commitment, but not quite as much as I'd originally thought, given not only how much bigger but also quicker this little SSD is. It gets transfer rates of 1000 MB/s, which is a far cry from the tens of MB you can expect from the flash drive in your closet.

This is still not majorly fast for speed expectations nowadays, and the fact that it sticks out from rigs at a 90-degree angle means you probably shouldn't make it your regular gaming SSD. The storage and speed you get out of the size have made it the best thumb drive replacement pick in our books, though.

Over on Reddit, there's a Subreddit dedicated to flashlights of all sizes, and every now and then, one post pops up that proves at least a decent chunk of the user base is just dying for the opportunity to show theirs off. Well, consider this my application for a r/thumbdrive, as I can't wait to bring one of these bad boys around in the future. I'm just holding out on a good sale first.

The quick list

The best external SSDs for gaming

The best overall

The SD810 offers some fantastic transfer speeds for a very reasonable cost. The icing on the cake is that it's also a dinky little drive that's dust- and water-resistant, making it very portable. It's simply a stellar all-rounder and should satisfy most gamers.

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The best budget

Now that the X9 costs barely more than our previous budget pick, the X6, it's here in its rightful spot. It's simple, understated, and very performant for a USB 3.2 Gen 2x1 drive. That goes for the 2 TB version that I tested and the 1 TB version, too.

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The best for video editing

The T9 is the best all-round external SSD for video editing, as it achieves fast peak transfer speeds, and even when those speeds drop they remain consistently high. It's also fairly rugged, meaning you don't have to worry about accidental bumps or drops when out on a shoot.

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The best USB4

Not everyone will be able to get the most out of this drive because it demands a USB4 port. However, if you have one, the Extreme Pro is incredibly speedy. You do have to enable on-drive write caching for its top speeds, which could risk data loss over unstable connections—but if it's raw speed you want, this is it.

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The best thumb drive replacement

The Ultra Compact is a fitting name, as this little Seagate drive can literally fit around your neck thanks to an included lanyard loop. I don't know who would want to wear a thumb drive around their neck, but this drive can slip into a pocket or backpack with ease, and it's pretty speedy while doing so.

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The best durable

I bet you didn't think the best rugged choice would also be one of the prettiest, yet LaCie's big blue drive does both, and is mighty fast in a Thunderbolt port (though a little slow on USB 3.2).

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The best budget durable

The T7 Shield has been out for a while, but it's still the most rugged and durable drive out there. Somewhat dust- and water-resistant, it has a hefty protective rubber casing. Oh, and it has some solid internals that allow for consistent transfer speeds, too.

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The best for backups

The Desk Drive is meant to remain, well, on your desk. Less of a portable drive and more of an external backup or media storage solution, it's reliable, consistent, and capacious.

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