LaCie Rugged STMF1000400 external SSD 1 TB USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x2, 2000 MB/s

Reads of up to 2000 MB/s come through USB 3.2 Gen 2x2, the fastest variant of the USB 3.2 standard. For full speed, the computer port must support Gen 2x2 mode as well. The drive is also compatible with Thunderbolt 4 and USB 40 Gbit/s ports and works in older USB-C ports, but the speed depends on which USB mode the port supports. The manufacturer does not list a separate write speed.

This Rugged-series drive is meant for use away from the desk. The manufacturer rates the housing as drop, dust and water resistant, with an IP54 rating: the 5 stands for protection against dust and the 4 for protection against splashing water from any direction. It will cope with rain or a dusty location, but it is not designed to be submerged. The grey and orange housing is made of aluminium and plastic.

At 66.9 × 105.3 × 17.3 mm and 114 g, the drive slips into a jacket pocket, a camera bag or a backpack next to your laptop. The included USB-C cable lets you plug it straight into a current laptop or an iPad without an adapter. As an SSD with no moving parts, it is far less sensitive to knocks than a hard drive with spinning platters.

According to the manufacturer, the drive supports Windows, macOS and iPadOS. Plugged into an iPad's USB-C port, it adds storage you can move files to and open them from directly. If you switch the drive between a Mac and a Windows PC, format it with a file system both understand, such as exFAT. Formatting erases everything on the drive, so do it before first use.

1 TB holds the video and photos from several days of shooting or a full backup of one laptop. Fast reads help most when you edit straight from the drive: a video editor can read the files without copying them to the computer's internal drive first. Once the project is done, the drive becomes an archive or the backup drive for the next shoot.

Vloggers, videographers and photographers who move from shoot to shoot and need a fast drive that can take a knock; freelancers who carry projects between client and home; and iPad users who want extra room for their files and an easy way to carry them between devices.