If you’ve been on Earth during the last 20 years, chances are you’ve seen a LaCie Rugged hard drive. LaCie’s iconic orange-padded Rugged hard drives can be found unceremoniously stuffed in backpacks and commuter bags all around the world. Their reputation as student-proof workhorses has made them a fixture in creative industries and art schools. These ubiquitous little guys are drop-proof, weather-resistant, and come with a longer-than-average warranty that includes data recovery.
The latest addition to the family is the Rugged SSD4, which is functionally a Rugged Mini SSD that has been upgraded from a USB 3.2 to a USB4 40Gbps interface. The Rugged SSD4 retains the brushed aluminum frame and orange silicone shielding of its predecessor, along with nearly identical dimensions of 17.33mm x 66.87 mm x 105.34mm. It will be available in the same 1, 2, and 4TB capacities as the outgoing Mini SSD, while also maintaining similar price points.
A new transfer protocol might not sound exciting, but the USB4 40Gbps interface more than doubles the speed of earlier models—outpaced only by its Thunderbolt 5-powered sibling, the LaCie Rugged SSD Pro5. The SSD4’s diminutive dimensions and lightning-fast read write speeds make it a powerful option for content creators, especially those with a mobile-centric workflow. The drive is fast enough to record to and live-edit from, and small enough to keep in your pocket. However, to compete with other mobile drives, it might be time for LaCie to consider a MagSafe mount or, at the very least, start offering a longer cord.
LaCie Rugged SSD4 At A Glance
- Interface: USB4 (40 Gbps)
- Compatibility: USB 40Gbps, 20Gbps, 10Gbps, 5Gbps1, Thunderbolt 5, 4, and 3.
- Read Speed: up to 4000MB/s
- Dimensions L x W x D: 17.33mm/0.682in × 66.87mm/2.633in × 105.34mm/4.147in
- Weather Sealing: IP54-rated, 3m Shock resistance (drops), and 1-ton pressure resistance
- Warrenty: Three-year limited protection plan with Rescue Data Recovery Services
- Price: 1TB $119.99, 2TB $214.99, 4TB $399.99
Full disclosure: I went into this review with a positive bias. I’ve been using rugged drives since 2009, and since then, they’ve been the only portable hard drives that’ve never let me down. In fact, they’re the only ones I buy. To be fair, though, that mostly comes down to the Rugged line being one of the only hard drives with weather sealing. That said, the performance of the Rugged SSD4 caught me off guard. It’s one of the few portable hard drives I’ve used that have actually reached the advertised speeds. But more impressive than that was just how long it was able to sustain those speeds.
The advertised 4000 MB/s transfer speeds were easily achieved in testing, and not just for small transfers. I can’t say for sure what the cache size is on the 2 TB drive that LaCie provided, but the transfer speeds remained over 4K MB/s during the 32 GB tests in CrystalDiskMark and only started to decline slightly to 3.9K MB/s during the 64 GB tests.
In real-world testing, it took 31 seconds to transfer my 45 GB photo library to the SSD4 from an internal NVMe drive, achieving sustained speeds of 1.3 GB/s. The peak 4000 MB/s speed tapered off after the first 6GB, which means the cache size is somewhere between 4 and 6GB. As far as thermal performance goes—holy smokes—I had to repeat the library transfer 9 times before the drive exceeded the ambient temperature of the room (17 °C).
To test the SSD4’s chops for content creation, I hooked it up as the recording drive for a streaming setup. The drive was the capture point for an Atmos Ninja that was sending out 4K ProRes 4:2:2 footage. After an hour of recording, the Rugged SSD4 was warm, but not hot, and nowhere close to full. Which is perfect, and honestly, what I expected from a drive that was designed specifically for this kind of work.
“…the Rugged SSD4 is still the best option for securing your files.”
Where the Rugged SSD4 doesn’t get top marks, though, is for mobile content creation. Sure, it’s smaller than most other drives, but it’s just not as versatile as other micro drives like the TeamGroup PD20M Mag Portable SSD. The TeamGroup has a similar storage capacity, slightly slower speeds, and no environmental protection, but it has a built-in MagSafe mount. Even if it’s not attached to an iPhone, the drive can adhere to other items, such as camera cages, tripod heads, and other phones with metallic backings (although not as well). The Rugged SSD4 has no mounting options, making it a less compelling choice in the run-and-gun SSD space.
Complicating usability further is the short USB-C cord. I’ve used other drives that don’t have mounting options, but the typical hack is just placing it in your pocket and running the cord to your phone. It looks goofy, but it works. The tip-to-butt cord length of the Rugged SSD4 is approximately a foot, which is impractical in almost any scenario other than tethering to a laptop. This can obviously be solved by purchasing a longer cord, but it highlights that the tried-and-true Rugged design will need some updates soon if it’s to retain its spot as the go-to drive for content creators.
The Rugged SSD4 is an excellent update to the Rugged line. It delivers reliable 40GB/s speed to the tried-and-true Rugged Mini form factor, while still offering class-leading environmental protection. Its lack of mounting options and stout USB-C cord make it a less versatile option for content creation on the go, but if you don’t mind jerry-rigging it or purchasing a longer aftermarket cord, the Rugged SSD4 is still the best option for securing your files.
