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A Closer Look:::...

I'm sure that if Corsair were able to better seal the lid this drive would be watertight, as it is you could probably get it damp or give it a quick (accidental) dip in shallow water without completely destroying it. Don't try it though, or at least get prepared to fork out for another if you do just in case I'm wrong.

The Drive - Front

The lid fits fairly securely thanks to the ribs inside, but for how long it stays a snug fit remains to be seen. It is rubber though so I suppose it should be good for a fair while.

The Drive - Front

It's a real shame Corsair couldn't come up with somewhere to store the lid after it's removed because you know damned well it's only a matter of time before it goes the way of every pen lid you've ever owned, floating around in limbo in that strange rupture in the space-time continuum reserved only for unsecured lids, important screws with one-off bastard threads and single socks from matching pairs.

On the supplied CD is a quick and handy little utility that lets you format or partition the drive, or even make it bootable if you like.

Utility - Options

Partitioning uses a simple slider idea whereby you decide how much of the available capacity remains accessible in the usual manner and how much becomes secured behind a password.

Utility - Partition

Utility - Partitioned

Once partitioned the "Set Password" option becomes available.

Utility - Partition

You can even specify a password hint to help you remember what you set it as.

Utility - Password Setting

You can format either volume individually if you've partitioned the drive. If not the option to format the secure volume is grayed out.

Utility - Format

Performance:::...

Performance measured under Sandra 2004 was simply excellent. While it was a touch lower than the reference DiskOnKey Classic 2.0 using tiny 512byte data chunks, the more sensible file sizes show where it really performs. Let's be honest, how many 512B files are you likely to be working with?

Next I performed a real world file copy and timed it. I used a Windows folder containing 2443 individual files totaling 479MB. It actually had a few more files in there but I removed some to bring them in under the Voyager's capacity.

Total time taken was 3 minutes and 14 seconds, or if you prefer, that's 194 seconds. This translates to about 2.47 Megabytes per second write speed which, considering the latency involved in writing so many small files is very impressive.

Conclusion

The 3DVelocity 'Dual Conclusions Concept' Explained: After discussing this concept with users as well as companies and vendors we work with, 3DVelocity have decided that where necessary we shall aim to introduce our 'Dual Conclusions Concept' to sum up our thoughts and impressions on the hardware we review. As the needs of the more experienced users and enthusiasts have increased, it has become more difficult to factor in all the aspects that such a user would find important, while also being fair to products that may lack these high end "bonus" capabilities but which still represent a very good buy for the more traditional and more prevalent mainstream user. The two categories we've used are:

The Mainstream User ~ The mainstream user is likely to put price, stock performance, value for money, reliability and/or warranty terms ahead of the need for hardware that operates beyond its design specifications. The mainstream user may be a PC novice or may be an experienced user, however their needs are clearly very different to those of the enthusiast, in that they want to buy products that operate efficiently and reliably within their advertised parameters.

The Enthusiast ~ The enthusiast cares about all the things that the mainstream user cares about but is more likely to accept a weakness in one or more of these things in exchange for some measure of performance or functionality beyond its design brief. For example, a high priced motherboard may be tolerated in exchange for unusually high levels of overclocking ability or alternatively an unusually large heat sink with a very poor fixing mechanism may be considered acceptable if it offers significantly superior cooling in return.

The Mainstream User ~

Shockproof, damp-proof, great performance, keen price, good capacities available, 10 year warranty, trusted manufacturer....I think you know where I'm going with this.

The outer casing will gather dust and smears, particularly in a pocket, but being rubber all it takes is a quick wipe with a damp cloth and it's as good as new again. Scratches are a little harder to wipe off so it's a fair compromise.

If you don't already own a Flash drive and are thinking about getting one, my own personal belief is that you'll have a struggle to buy better than the Voyager.

THE one to own.

	NA

The Enthusiast ~

Apart from the near-certainty that you're going to loose the lid, I really can't find much to gripe about that's worth page space.

Rubber armored for those clumsy moments and fully sealed to keep out the pocket fluff and stop that ugly "loose change battle-scarred" appearance that hard plastic Flash drives so often suffer from, it's only real failing for some will be the lack of a pocket clip.

The blue LED, while a minor pint really, undoubtedly gives it an element of street cred, as does the Corsair logo if it comes to it.

Great performance just about rounds up a really great little device that really deserves its asking price, a price that remains cheaper than many of its rivals proving you don't always have to pay a premium for a designer label.

Get one!

	NA

We're always looking for ways to make our reviews fairer. A Right To Reply gives the manufacturer or supplier of the product being reviewed a chance to make public comments on what we've said. They can explain perhaps why they've done the things we were unhappy with or blow their own trumpet over the things we loved. It's easy for us to pick a product apart but sometimes things are done a certain way for very specific reasons and here the company concerned can explain the reasoning behind their decisions.

Should Corsair decide to exercise their "Right To Reply", we'll publish their comments below: