A Rugged but Expensive External SSD

When filming a documentary in recent months, I needed an efficient way to share files with team members in the field. The SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable with USB4 is the fast, rugged, and compact external SSD that’s powered it all, even if it technically underperforms.

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Price and Availability

The SanDisk Extreme PRO with USB4 comes in two sizes: 2 TB ($291) and 4 TB ($446). Included in the box is a 1-foot USB-C to USB-C cable.

A Rock-Solid Beauty

With the SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable, form is function.

The drive is built to take a beating with its silicone exterior and internal aluminum chassis. This gives it both buoyancy and protection from penetrative damage to the SSD. SanDisk says it should be safe from falls of up to 6.5 feet, which isn’t something I was looking to test myself but is completely believable after trying a few much lower drops. It’s also waterproof, though that’s not something I tested whatsoever.

The Extreme PRO Portable also feels great to hold. It’s small enough to fit in one hand, not too heavy, and is afforded a non-slip grip by its silicone shell. I never had to worry about clumsily dropping this when passing it around. At the same time, the device’s 5-year warranty instills confidence that it wouldn’t suffer damage if clumsily dropped. Clumsy folk, rejoice.

When out on shoots, it’s a boon to be able to throw this in my bag—something that itself gets haphazardly thrown around at times—and never have to worry. Its slimness also meant that it never took up valuable space that my other gear needed. It’s everything I could ask for in a drive for this use-case.

Fast Enough, Even Though It Underperforms

SanDisk claims that the Extreme PRO Portable has read speeds of up to 3800 mb/s and write speeds of up to 3700 mb/s. Those numbers proved to be aspirational at best.

When testing a freshly reformatted drive with a 5 GB stress test using Blackmagic Disk Speed Test on my M2 Max MacBook Pro, I got an average read speed of just above 3000 mb/s and a write speed that oscillated on either side of 2250 mb/s. This was the only test I could run as my PC doesn’t have a USB4 port, but regardless, these numbers are an obvious far cry from SanDisk’s.

While I need to point out that the discrepancy is bordering on egregious, my personal experience was that this drive was perfectly fast for my needs. For example, a 10 GB video file took about 14 seconds to copy to the drive. This was plenty fast enough to quickly hand off files of significant size to a team member and vice versa. The only problem I encountered performance-wise was that the device could get hot after long transfers, but never enough that I was worried about its integrity.

You’ll need to judge yourself whether these speeds are fast enough for you, though I suspect they’ll be fast enough for most people. The one use-case SanDisk markets that I wouldn’t advise using this for is to run console games (you shouldn’t be using external drives for that anyway).

Do You Need a USB4 Drive?

The biggest question to ask yourself when considering the Extreme PRO Portable is whether you actually need to pay big bucks for a USB4 drive in the first place.

If you don’t have a computer with a USB4 port, don’t overspend on this for no gain. SanDisk offers this same design at lower speeds for much less money. For example, the USB 3.2 Gen 2 model is $166 for 2 TB compared to the $291 that the Extreme PRO Portable asks. Honestly, even if you do have a USB4-ready device, you may be perfectly fine with that slower (but still fast!) model.

You can also get USB4 drives from other companies that run at faster speeds than SanDisk’s. The reason to opt for this model is its on-the-go durability. That’s why I personally love it, but if you’re looking for a drive that won’t leave the house, you could probably get a bit more for your money.

Should You Buy the SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD With USB4?

I’ve gotten a lot of practical use out of the SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable with USB4. If you need a fast SSD that travels without worry and can afford to pay a premium, this is a worthwhile investment. SanDisk’s 5-year warranty helps guarantee that.

I can’t recommend it to everyone, though. If you’re looking for an external drive for the house, need faster read/write speeds, or don’t need speed at all, this is tougher to recommend. It’s a practical product for the right person, and either a superfluous or underwhelming one for everyone else.

Storage capacity

2 TB, 4 TB

Compatible Devices

Windows, Mac, Xbox Series S|X, PlayStation 5, a range of other USB-C devices

Brand

SanDisk

A USB4 external SSD with a rugged casing made of silicone and aluminum. It comes in 2 TB and 4 TB capacities, and has a 5-year warranty.