I have had the same Kingston DataTraveller DTSE9 since around 2010, when I was still in school. I've carried it on my keychain for at least 12 years and it still works, its "the old reliable".
That said, it's slow. Very slow. I use it mostly as a boot USB for Linux / Windows, so I need several sticks with decent random read speed, and decent write speed for when I update them.
My criteria were:
All-metal construction for durability, including the keychain loop
Sits well on a keychain next to keys
Reasonable speed, including random reads.
Testing method
I evaluated the sticks in two ways.
I ran CrystalDiskMark with 256 MiB (x5) configuration.
I also measured the angle at which the USB stick sits on a keyring. I found that several of them could not sit perpendicular to a keyring it because of their geometry, which makes it difficult to comfortably use them next to keys.
At the datum of 0 degrees, the key sits perpendicular to the keyring.
Results
The competitors
Here are the 6 main competitors in this space I bought.
All transfer units are in MB/s.
Product
Price (£)
Angle on keyring (0deg is best)
Sequential reads Q8T1
Sequential reads Q1T1
Random reads Q32T1
Random reads Q1T1
Sequential writes Q8T1
Sequential writes Q1T1
Random writes Q32T1
Random writes Q1T1
Corsair GTX 128GB
65 (256GB version)
0
470.214
429.330
157.436
19.390
436.990
414.201
166.829
38.937
Samsung Bar 64GB
10
55
305.424
305.268
14.517
13.428
36.434
36.247
20.537
21.619
Kingston DTSE9G3 64GB
11
0
246.705
244.496
13.756
13.028
100.236
110.054
0.484
0.474
Integral Arc 3
10
0
162.336
161.338
15.567
11.188
49.457
47.965
5.032
4.244
Kingston DataTraveller Micro 64GB
11
0
247.000
245.247
13.788
12.961
100.932
101.292
0.496
0.470
Sandisk Ultra Luxe 64GB
12
25
403.863
399.974
12.438
12.054
91.835
91.685
4.272
4.258
Some additional notes:
The Samsung Bar had really sharp corners. You might need to file them down like I did.
Corsair GTX: the 128GB version is no longer available and the lowest capacity is 256GB. It's more of a portable SSD in the form of a USB stick, which makes it really fast, but it's bulkier than a normal USB stick, though not by much. Often it takes up more than one USB port because it's wide. It's still very good and I recommend it.
Other devices
Some related products I own but don't qualify for this comparison but are offered up here for context.
Here's why they don't qualify.
Crucial P3 Plus: It's an NVME SSD. Can be made portable with a good enclosure, but too bulky for what I'm looking for.
Samsung 860 Evo: It's a SATA SSD, definitely not the right form factor.
Sandisk Ultra Curve: I bought this thinking it was made out of metal, but it was not. It's fairly flimsy plastic.
Kingston DTSE9 16GB: This is my old stick. The old reliable. No longer sold, but I've tested its successor.
Samsung SD Card: It's a 2016 MicroSD card connected to my PC via a MicroSD-SD adapter and a USB card reader. I included this as a meme.
Product
Sequential reads Q8T1
Sequential reads Q1T1
Random reads Q32T1
Random reads Q1T1
Sequential writes Q8T1
Sequential writes Q1T1
Random writes Q32T1
Random writes Q1T1
Crucial P3 Plus M.2 NVME 2TB
1598.227
1332.131
305.220
46.643
1560.989
1452.256
238.134
102.502
Samsung 860 Evo SATA 1TB
564.446
539.913
272.631
43.322
536.440
518.168
238.752
101.313
Sandisk Ultra Curve
160.091
158.859
9.271
9.043
58.680
60.377
2.902
3.209
Old Kingston DTSE9 16GB
18.452
18.220
8.473
8.096
13.626
13.629
0.115
0.026
Samsung Memory Pro Plus Micro SD Card
20.765
20.969
5.146
5.102
19.493
20.316
2.181
3.421
Conclusion
There are no clear winners in this fight.
The Corsair GTX is the fastest in all categories by a country mile, but has a larger form-factor than other entries and higher price. Very good, but not for everyone.
Samsung Bar has the fastest random writes, and decent performance in other metrics for its USB stick form factor, but sits awful on a keychain due to the angled hole.
The Integral Arc 3 has solid random performance, but worst sequential performance than the rest.
Sandisk Ultra Luxe gets the best overall balance of performance, but does not sit on the keychain super well.
The two Kingston's perform effectively the same, with the Micro being much more compact. That said, that can be a disadvantage on a keyring if there are adjacent items.
All competitors (bar the GTX) had similar random reads.
For me, I'd say the right choice is either the Kingston DTSE9G3. It's a nice upgrade over my old DTSE9 and sits nicely next to it's grandfather. If I needed any random writes though, for copying lots of small documents like code files, I'd pick the Integral Arc 3.
Oh my god, thank you so much for this. I have always had the hardest time finding these exact same requirements, and this is perfect. All metal construction and coexisting with keys has always been a priority for me, but it seems like everyone is inexplicably fine with copping out by just dangling their data on this flimsy little string tied to a brittle plastic case and I cannot understand it.
I'm not currently looking for one at this exact moment, but I will be returning here when I am. You're doing the lord's work out here!
Others have said this but THANK YOU SO MUCH! This is extremely valuable info for me as I pretty much only want full metal flash drives. I have a couple Samsung Bars, and I will absolutely snag a GTX.
My husband has had a metal USB stick that is shaped like a key and is very thin specifically for this purpose. I don't know the brand as it's not printed on it, but it's lasted him a long time and I would assume it to win this contest by a landslide. Excellent analysis, very interesting!
For reference, it looks like this (not the same brand):
Thanks for doing this! I've been pretty happy with my Samsung bar, considering how durable it's supposed to be, but it's great to hear about other options.
I had one Samsung Bar fail after two years, the second one still works.
At the moment I'm using a Philips Moon Edition USB stick but only since February. Can't speak for long term usage and didn't do any benchmark but I'm happy so far and the form factor would meet your criteria.
I didn't see anyone else say this so I'll chime in: when I've had to keep bulky things on a keyring (a CPR pocket mask comes to mind) I'll put it on its own small keyring and then hang that on the main keyring with the keys. It isn't a perfect solution, but it helps a lot.
you should check out the kingston SE9 G2. It has a smaller loop end and so it works way better on a keychain. unfortunately they didn't keep the feature for the G3.
Pro tip from me (a pro): Never buy flash drives that aren't one metal body. I have broke a 128GB flash drive simply by putting a tad bit too much pressure on it and misaligning the USB connector. It now doesn't work. I also injured one by misaligning the usb in the plastic case. It still works but isn't ideal.
Even if it is one plastic body, the plastic will chip away with insertions. My SanDisk Ultra Dual is in rough shape because of the weak plastic. Meanwhile my SanDisk Ultra Dual Luxe (the metal variant) is still pristine.
Also, don't buy cheap flash drives if you wish to use them frequently. They have terribly slow speeds even if they use a USB 3.0 interface. They might work okay as install media which you only need to use every few months or years, but they have painfully slow write speeds.
Edit: Yes, I know the metal drives have thermal issues. But thermal issues are better then losing the entire drive because the casing chips away and exposes the connector to things that eventually kill it.
Due my own personal bad habits, I fear I wouldn't see 12 years out of most of those because of the lack of caps. A lot of random stuff ends up in my pocket when I'm doing projects. Screws and other things that will not have happy fun times with bare type A pins.
This is an awesome analysis.
I need to make a plug for my favorite, the Kingston FCR-ML3C. Its a micro metal usbc /usbA micro SD card reader. I upgrade my Samsung micro SD in it every once in awhile for speed and space upgrades. It sits lovely on my ID badge (works on Keychain too) and it's a Swiss army type device that will work on whatever type of data port comes my way. Have used it for years and simply love it.
It's wild just how slow most thumb drives benchmark even with recent models, the Samsung Bar at 36MB/s is just ridiculous, that's 30 minutes of waiting to fill it up entirely!
I have a stick dangeling on my keychain too, also in heavy use. But due to my Mac-Friends i need one with usb-c.
So I settled for this:
The hinge is still holding on since almost a year. Also have two of those:
But they seem a lot cheaper, flimsier and I probably got ripped off by a dropshipper.
Havent benchmarked them, if anyone knows of a comparison as good as this one for "dual" usb sticks, let me know!
Thanks for the post! I'd be interested in having a similar analysis but with USB c's - I already have most my devices use it and I think it would be a nice future proofing. Then again for PC's specifically I think I would go with your recommendation as well. Also have a Kingston data traveler from way back and it's still slow and kickin. Thanks!
I also have a DTSE9 and it's been on my keychain for at least 10 years now :D
Recently I have just gotten 2 nvme ssd enclosures and have been very happily using them for the super quick image writes.
I just checked if there's some compact 2230 enclosures and some of those even have keychain attachment points.. they definitely are a bit bulky for a keychain but I'd argue they still are an option and will look similar to a keyfob :)
That Kingston DataTraveller I have as well and it's my ol' reliable from at least 9 years ago. For some reason PCs put up a fuss with recognizing other people's USBs at boot, I've never once had an issue with the Kingston.
It is true that it is slower but for a live distro, install and troubleshoot disk it does the job perfectly fine.
I replaced my old DataTraveler with a Samsung Bar and the angled hole isn't really that noticeable to me other than aesthetically being annoying to look at. I was initially concerned about that but it was the only all metal USB drive they had at Microcenter so I bit the bullet. I actually carried it around for like 2 weeks in my pocket and forgot about it until I noticed it was on there when I got my keys out at one point.
I've got a 128GB Kingston DTSE9G2 and it has served me very well for close to a decade. Shit's built like a tank and has sustained a lot of abuse being packed in my pocket with all the keys. Even survived a bike accident where I landed on the pocket (the pain was intolerable though...)
did any of them do the write fast for 5 seconds, then freeze for 10 seconds shit? that's the worst when a pendrive does that, and I've experienced that with multiple drives
beautiful post, thank you!! I've been using the same traveling USB for ages at this point and will probably upgrade soon, this research is super useful
I have a metal dual USB A & C microSD card reader on my keychain. It lets me swap out cards easily, and should it ever be damaged, the chances are slimmer that the tiny microSD will be destroyed.
Just a thought on random write: If you are using swap/page files, it may have more of an impact. Or if you are updating the system in place.
I have no clue whether updating by flashing a new system image would be treated as sequential or extracted randomly as individual files.
The Sandisk one got me filesystem corruption, since it's always super hot (especially in notebook) even in idle, to the point the controller shuts down for a second and the again on for a few. Put a tiny heatsink on it and it works since (although goofy).
With no clear winner in terms of performance, which one do you think has the most durable material? I have been using a Corsair Voyager mini for years, which I think has an aluminum shell, and it very quickly bent inward on the side that doesn’t have the contacts, usually I need to put a key or some other metal thing into the USB slot of the drive to re-flatten it before it can be plugged in.
Out of curiosity, could the Samsung and Sandisk not have been flipped over on the ring to fit at a better angle? I realize they'll run around the ring and be at the worse angle in your pocket from time to time but, I guess I'm just wondering how you made the measurement. The Samsung bar in the picture is at a solid 90 degrees to the GTX, which would be annoying as hell if the GTX was replaced by a set of keys lol
For durability and smallest features, a metal unibody types that don't have seams are great.
For performance, I opt to have an nvme SATA enclosure that is USB 3.1 capable. Copying 15 GB in a minute or 2 is so satisfying. Plus my god being able to easily change the nvme SATA drive on the fly if needed and it being able to go up to a few TB without loss of performance is just to good
For price, nothing beats free. Just don't expect much more than what you get.
I have had the Sandisk Ultra Luxe 512GB version for a few years now with Ventoy on it and have been very pleased with it. I keep a cheap USB-C to USB-A attached to it and that lets me use it with my phone or on any computer.