LaCie Rugged Secure 2TB Review
LaCie is known for making rugged portable hard drives and have now released the Rugged Secure with USB-C. The orange rubber edges provide cushioning for the hard drive to resist decent falls. LaCie claim the device to be shockproof, rain resistant and pressure proof. We put it to the test to see how it went.
The Rugged Secure features USB-C input, which is great for all the new laptops and computers out there that have only USB-C inputs. However, it would have been nice to see a USB-C to USB A adapter, which we have seen with other LaCie/Seagate products.
The drive is aimed at those on the run, that need something reliable, decently sized but also indestructible (to an extent). LaCie claims that it is shockproof up to 1.2 metres, which is good to know given that most drops occur from around the waist area.
The Rugged Secure is also pressure proof.. LaCie claims it can be run over by a 1 tonne car! Although there aren’t many 1 tonne/1000kg cars out there, that is still very impressive.
The drive is compatible with both Windows and MAC and offers backup options including syncing files across multiple devices.
The dimensions of the Rugged Secure:
18.7mm x 86mm x 135m
The hard drive itself can actually pop out of the orange protective bit. When it is popped out, it is a plain silver portable hard drive. But obviously, if you are buying this for the ruggedness, keep the orange protective rubber on.
It is very well sized for a portable and rugged device and fits well in backpacks. It is very light and nimble which help with its durability.
This drive also comes with a few extra goodies:
– 1 month Adobe Creative Cloud – the full suite ($79.49 value)
– Seagate’s rescue recovery services
You will also get 2 years limited warranty by Seagate which is decent. We have seen Seagate and LaCie offer 3 years for other, more expensive products. But it is good to see warranties increasing. Seagate also provides 2 years of rescue data recovery services. This is all very impressive and we are happy to see these services provided with these products.
As a whole, the Rugged Secure is designed incredibly well. The rubber absorbs huge falls, much higher than 1.2 metres, but we would not recommend this. There is also an indicator light as per usual and the standard regulatory compliances, serial number/part number and capacity on the back.
Performance wise, we utilised the the BlackMagic disk speed test on a current generation iMac as well as a 2MB sequential test on a current model Lenovo Thinkpad laptop for Windows testing and for comparison purposes.
For comparison purposes, the Backup Plus Ultra Touch will be compared to our recently reviewed Seagate Backup Plus Portable 5TB.
In BlackMagic we recorded the following speeds:
Mac
LaCie Rugged Secure: 141.4MB/s read and 137.3MB/s write
Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Touch: 125.3MB/s read and 124MB/s write
Windows
LaCie Rugged Secure: 136.9MB/s read and 132.5MB/s write
Backup Plus Ultra Touch: 120.5MB/s read and 118.6MB/s write
This model tested, the 2TB model, is priced at AU$199.00 RRP.
Overall, the Rugged Secure provides the affordability of modern day hard drives, along with the durability of the rugged range. It does cost more than a normal portable HDD, but not nearly as much as a portable SSD. The added benefits of data recovery are great along with the peace of mind knowing that a few drops will not break this device.