I’ve been a fan of SanDisk’s portable Extreme Pro SSDs for many years. When I travel with my laptop, I take a couple with me so I can back up my photos and videos each day. The ones I’ve been using transfer data up to 2,000 MB/s (sustainable read and write speed). They’re also very durable, with good water and dust resistance (IP65).

Because they’re fast, I actually use them to edit 4K videos from—even when I’m at home—getting better performance than doing so on my MacBook’s internal drive. So when SanDisk recently launched a new, faster version of these fabulous drives, I was a happy chappy.

An SSD is the perfect storage device for traveling. They are small, fanless, and don’t require external power. They’re perfect if you need to pull out your laptop and do some file backups or review and edit some video footage, in a coffee shop or airport.

The new SanDisk Extreme Pro portable SSDs are designed for USB 4.0, for photographers and filmmakers on the move who want high performance and durability. They are capable of achieving read speeds of up to 3,800 MB/s and write speeds of up to 3,700 MB/s. For those with USB 3.2 or USB 2.0, they won’t be as fast but are compatible and still offer great performance.

There are two versions available: a 2 TB and a 4 TB.

Like the older versions of these drives, they have a built-in loop designed to attach a carabiner, so you can secure your valuable data to your bag to help avoid it being stolen by pickpockets.

My Thoughts

As someone who does a lot of video work, faster SSDs are very useful. Invaluable, actually.

As I shoot higher-resolution video formats like ProRes, having a fast drive to back up my memory-intensive footage easily and quickly is essential.

As I do a lot of editing work on the drives with file sizes that are getting bigger because of camera capability improvements, I’m finding I need more than 4 TB sometimes, so an 8 TB version of this drive would have been a nice addition—particularly for those shooting 8K60 raw or on the road for weeks with a medium format camera. Maybe there’s one in the pipeline?

They’re very well made, with an aluminum casing and rubberized, shock-resistant shell. The older generation of Extreme Pro SSDs are approximately 4.25 x 2.25 inches and weigh 77.5 g. These new ones are noticeably bigger at approximately 5.5 x 2.5 inches, weighing 172 g.

The new USB 4.0 SSD is larger and heavier than the older USB 3.2 version.

SanDisk offers the best warranty in the business, at five years, and they’ve proven to be very reliable in my experience. Despite the increase in weight and size over the USB 3.2 version, a couple of them in your travel bag still make sense if you want fast and reliable backup and reassuring durability. The downside, for some people, is cost. They are pricier than the competitors. The 2TB version is $279.99, and the 4TB version is $429.99.

A SanDisk Extreme Pro SSD—whether you choose the USB 3.2 or new USB 4.0 version—is the perfect tool for the traveling creative.