The SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD is a portable external SSD, rugged and ready for adventure.

If you’re out and about and you need a durable SSD that is not just water and dust resistant, but also powerful and compact, SanDisk has an affordable offer through its Extreme Portable SSD.

The design of the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD 1TB is well thought out. There’s an orange plastic loop at the top right of the SSD which you can use it to attach it to keys or any item you want. Thanks to its IP55 and the rubber edges, along with the textured surface, the SSD drive from SanDisk is very easy to grip. And if you do drop it by mistake, the Extreme Portable SSD should do fine after 2m drops. Some might even confuse it with a Bluetooth speaker or other small cheap gadgets, which is great in reducing the odds of your drive being stolen.

Let’s take a closer look at the technical specifications, pros, and cons, and how well does SanDisk’s drive compare with the competition in our SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD 1TB Review.

SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD 1TB – TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

The drive comes in various size models, but we’ll talk about the 1TB model.

• Capacity: 1000GB / 1024GB
• Performance: 1,050 MB/s
• Controller: WD NVMe Architecture
• Flash: WD 64L TLC
• Interface: USB-C / USB 3.1 Gen 2
• Dimensions: Width: 26 in / Height: 0.4 in / Length: 4.34 in
• Weight: 79 g

We have mentioned the design of the SSD, but as you can see in the spec sheet, you will notice that the Extreme Portable SSD is also very small and lightweight. It will fit in your back pocket and it’s what makes it so popular on the market. In terms of portability, this drive is winning all points. But what about compatibility and speed?

SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD 1TB – Pros and Cons

+ Pros: great design, good GB/price value, great performance, water and dust resistant, 10Gbps data transfer rate

– Cons: not as fast as Samsung’s T5 (at the same price range), the physical port limits data transfer rate.

SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD 1TB  Design, Features, Performance, Price

Although the Extreme Portable SSD is a bit larger than the Samsung T5, the design is much better. With a good grip thanks to the texture and rounded corners, it is easy to find it in your bag. The large whole on the top-right corner is perfect to attach the SSD to a keychain.

You can see the USB Type-C port at the bottom right. The drive comes with an adapter for Type-A ports. If your port supports Gen 2 USBs, you’ll get the full performance.

In terms of performance, CrystalDiskMark 6 test results show the Extreme Portable SSD (560MBps – read; 501MBps – write) is equal in power as the Samsung T5. On to AS SSD 2.0 seek performance results, the Extreme Portable SSD (520MBps – sequential read; 452MBps – sequential write) is a little slower than the Samsung T5, and in 48GB copies, it’s again lagging behind Samsung T5.

SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD 1TB – Conclusion

Compared to the Samsung T5 in terms of performance, the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD is a bit slower. If you are looking for a fast drive, you can go for Samsung T5.

However, if you want an SSD for traveling, we recommend the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD 1TB, which is comfortable to use and a better fit for the outdoors thanks to the IP-rating.

For a great portable SSD with this design and performances, the SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD 1TB is a bargain at under $170 and with a 3-year warranty.