Digital Trends

Corsair Flash Survivor (8GB)

July 25th, 2007 | by Jason Tomczak

Features and Design

The Survivor GT memory drive looks like a cross between a miniaturized Soviet nuke container and a tiny, cylindrical Zero Halliburton case. About the size of a lipstick case and constructed of CNC-milled aluminum, the Survivor GT weighs roughly 4 to 5 times more than other memory sticks. Normally, such a portly peripheral would raise instant doubt as to whether it would be worth carrying around. The Survivor GT, however, is built tough, rough, and ready for whatever grueling computing and data-storage experience you can imagine.

The Survivor GT has anti-shock protection, thanks to double-wall construction and rubber o-rings on the interior and exterior of the drive body. Thanks to the interior o-rings, the Survivor GT is water resistant to roughly 200 meters. (That's pretty deep for a flash drive — you could ostensibly use it as a fishing sinker!) One thing the Survivor GT cannot handle is extreme heat hot enough to melt plastic and chip components. So go hiking, swimming, diving, parachuting, or even skiing with the Survivor GT... just don't toss the drive into a camp fire or hot liquid magma (Dr. Evil voice).

Beyond the physical durability, the Survivor GT offers accelerated read/write speeds, boasting throughput 400% to 600% faster than average USB flash drives.

Included with the Survivor GT 8GB flash drive are a 25" USB extension cable and, believe it or not, a military-esque Corsair dog tag. Why a dog tag? It’s a reference to the Survivor GT packaging, which looks like something from Schwarzenegger's movie Commando (black background, red stencil lettering, camouflage accents, etc.). It's supposed to hint at a testosterone boost or something, when the really important issue is boosting data rates and safeguarding files.

The Survivor GT works equally well on Mac, PC, Linux, and other USB-friendly operating systems. 

The Corsair Flash Survivor outside of the protective case