Imation Clip 4 GB USB 2.0 Flash Drive

Comment: Several years ago I used to own a 1 Gbyte Lexar "jump" drive with a rubber-surround case that works like this one. I just loved it. I had that drive for years without loosing it once or having it malfunction once, with the drive being carried in my pocket on my keychain the whole time. I'm proof this concept works. Lexar stopped making that usb stick. I've never seen a stick since - until this one - that I felt would really last carried in a pocket on a keychain with keys, tools, flashlight, etc.

I'm impressed in every way with this Imation stick!

* The actual stick pops out of the rubber case when you bend the rubber, just like the Jump drive did. That means you don't have your entire keychain attached to your laptop when you plug the stick in, like you would with a pivot usb stick. The rubber is stiff enough, and the "nose" of the stick fits tightly in a rectangular hole in the rubber like the Jump drive did, that there is not much chance the stick would ever come out of the rubber case on its own, not even with a pocket full of stuff. I never once had the Jump drive pop out of its rubber case on its own.

* The USB stick itself is tiny - 1/3 the length of the old Jump drive - so its not going to get caught on things. Length was the one gripe I had about the old Jump drive.

* The software that comes with it works ***great*** to partition the drive in half (or however much you want to use) so that I have one public partition and one private password-protected partition. A 3rd grader could use this software - and probably has. :-) When you first plug the stick in all that is visible is the public partition, which includes a copy of their software. Initially the public partition is set to the full size of the stick. Once you run the software and log in with your password it switches over to the private partion. Stays that way until you do a proper "safe removal" with windows, then its back to the public partition.

The one slight problem is that the rubber case is large, especially at the end where you attach the mini-carabiner, and the carabiner makes it even larger. Using a metal ring or other attachment instead of the carabiner would make it a bit less bulky. The old Jump drive just had a rubber loop instead of the large ring, but then again that loop is the part that wore out every 1.5 years and I had to replace the rubber case (free from Lexar). This one probably won't have that problem.

If you want "rugged" for your keychain, this is your stick! If you want even more rugged, and waterproof, the only thing I'm aware of right now is the aluminum tube "survivor" from Corsair. That thing has a diameter the same as my pocket CR123A cell flashlight and is 50% longer. This drive would be more compact that the survivor, being flat instead of a tube.

My sole regret is the one everybody has after buying a memory stick: I wish I had paid the additional $10 to get the 8GB instead of the 4GB. :-) From the specs they are the same size. Remember that if you partition it in half, public and private, then each partition gets only half the total size.

Comment: My brother gave me a 4gb flash drive after Thanks Giving of 2008. It fried couple months ago and kept asking to format everytime I pluged it into different system. I called Imation Technical Support (open at 9am PST) and talked to a rep named Lester. I was hoping I could get a replacement but from the noisy background Mr. Lester told me: "I have a bad news, we can't replace your flash drive because you don't have a receipt proving where I made the purchase from." He also suggested me having it fixed when I can buy a new one for less than 10USD. US economy was in crisis but I don't think fixing the USB flash drive is that cheap! Really dissappointed! If you don't believe me, read their warranty statement on their website!

Comment: Works as advertised. 2nd one I've purchased. I use as key chain and daughter clips hers to her backpack. Some reviewers state that it will bend easily after a while due to constant removal from case, but I haven't noticed it. Daughter's had hers for quite some time and uses it daily with no problems. Imation software works fine, and like the password protection option. No regrets.

Comment: This is the best portable storage device I have found (and I've tried many of them). The rubber cover protects the USB connection and makes the drive easy to carry and to find. I own two of them that I use all the time; I also have purchased this clip drive as a gift that was very well received by the recipient.

Comment: Convenient size, nice little rubber case. Reads are nice and quick but writes were fairly slow. That said, it worked fine for carrying files around and for running PortableApps stuff.