GCN Lab Review: Olixir Mobile DataVault 2LE Hard Drive
THE OLIXIR 2LE is easily the most rugged drive we have ever
tested. In fact, it comes with multiple levels of armor.
The drive is protected with rubberized shock absorbers that
helped it dominate the standard mil-spec shock testing. But
military types can also feel safe when the drive is at its home
base. The 2LE drops into a metal safe that can be mounted into a
standard 5.25-inch drive slot on a desktop computer. When locked in
with a key, the 2LE is protected not only from shock but also from
theft.
The drive is a little heavy, at 12.5 ounces, though not overly
so. Most of the weight on the 250G drive is protection.
And what protection it has. We placed files onto the drive and
put it through the full milspec testing for shock, with drops all
the way up to 48 inches. This was done with the drive outside of
its data safe. At the end of the testing, the files were still
intact and the drive was fine.
According to the company, the 2LE can survive drops of six feet
directly onto concrete, so 48 inches onto plywood over concrete was
no problem. When inserted into the metal data safe, even another
level of protection envelopes it so that it could probably take a
serious shock wave and still be OK.
It achieved good rates on data transfer speeds, with averages of
450 megabits/ sec reads and 430 megabits/sec writes.
The one negative with the 2LE is the price. The government price
of $586 is a little expensive for a 250G drive, even with its
incredible level of ruggedness. We found other rugged 250G drives
for sale online for about $125, obviously without the extra drive
safe attachment. Granted, you can probably expect to pay more for
this level of protection, but you better really need it or you
might be overspending on your storage.
Olixir Technologies, 800-719-0595 x102, www.olixir.com
About the Author
John Breeden II directs the GCN Lab.