Staples Relay Flash Drive Too Vulnerable By Joan Young on Dec 28, 2008 - Updated Oct 15, 2011

This is handy, but didn't stand up well to the abuse anything on my key ring must endure.

This was the very first flash drive I ever bought, and I actually got it for free with an order of stuff from Staples. It only holds 256K of data, but that's an OK amount for stuff in a “hot file” sort of application.

The body of the drive swivels out from a somewhat protective cover. But the drive insert portion is not really capped, but only shielded. The whole thing is metal, with a short nylon lanyard attached to a ring. I had doubts right off the bat about how well it would hold up for me, being subjected to dirt and rough handling on my key ring. But I decided to try it because it was handy to keep a few files with me. And I lose anything that's not attached.

I've had it for about 4 years. This summer it began giving me errors. Still works most of the time, but how would you be able to count on it in a pinch? And, of course, by today's standards it is way too low on memory.

They actually still make this style in an 8 GB drive for $45. And I see some other brands that work the same way . But I can't recommend them. I think that it's just too easy for damage to occur. It's one thing for a free drive to fail. I'd sure feel differently about a $45 one with a lot of data on it!