Ten Excellent Cheap Jump Drive Options
The Falling Prices of Jump (Flash) Drives
Jump drives, also known as a USB Flash Drives, are handy little things that let you easily backup, transfer, and store files in a nice portable place. They are great for anyone who wants to keep their data with them or needs the ability to grab (or give) data quickly from (to) friends. Best thing about it is that the prices of jump drives are always falling rapidly. Because of this it doesn’t make sense to spend more than $10-$30 on your flash drive (unless you want some sort of encrypted security device) because the ones that are $60 now will be $30 before you know it. So just buy in that $10-$30 range.
Also keep in mind that many stores will put Flash Drives on sale really cheap to get you in the store with the hopes you’ll buy something more expensive. So you might as well take advantage and pick up a nice cheap jump drive at one of these sales.
To help you out, here is a review of ten excellent cheap jump drives for you to look at.
Note: Prices will probably be outdated quite quickly, but the models will most likely stay the same.
Lexar JumpDrive FireFly
The Lexar JumpDrive Firefly is a tiny little flash drive that comes in several different colors and has a tight fitting clear plastic case over the USB section. It is a really compact drive for the same price as most other jump drives and hasn’t had any durability issues. The only problem might be that the loop to connect it to a keychain or lanyard is on the case not the flash drive part. You might find yourself losing the flash drive instead of the cap if you carry it around a lot.
Current Price: $20 for a 8 GB
SanDisk Cruzer
The SanDisk Cruzer has been a classic model for a long time now and I have personally had a few different ones (I keep upgrading size). The nice thing about these is the way they are retractable so you don’t have to worry about losing a cap or messing up a device that turns the USB around. Some people find this annoying though and there have been some durability and speed issues.
Current Price: $18 for 8 GB
Patriot Xporter
The Xporter XT Boost by Patriot is a popular choice on many large retail sites (it won the Customer Choice Aware 13 times on Newegg). It’s a pretty cool black and red flash drive with a rubber casing. Best part about it is that it’s suppose to transfer data faster than other flash drives. However, some people complained about durability issues and the rubber can get annoying if you keep it in your pocket.
Current Price: Around $20 for a 8 GB
Patriot Razzo Flash Drive
This is another popular cheap jump drive by Patriot. This one is metallic blue with a clear plastic cap, which unfortunately is easy to lose. There appears to be a few durability issues on the reviews but these are small compared to the number of satisfied customers. Guess it’s cool if you like blue–there aren’t any other colors to choose from.
Current Price: Around $20 for 8 GB
Corsair Survivor
The Corsair Survivor flash drive is meant to be a durable cheap jump drive that will survive your many encounters with the outside world (especially if you have it on your key chain). It is supposed to have some of the best durability out there–it can get wet, sit in a hot car, dropped, beaten, etc and still work. However, it is bulky for a flash drive and you’ll pay a little more for the same amount of memory.
Current Price: $30 for 8 GB
Kingston DataTraveler
This jump drive by Kingston is a really cheap option if you don’t care about looks. The little flash drive is your basic plastic square with some purple on the edges. Nothing particularly remarkable, but it’s cheap!
Current Price $10 for 4GB.
PNY Performance Edition
Ok, so this thing probably doesn’t classify as “cheap” since its price is actually quite high. But since you can still get one for around $30 you might as well know about it. If you want a flash drive that is really fast and don’t need much space, the PNY Performance Edition is the way to go. It’s really fast. Plus it has the cool spin around build to protect the USB side.
Price: 2GB for $30
HP v100w Flash Drive
HP sells a lot of these jump drives because you can buy them really cheap when you get any HP computer. They aren’t expensive on their own either and they are functional. The black casing looks nice but the cap might be easy to lose. Doesn’t seem to be many durability issues.
Current Price: 8 GB for $16
Transcend JetFlash
The Transcend JetFlash looks very similar to the HP flash drive. It has a glossy black casing with a removable cap. This cheap jump drive has a green strip in the middle which I suppose adds some style. However, the flash drive seems to have a few durability issues according to the reviews.
Current Price: 8 GB for $20.
Black Box Innovations Personal Pocket Safe
This jump drive from Black Box Innovations has a cool little lock feature. You have to input your code before you plug it in for the computer to recognize it. If you have some stuff you don’t want just anyone finding lying around this might be worth the extra cost. It won’t stop a good hacker or an FBI agent but might stop a nosy friend–although the face has “Classified” printed on the front which might make them extra curious. Oh, and don’t lose your code or you might just lose your data.
Current Price: 1GB for $20