Portable Hard Drives

[Table 5]

I'm looking to get a new portable hardrive, and i have the following criteria:

1) It needs to be rugged and be able to withstand bumps and bruises. I don't care if it's ugly.
2) Atleast 100 gigs....more is welcome.
3) It's powered by the computer/laptop (i hate carrying around a power adapter)
4) As small as possible while still fulfilling the above three criteria.

Any suggestions?

I've had mixed results with Lacie All-Rugged...it worked for a year or so, then went dead. I replaced with a Glyph on the recommendation of a friend. A small drop later (from about 10", onto a desk) it's stopped working. They have good customer service so I'll be able to swap it out, but I'm looking to get something that can handle the stress of being banged around in my bag, and my occasional clumsiness.

[mykalberta]

I was going to suggest Lacie, no experience just from what I have heard. I cant really say I have done alot of research into rugged portable hard drives.

You may want to look for rugged enclosures then put an ssd into there?

[Table 5]

Hmm, havent really though of SSD actually. My guess is they will be really pricey, but that's not a bad suggestion!

[Table 5]

Anyone have any experience with ioSafe?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsaijC5jdP8

[DownhillGoat]

Anyone have any experience with ioSafe?
No, but now I want to shoot an HDD with an M16.

IIRC I had a 'rugged hard drive' review in one of my backpacking magazines. I'll see if I still have the issue.

[Hack&Lube]

If you want something that will resist shocks and without cable clutter, I would consider a low-performance 2.5" SSD (high performance would be wasted in an enclosure so you save money) in a USB 3.0 enclosure that has the USB cable built into it. I wouldn't buy a USB 2.0 device anymore if you have a 3.0 capable computer.

Something like this is pretty convenient to have no stupid cables.
http://www1.dealextreme.com/productimages/sku_41758_2.jpg

It all really depends on your budget. An expensive rugged case has to prevent shocks and vibrations from damaging a mechanical drive and will be big and heavy but an SSD doesn't need that as it has no mechanical parts. An el-cheapo metal case for $15 is perfectly fine. Furthermore, the chips of an SSD are already inside a casing as well.

[To Be Quite Honest]

Probably too much for you but I bought an external HDD docking station for my PC and I freaking love it. No more enclosures wasting my time. I just carry a HDD and the docking station where I go and plug the bad boy in. It's USB, Firewire, and SataII all in one. The only issue for you is bulk.

[Flaming Choy]

I'm not sure how rugged it is, but I think this meets your criteria and has a pretty good price.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136540&AID=10657534&PID=749547&SID=forums&nm_mc=AFC-C8junctionCA

[kirant]

I'm not sure how it handles bumps, but my NexStar works pretty well:
http://www.sysopt.com/img/2006/11/nexstar3-2.jpg

[BigDogg]

I've had mixed results with Lacie All-Rugged...it worked for a year or so, then went dead.

If it was within 2 years of the purchase date you should've been eligible for a warranty replacement. I've sold many of those drives and haven't had any come back failed. Sometimes you just get a lemon drive unfortunately.
The Rugged drive is a little pricey though, unless you need FW400/800.
I've sold tonnes of the Rikiki drives http://www.lacie.com/ca/products/product.htm?id=10460
Good price and fairly durable.