Will I actually get 2000MB/s from this drive?

Only on a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 port, which is less common than it should be, especially on Macs. On a standard 10Gbps USB-C port you will see roughly half that. Check your computer's port specification before paying for the faster model, because the cheaper Extreme is a better buy on slower ports.

Can I edit 4K video directly from this SSD?

On a fast port, yes, comfortably, and that is the main practical reason to own it rather than a slower drive. Sustained rather than burst speed is what matters for editing, which is where the aluminium heatsink chassis earns its place.

Is one SSD enough for backing up a shoot?

No. One copy is not a backup, it is a single point of failure, and portable SSDs do fail. The working standard is a copy on the drive plus a second copy somewhere else before the cards are formatted, which is the discipline that separates people who have lost a project from people who have not.

How much storage do I need for a day of filming?

It depends on your bitrate and how much you actually roll, not on your camera model. Our media storage calculator takes your codec, resolution and hours and gives a real figure, and our recording bitrate calculator explains where the number comes from.

Is the encryption worth using?

If you carry client footage, yes. 256-bit AES hardware encryption with password protection is straightforward to enable and it is the difference between a lost drive being an inconvenience and being a disclosure problem. Just do not forget the password, because there is no recovery route.

SanDisk Extreme PRO Portable SSD Review: The Drive Footage Should Live On

Short answer

A 1TB NVMe portable drive quoting up to 2000MB/s, in a forged aluminium chassis that acts as a heatsink, with IP65 water and dust resistance and hardware encryption. Buy it as the drive your footage lands on and edits from in the field. Do not buy one and call it a backup, because a single copy of anything is not a backup and this is the mistake that ends projects.

Best field offload drive

SanDisk 1TB Extreme PRO Portable SSD, USB-C, up to 2000MB/s

~$238

A 1TB NVMe portable SSD rated to 2000MB/s read and write, in a forged aluminium heatsink chassis with IP65 protection, drop resistance and 256-bit AES hardware encryption.

Check price on Amazon

Specifications

Capacity	1TB
Quoted speed	Up to 2000MB/s read and write, based on SanDisk's internal testing
Interface	USB-C, USB 3.2 Gen 2x2
Chassis	Forged aluminium, acting as a heatsink for sustained speed
Protection	IP65 water and dust resistance, up to 3 metre drop protection
Security	Password protection with 256-bit AES hardware encryption
Extras	Carabiner loop, SanDisk Memory Zone app

Specifications above come from SanDisk's published specifications. Treat pricing as approximate, since Amazon pricing moves.

What it does well

The aluminium chassis is doing real work. Portable SSDs throttle when they get hot, and sustained transfer speed is what matters when you are dumping 400GB at the end of a day.
2000MB/s over USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 is fast enough to edit 4K directly from the drive without proxies on most systems.
IP65 and drop protection are the specifications that matter for a device that lives in a bag on a shoot rather than on a desk.
Hardware encryption, which is the honest answer when you are carrying somebody else's footage and their release forms.
A carabiner loop, which sounds like marketing until you clip it to a bag strap and stop worrying about it.

Where it falls short

2000MB/s requires a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 port. Many laptops, including a lot of Macs, do not have one, and on a 10Gbps port you will see roughly half the quoted speed. Check your port before you pay for the speed.
Quoted figures are burst figures from internal testing. Long sustained writes will be slower, which is exactly the workload you bought it for.
One drive is one copy. Every serious data loss story on a production starts with a single copy of the footage, and this drive does not change that arithmetic.
1TB fills faster than people expect with high-bitrate footage. Our media storage calculator will tell you whether 1TB covers your shoot or whether you need two.
Bus-powered drives draw from the laptop, so a long offload on battery costs you laptop runtime at the moment you need it.

What owners report

Owner reports are consistent that this drive is fast, runs cooler than plastic-shelled rivals and survives being treated like field equipment. Where reports diverge is speed, and almost every disappointed report traces back to a slower USB port rather than to the drive.

The other recurring theme, across portable SSDs generally rather than this model specifically, is that people who kept only one copy eventually regretted it. Treat the drive as fast working storage and keep a second copy somewhere else.

Who it suits

Anyone offloading cards in the field, where a fast drive shortens the part of the day nobody enjoys.
Editors working from a laptop who want to cut 4K without making proxies.
Shooters carrying client footage, who need the encryption.

Who should skip it

Anyone who intends this to be their only copy of anything.
Users on a 5 or 10Gbps USB port, who should buy the cheaper, slower model and spend the difference on a second drive.
Archive storage, where spinning disks or a network drive cost far less per terabyte.

Alternatives worth considering

Different Job

Delkin Devices POWER 512GB CFexpress Type B 4.0 Memory Card

~$280

The card records, the SSD stores. If you are choosing between them, work out whether your bottleneck is running out of card mid take or running out of somewhere to put the footage afterwards. They are not substitutes for one another.

Check price on Amazon

Buy This With It

ProGrade Digital CFexpress Type B Card Reader, USB 4.0

~$105

A fast drive fed by a slow reader offloads at the reader's speed. If your cards are CFexpress, a USB 4.0 reader is what lets the SSD run at the speed you paid for.

Check price on Amazon

Keep reading

This review draws on published specifications, manufacturer figures and the consensus of verified owner reviews. We have not tested this product ourselves, and we say so rather than implying otherwise. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Common questions

Will I actually get 2000MB/s from this drive?: Only on a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 port, which is less common than it should be, especially on Macs. On a standard 10Gbps USB-C port you will see roughly half that. Check your computer's port specification before paying for the faster model, because the cheaper Extreme is a better buy on slower ports.
Can I edit 4K video directly from this SSD?: On a fast port, yes, comfortably, and that is the main practical reason to own it rather than a slower drive. Sustained rather than burst speed is what matters for editing, which is where the aluminium heatsink chassis earns its place.
Is one SSD enough for backing up a shoot?: No. One copy is not a backup, it is a single point of failure, and portable SSDs do fail. The working standard is a copy on the drive plus a second copy somewhere else before the cards are formatted, which is the discipline that separates people who have lost a project from people who have not.
How much storage do I need for a day of filming?: It depends on your bitrate and how much you actually roll, not on your camera model. Our media storage calculator takes your codec, resolution and hours and gives a real figure, and our recording bitrate calculator explains where the number comes from.
Is the encryption worth using?: If you carry client footage, yes. 256-bit AES hardware encryption with password protection is straightforward to enable and it is the difference between a lost drive being an inconvenience and being a disclosure problem. Just do not forget the password, because there is no recovery route.

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