Corsair Flash Voyager GTR Flash Drive Review

Flash drive capacities are growing larger and larger at 32GB and beyond, but with write speeds limited to around 17MB/s or less, you could be spending quite some time in order to fill a drive to capacity. Though this may not matter if you're only looking to move a few Excel files, if you need to move high resolution photos or HD video from place to place, you could be in for a world of hurt. Enter Corsair's Flash Voyager GTR series, billed as the fastest flash drives we'll likely ever see before USB 3.0 becomes the norm. With advertised write speeds of 28MB/s or greater, could these new drives actually put an end to all of the silent profanities? Can we hold Corsair to their numbers? Will my pocketbook spontaneously burst into flames? Discover the answers to these and more, after the jump.

Initial Thoughts on Design
Ah, the joys of rubber flash drives. Originally released in 2005, the Flash Voyager was widely hailed by ourselves and others as the nearly indestructible drive that was more than adept to survival. Since the new 32GB & 64GB Flash Voyager GTR uses more or less the same rubber design as all the predecessors leading up to it, I'll keep my focus on the various differences between new and old.

Measuring four inches long with the cap on, the Flash Voyager GTR is roughly an inch longer than the original series, and to some extent the rubber housing feels a bit less bouncy, but still durable enough for multi-story drops at the very least. The only disappointment to be found is the drive activity LED, which is notably dimmer than past designs and hardly visible unless you're looking straight at it. Moreover, the LED does not stay lit when there is no drive activity, which can be an issue for some individuals.

There's no doubt the 128GB Voyager GTR is the largest USB thumbdrive of all.

The Flash Voyager GTR 128GB model design has also seen some changes over its immediate predecessor, the GT of the same capacity. First and foremost, the drive's profile has transitioned from simply obtuse to angular and boxy, giving it a much more aggressive look to match the new yellow-jacket theme. The USB cap no longer fits on the end of the drive, but to be honest I don't really think this will be missed since it would interfere with the lanyard hole. Unlike the 32GB model, the LED is clearly bright and remains lit if the drive is left plugged in but inactive. To give you a better idea of the drive's footprint, here's a photo comparing it to a 4th generation iPod nano.

As far as USB ports are concerned, the 32GB Flash Voyager GTR is still too thick to accommodate any occupied USB ports that are vertically stacked, although any horizontal ports will be left accessible if not a tight squeeze. The 128GB model is just the opposite - obviously too wide for any neighboring ports horizontally, but just thin enough to make room for stacked USB ports. These minor setbacks can be easily overlooked, however, considering the added durability inherent in the rubber design along with the fact that Corsair includes a USB extension cable to help with crowding. A high quality lanyard is also included in the packaging.

Since there's really not much else to say about the appearance and functionality, I guess I'll just ad-lib about the new color scheme. ^_^ True, the bright yellow can be a bit gaudy if you're not thoroughly into heavy machinery or Hummer SUVs, but it all makes sense as soon as you use a sports car analogy. I'll explain... the standard blue Flash Voyager can easily be likened to an economy car that gets from point A to point B, complete with a modest blue paint job. At the next level, the red GT (now discontinued) is analogous to your red Mustang - faster than most, more costly, but leaving you burning with envy as soon as you're overtaken on the freeway. At the top of the food chain, I have the Flash Voyager GTR flash drive with its three first impressions of yellow, expensive, and mind-numbingly fast. Can you say Lamborghini? The bright yellow color also makes it harder to misplace the drive, but at the same time it presents a more alluring target to potential thieves.

Durability Tests
So far the rubber members of the Flash Voyager series has been drowned, laundered, subjected to an 18-month old, tossed, and run over by a SUV in a number of our own reviews. While our review samples survived everything short of being run over four times, another reviewer was able to successfully use the original Voyager after running it over with his car, and even went so far as to freeze, boil and toast it all to great success. So how will the Flash Voyager GTR live up to its abuse-filled expectations?

For starters, I did a simple drop test. Actually, it was more like a throw test. From a third story balcony. On to the concrete walkway below. Yeah... but hey, this *could* happen in everyday life, right? >_>

It lives! And bounces! Though the USB connector was now bent at a slight angle after having hit the concrete head-first, plugging the GTR into my PC as-is granted me full access to the contents of the drive.

Durability testing day also happened to be laundry day (when isn't it?), so for the second test I figured I'd expose the GTR to several minutes of sloshing cold water and laundry detergent, followed by a nice thirty minute heatwave. Let's just hope that this excursion won't be the Flash Voyager's last voyage.

Upon opening the dryer after a good 40 minutes on regular heat I was greeted to a very unpleasant surprise: the Flash Voyager GTR drive had dislodged itself from my pant pocket, jettisoned the USB cap, and decided to jump onto the frame of the dryer door with the USB plug facing down. Plugging the drive into my computer, I was at first greeted to a "You need to format the disk in drive F: before you can use it" error message of doom. Unplugging and replugging the drive would later lead to drivers for the USB controller being shown as installed, but without any disk inserted as if everything except the flash memory itself was working. The LED, once criticized for being inactive, was now flashing like there was no tomorrow. This can't be good.

Cutting open the rubber enclosure revealed the PCB coated in globs of silicone, but alas I couldn't find anything immediately wrong with the drive physically, let alone anything that could be fixed by an Average Joe like myself. As much as I love the new faster speeds of the GTR, I can't help but be somewhat disheartened to see the first Flash Voyager drive that wouldn't stand a load in the washer and dryer. *Sniff* Lesson learned: remember to check for $100 flash drives in all pant pockets before doing laundry.