So many people rely on flash drives to transport data from one machine to another. Transferring pictures, music, and more commonly now, video which we know, file sizes are getting bigger all the time. I shot my trip to Japan recently, and came back with 400GB of data. Granted this was all 4K video for a two week trip, but it’s still a lot.

And while file sizes are getting bigger, transfer times are also a constant reminder of this. Which is why USB 3.1 is the new norm, to be able to achieve higher transfer times so you’re not waiting around for your data. SanDisk has ensured this with their new SanDisk Extreme Go USB 3.1 Flash Drive.
It’s a small device, with a push lever to reveal the USB A connection. It’s covered in a plastic shell, but shouldn’t break if left in a backpack or similar. There’s a ring at the end so you can connect it to a keyring as well. But, on to transfer speeds, as this is the most important thing.

I have an Asus Prime Z370-A II motherboard, and on the back of that I have two USB 3.1 Gen 1 ports next to my Ethernet, so I used those to measure transfer speeds. Oh, and I formatted the stick to the default exFat format too. SanDisk are claiming up to 200MB/s read speed and 150MB/s write speed. In actual fact, using CrystalDisk I was getting a maximum of 179.53MB/s read and 154MB/s write speed.

So, to be honest with you, the SanDisk Extreme Go transfer speed is not too far off what is actually being claimed on the packaging which is unusual for a memory stick or storage device. Usually, those numbers are blown hugely out of proportion. For more information, head over to the Sandisk website.