Solo G3

A fire- and waterproof hard drive to keep your data safe

The ioSafe Solo G3 is a big hard drive (available in 2TB or 3TB configurations) designed to survive fire and flood – so if the work you do relies on safely stored data, it could be a lifesaver. It’s rated to withstand temperatures of up to 1550°F (around 840°C) for half an hour (or longer at lower temps), and can be dunked in up to 10 feet of water for 72 hours while keeping your data safe; while we didn’t test it to the absolute limit, it really works.

The unit is huge, and is extremely weighty – it’s large enough that accommodating it might be a genuine issue if you’re using it in the home, rather than in, say, an office space you’ve designed for it. The back offers a power plug and switch, a USB 3.0 socket, and a hole to let you either bolt the thing into wherever you’re going to keep it, or attach a lock of some kind. Basically, the Solo G3 wants to keep your data safe. The way it actually works is that the case is supposed to be broken by the fire – it’s ‘sacrificial’. The drive will survive, though, and ioSafe will collect the unit, recover the drive (there’s an optional monthly plan that includes data recovery services if needed) and send it back in a replacement unit. So, this drive costs a lot, but you get a kind of insurance policy with it.

It performs fairly well as a hard drive too – speeds of 170MB/s on average for larger file transfers are right up with the best hard disks we’ve seen. (Ours came formatted as NTFS, so you might need to reformat it.) Its cost means it simply won’t be a realistic option for everyone, but considering the protection level, if your files are vital to your livelihood, this is a great option. Matt Bolton

While the expense and size will put some off, if your data is truly precious to you, this is a great option.