Toshiba Canvio Flex 2TB

An excellent all–rounder with the best performance of all

All six of the drives performed well, and shouldn’t disappoint in use.

Considering compatibility, connectivity, cost and performance, the drive which came out top is Toshiba’s speedy Canvio Flex. At its best, when using the first and outermost 10% of its platter, it’s nearly half the speed of a more expensive SSD.

If the worst came to the worst, you could even install macOS on it and use it to start up your Mac.

If you’re looking for something more rugged, LaCie’s Mobile Drive is solid, and the SanDisk ArmorATD is fully armored, with a sealed port to keep the dirt out. But both suffer on performance. Also standing out from the crowd is

Verbatim’s swift Store ’n’ Go, for its two-year limited warranty (in the UK). Just a bit slower than Toshiba’s Canvio Flex, it has much to commend it although you might need to get your own cable to hook it up to a USB-C port.

Hard drives aren’t dead by any means, as these six show. Shop around and you should find a bargain.