Buffalo MiniStation Extreme USB 3.0 Hard Drive Review with Drop Test

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of portable hard drives on the market. Some are all about style, others extreme capacity but for most people it is how robust their mobile storage is that should matter. One company looking to provide reliable data transfer is Buffalo who have created their portable hard drive to US Military specification for ruggedness... so today we perform some drop tests to see if it can live up to those claims. Ever wondered if your drive can survive being dropped out of a 2 storey window?

Buffalo package their MiniStation Extreme in a box which allows us to clearly see the drive. Included with it is a software suite called "Buffalo Tools" which allow us to get the most from our device. These include file encryption (256-bit AES) a backup utility, Turbo PC EX for enhanced file transfer speeds and a Ramdisk Utility for creating a virtual hard disk.

Shown above is the MiniStation Extreme, in black with grey and red models also available (500GB/1TB). Buffalo bundle a USB extension cable and like the drive it is USB 3.0 capable. A cable neatly tucks away at the side of the drive when not in use and underneath it is a LED which lights up green when connected to USB 2.0 and blue when using 3.0.