Transcend 1 TB StoreJet M3 Military Drop Tested USB 3.0 External Hard Drive (Review)

I admit, an external hard drive isn’t the ‘sexiest’ or most fun product you’re going to buy, but when you need it, it better work. The fact that Transcend’s 1 TB StoreJet M3 external hard drive features “Military-grade shock resistance” was too much for me to pass up considering it’s only about $10 more than Seagate’s 1 TB Backup Slim Plus on Amazon. I mean, shock resistance seems like a good feature to have on an external hard drive, and add in the “military-grade” to make me feel like the things I do in my life are so cool and intense, I better have stuff that could survive a ground invasion — how can I not buy this?

Transcend StoreJet 1TB Case and Weight

The first thing you’ll notice with the Transcend StoreJet M3 is the rubberized finish of its case. It’s obviously made to be slip resistant and definitely does that without being too rubbery. The next thing you’ll notice is the weight of the StoreJet, it’s fairly heavy for a portable external hard drive — Transcend’s Amazon listing for its 1TB StoreJet lists it at 7.7 ounces (compared to 6.4 ounces for Seagate’s Expansion 1TB) but it feels more than an ounce heavier to me. Still, since I’m not exactly taking this thing to the summit of Everest (although, it is “military-grade” and I do some awesome and intense activities… remember?), the extra ounce really isn’t going to make or break my assessment of this hard drive’s utility.

Data Transfer Speed

Backups are comparably fast to any other USB 3.0 drives I’ve used with TimeMachine on my Macbook Air. Transcend refers the StoreJet’s transfer rate quite emphatically on its product listing (below) — though to be fair, all the manufacturers come up with the same strangely hyped-up versions of their hard drives’ specs.

Incredible Ultra High Speeds

The StoreJet 25M3 portable hard drive is equipped with the next-generation SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface that provides transfer speeds at least 3X faster than USB 2.0 models. Thanks to the improved bandwidth of USB 3.0, the StoreJet 25M3 makes file sharing easier and quicker than ever with real-world transfer speeds of up to 90MB/s.

All this incredible, ultra high, SuperSeed talk only makes me thing of one thing:

But let’s get back on track…

Transcend’s StoreJet Durability and Reliability

I’ve had the my StoreJet hard drive for about 6 months now and it still looks completely new despite being thrown in my messenger bag or luggage without any protection — another benefit of the rubberized case finish. The USB port is still in great shape and I expect it to stay that way as it seems solid and well-assembled. The USB cord supplied with the hard drive isn’t anything special — just your average, cheap USB to micro-USB cable (I hope the cable doesn’t fail when I’m basejumping…) — but it does the job.

Would I buy Transcend’s StoreJet 1TB again?

All things considered, I’m pretty happy with the Transcend StoreJet and haven’t had any issues with it. Would I pay the extra $10 again for the “military-grade” versus a similar Seagate or WD? Probably. It’s not the literal military-grade part or the shock resistance, as much as those things lead to a product design (like using a rubberized, non-slip case versus a shiny, plastic case that gets scratched) that I still find benefit in — and for $10, I can feel like somehow my life is a little cooler. I mean, I do so many intense activities that I need a military-grade external hard drive…