Kingston DataTraveler Max 256GB USB-C Flash Drive with USB 3.2 Gen 2 Performance, Black

Keeps up with my Samsung and Crucial external SSDs with similar speeds. Really impressed with it and wish I had purchased the larger size. I connect them all via a powered Thunderbolt hub to my laptop.

Your mileage may vary, but initial testing has gone very well in my niche application. I have a 2017 MacBook Pro (i5-7267U/8 GB RAM, four Thunderbolt 3 ports only) running Windows 10, and I am out of drive space, but I need to install some large software to take on the road with me. I was going to buy an external m.2 chassis, but I thought I would give this drive a try, instead, since it is about 1/3rd the price of what it would cost me to buy an external m.2 chassis, m.2 drive, and Thunderbolt 3 cable. It's also a small fraction of the size and weight.The software in question is already running on my 2022 desktop PC (Z690/i5-12600K/32 GB DDR5/Samsung 980PRO m.2 boot drive, Windows 11) from a 10 years old Kingston 240 GB SSDNow V300 SATA SSD that was pulled from my old Dell laptop. I ran CrystalDiskMark on the old drive in the new PC, because the software runs fine at that speed.The Kingston DataTraveler Max 256 GB is giving me about twice the speed in sequential read/write and about half the speed in random read/write. The SATA drive is NTFS, and the USB drive is exFAT, but that probably doesn't matter. As you can see from the CrystalDiskMark screenshot, I am pulling the advertised 1000 MB/s even from this relatively ancient and obsolete MacBook Pro, so it definitely works fine on a Thunderbolt 3 port using Apple's Boot Camp Windows drivers. I did not include a screenshot of the old drive's results, so as not to confuse people.This is probably going to be fine, but I am installing the software right now to see how well it actually runs on the MacBook Pro, running from the USB-C stick. It will take hours to install, since the developer specifies 140 GB of drive space, and my WiFi is only pulling about 100 Mb/s. If the software doesn't run very well, it will likely be more to do with the difference in memory, CPU, and GPU between the two machines, not the drive speed.Although Kingston is not the only brand of memory and storage I trust, I have relied on Kingston products for decades, and this product gives me every reason to extend that trust. The DDR5 RAM in my desktop PC is also Kingston.Update: After 3 weeks on the road, I can say this drive performed flawlessly in my application.

Pretty fast. I have a Mini pc and had to get an USB C to USB A adapter and both worked well. The need for the adapter is because I didn't fully reads the specs on the mini pc. The only USB C adapter was for the power.... Like the capacity. Plug and play Windows 11 Pro.

I bought an SSK 512GB 1000MB/s and a Kingston USB-C 256GB. The SSK is a little faster and cooler (43°C vs 66°C) after Crystal DiskMark test but three times heavier than the Kingston(33g vs 12g). The Kingston has a 2mm shorter USB-C end than the SSK and a body that is too wide, causing it to collide with another USB-C port next to it, making it impossible to charge through USB-C simultaneously.

Kingston is one of The Best producers.

Speed is very high but the metal used in the USB-C connector is thin and not very durable. Insert and removed with caution. Does not hold up to even medium use.

I didn't mind the design, but like others I use this for copying large files and the speed does slow like crazy. Also, I found it would arbitrarily trash a section of files (Windows would recover them in a folder with a name like "found.000" that contains useless information that was once my data. It only happens occasionally but never with the two high capacity SanDisk drivers I have used for 3 and 5 years. Who wants do guess when your data is trashed. I put the drive aside after I bought it in 9/2022 and now 1,5 years later contacted Kingston for a replacement (it has 5 year warranty). The tech support was very good and I'll revise this review if the new drive is better.

Very fast, good value, would purchase again