CalDigit, manufacturers of professional quality storage solutions have released the CalDigit Tuff 2TB. A robust mobile hard drive with the latest USB 3.1 Type-C connection.
The CalDigit Tuff has a solid aluminium chassis and the traditional rubber bumber which has been adopted by most Pro HD manufactures (including Avastor and G-Technology) on their “field” drives versions.
Tuff Design
The CalDigit Tuff 2TB has been tested rigorously to military grade standards and is IP57 certified! This means that the drive can withstand a high level of maltreatment without failing.
The chassis is shock proof. Also Immersion protected, protected for up to 30 minutes of immersion in water up to 1 meter (3.28 ft).
Dust Protected, protection from solid particles will prevent dust and sand from damaging the drive.
USB 3.1 Interface
The CalDigit Tuff 2TB has adopted the latest USB 3.1 Type-C interface in align with the latest MAC Book Pro 2016. The latest Dell laptops will also be adopting this interface.
Universal Connection
The USB Type-C interface is also the same as the Thunderbolt 3 interface therefore uses the same cable. This should make life easier in the future as you will only need to carry one type of cable. Not a separate USB and Thunderbolt cable.
The Tuff drive is BUS powered via the interface cable so there is no need for an external power supply.
Transfer Speed
The 2TB HDD version of the CalDigit Tuff will provide transfer speeds up to 130MB/s provided you are connected to a USB 3.0 or Thunderbolt 3 computer. There is also soon to be a 1TB SSD version of the CalDigit Tuff which will provide transfer speeds of up to 550MB/s.
Backwards Compatible
The CalDigit Tuff is backwards compatible with older USB interfaces. Simply use the USB Type-C to USB Type-A cable to connect to traditional USB 3.0, USB 2.0 and USB 1.0 computers.
Multiple Colours
The CalDigit Tuff is available in multiple colours including; Orange, Black, Blue, Grey and Green. This is ideal if you wish to organise your media in terms of colour.
If filming on location you could colour co-ordinate your drives e.g. use the black drives for all your audio files and blue for all your camera 1 footage, orange for camera 2 footage.
The Tuff drives are also stack-able, another handy design feature.
Archive Box
The CalDigit Tuff ships in a neat archive box which holds the drives and cables! Ideal for use when travelling, offering extra protection and also offers a neat stackable storage solution for storing in the office.
Final Thoughts
There are a lot of robust (location) hard drives to choose from in the market place. Including the original LaCie Rugged and also the G-Drive ev RaW, G-Drive ATC, Sony Mobile, Avastor PDX and Glyph Blackbox Pro.
The CalDigit Tuff does stand out due to the aluminium chassis which does feel solid and industrial and therefore protective. The USB Type-C interface and CalDigit Archive case are also great selling points. USB 3.1 being the latest connection and the archive box which holds the cables is also very useful.
Finally, the product is also great value for money. Definitely worth checking out if you are looking for dependable location/field hard drive.
