Call me paranoid, overprepared, or perhaps even underprepared depending on your worldview; I don't want to be caught without a few things ready to go in the case of an emergency.
The bare minimum I'm leaving my house with when things go bad is a bug-out bag full of the items I need to survive in the near future. While the most important are food, tools, and first aid, I've also tucked away a Samsung T7 Shield external solid-state drive (SSD).
It's filled with survival manuals, books, reference documents, maps, and more (including all of Wikipedia) that will be useful if the internet is ever no longer accessible. We all take the internet for granted, and I don't want to be stuck wishing I could do one more search for some missing information.
Why the T7 Shield? It's a rugged SSD with all sorts of durability guarantees, and it's small and light enough that I don't notice it's there. The 2TB T7 Shield launched at about $285 and has slowly come down in price, but it's now down to just $149.99 at Amazon during Prime Day. Don't need the 2TB version? Amazon also has the 1TB model on sale for 41% off, bringing the total down to $100. Prime Day wraps up tonight, and you don't want to miss this deal.
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Why I'm using the T7 Shield SSD for my most important data
Samsung is a leading brand for internal and external storage, and you can often find its products whenever the best laptop accessories are mentioned. I've used countless Samsung storage solutions over the years, and I've never had issues with reliability and durability. It's our top rugged choice when it comes to the best external SSDs on the market.
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For this reason, I chose the Samsung T7 Shield as the external SSD to house what I deem the most important documents in case of an apocalyptic emergency. I sincerely hope that I never have to use them, but the maps, books, instructions, and documents I've loaded onto the drive will hopefully be enough to keep me alive should the internet be no longer accessible. I've even downloaded all of Wikipedia (somewhere around 25GB without media) in case I ever want to get nostalgic.
In my Samsung T7 Shield review, I discussed rugged features that make it stand out against a lot of the competition:
"Whereas the other T7 drives have a flat metal shell, this extra rubber is where most of the "rugged" aspect of the drive comes in. The T7 Shield weighs slightly more and its footprint is slightly larger (we're talking a comparison of millimeters), but it should be able to withstand a harsher environment. Whereas the standard T7 and T7 Touch each come with 2-meter (about 6.5 feet) drop resistance, the T7 Shield boosts it to 3 meters (about 10 feet) and adds IP65 water and dust resistance."
The drive includes 256-bit AES encryption with password protection, barring any intrusion without your consent. It's optional, and you can leave your survival docs open to anyone lucky enough to find them.
Transfer speeds are excellent, and you won't have to wait around while you move files back and forth. In my testing, I saw 1,064MB/s read and 958.7MB/s write, pulling ahead of Samsung's other T7 external drives.
I gave the T7 Shield a Windows Central Recommended Award in my review, and if I were to re-review it today it would receive a Best Award. My main gripes were the inclusion of only two capacities and the elevated price, but these have both been solved over time. You can find 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB sizes, and the 50% discount at Amazon for Prime Day is easy to swallow.
You need to be a Prime member to get the full 50% discount, but you can always sign up for a free 30-day trial, get the deal, and then cancel before it renews and charges your card.
