USB drives are the new deal in the world of portable information. No longer is it going to be briefcases full of files, but instead a little stick swinging or jingling with your keys. USB drives were once (and some still are) low-storage devices, but now they have pumped them up to be able to handle the gigabytes a normal computer system once carried. The only problem with USB drives is their fragility.

The Verbatim TUFF-‘N’-TINY not only effectively deals with the question of fragility, but it also solves the problem of my-USB-drive-is-not-small-enough. At 1.2×0.5×0.08 inches, the Verbatim TUFF-‘N’-TINY is small enough to slip through a small tear in a pocket. That being said, users who decide to dish out the $142.99 to buy the Verbatim TUFF-‘N’-TINY need to keep tabs on its whereabouts at all times.

The thing is super-small, rated as thin as a dime and smaller than a quarter. In tests carried out by company and users, the Verbatim TUFF-‘N’-TINY can withstand overt water exposure, dirt and sand contact, and an impact force of 5Gs. Of course, the size and weight of the little thing mean that any fear of damage by dropping it is unfounded.

What exactly is it that USBs have that is so important these days? The answer to that question is storage capacity. At the price users are paying, they’re getting a wicked 32 gigabytes of storage. Of course, they could spend $12.99, a fraction of the cost, for a Verbatim TUFF-‘N’-TINY flash drive of just 2 gigabytes.

With so much space to store music, video, or personal files, the Verbatim TUFF-‘N’-TINY needs a good set of security protocols to combat hacking in case of lose. The tiny drive is completely sealed in a red body unit, something called System In Package technology, but that’s only going to protect it from a dog’s bite. The price you pay is not only for the storage, but also for the data security. The crypto-chip is built into the device, and all the security information is stored within.

Verbatim’s V-Safe 100 Security Application requires you to immediately configure your private and public zones of the drive. The software is password sensitive but a shortcoming is that it only works on Windows applications, since the privacy zone needs the Windows app to function properly.

If having Windows is not a problem, the Verbatim TUFF-‘N’-TINY is a great buy. Although a third party hasn’t certified the company’s claims of durability (such as the ability to survive in freezing temperatures up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit), the Verbatim TUFF-‘N’-TINY has been through plenty of users’ washing machines and come out healthy.