[masraum]

I assume your question is directed more towards data storage and less towards the ruggedness of the drive itself which seems less important since the thing should just be sitting in a drawer.

If that's the case, then I'd have 2 copies, possibly kept in 2 different locations. You may also want to consider burning to a CD or DVD as a method of backup. Maybe a CD/DVD and a flash drive?

As far as ruggedness, there are some options out there these days that seem to fit the "extreme" bill.

I've got a buddy at work that's got one of these. Not much in the way of ruggedness specs other than saying 1500G and waterproof to 200ft, but they sure look the part.



Here's the Lacie "XtremKey", remember they hired Porsche to design a hard drive for them.


Some info from LaCie XtremKey – Most Rugged & Attractive USB Flash Drive Yet?

So let’s summarise that for you then. The New Lacie XtremKey can:

* Withstand a downward pressure of up to 10-tons
* Withstand temperatures of +200°C and -50°C
* Remain waterproof down to 100 metres
* Remain in tact after a 5 metre fall

In my short search of the Internet, I was not able to find anyone that had any sort of data integrity guaranty on a usb flash drive. It's not really that surprising. I don't expect you to have a problem, but it would be nice for this purpose. I can tell you that I have washed a flash drive in the wash, and not found it until after it had been dried, and it still works. I'd just get one (or a couple) from a reputable manufacturer.