Introduction

Patriot has over 25 years of experience in the field of DRAM and flash memory. Headquartered in the United States, they promise leading quality without compromise. As with most memory manufacturers in recent years, Patriot is actively diversifying their line-up by offering other products in an attempt to lose their dependency on the volatile memory market.


Today, we are taking a look at their latest USB 3.0 flash drive - the Rage XT. The Rage line of drives is reserved for fast, high-performance parts, and it will be interesting to see how speedy this tiny iteration is.

Features:

• up to 180MB/s read
• up to 50MB/s write
• Durable design extends the life of your drive
• Rubber-coated housing protects this flash drive from drops, spills, and daily abuse.
• A retractable design protects the USB connector when the drive is not in use.

Packaging

Patriot ships the flash drive in a sealed, cardboard-backed package with a molded front that makes the entire drive visible. Interestingly enough, Patriot advertises speeds of up to 180 MB/s read and 50 MB/s write - pretty awesome for a device of this size. The nature of its packaging makes resealing it impossible once it has been opened.

A Closer Look

Patriot has constructed the Rage XT with materials similar to those in their bigger Rage drives. The drive can be dropped onto a hard surface or can even be stepped upon without much worry because of its rubber casing. You will find the Rage label and a mention of its capacity on one side. The other side is covered by XT in large letters. The blue and black color goes well with other high-end products by the company, like the Supersonic Magnum or Supersonic XT. Patriot does, while the USB 2.0 model of the Rage has the exact same casing in red instead of blue, leave out the XT with its 2.0 model.


One of the big advantages of the Rage XT is its size. It is much smaller than the Magnum and much shorter than a Supersonic drive, albeit a bit wider.


Another plus point is the recessed USB connector. It can simply be revealed by sliding the housing back until it covers the blue area of the drive. The serial number of the Rage XT has been laser-edged into the connector.


A tiny hole on the other end of the drive will allow you to put a noose through it to add the drive to your key chain or lanyard. The drive does not include a noose. Besides, a noose tends to break off rather easily.