CONCLUSION

   USB flash drives designed to offer high levels of data protection always suffer in the performance department and the Kingston DataTraveler Vault Privacy Edition is not an exception to that rule. However as you can see from the charts it did a lot better in read speeds than one of the most expensive and highest quality secure drives of our time, the IronKey Secure Drive (although the second did slightly better in write speeds). Unlike however the IronKey Secure Drive the DataTraveler Vault Privacy Edition has a much less rugged housing and to some people that just might be reason enough to choose something else. True such USB flash drives are mostly aimed at executives who may never require them to withstand harsh conditions and the DataTraveler Vault Privacy Edition does have an IEC 60529 IPX8 certified aluminum housing but I’d really like it to be just a tad tougher (Kingston does offer better secure solutions in that area).

   As we speak the Kingston DataTraveler Vault Privacy Edition 8GB USB flash drive retails for just USD33.49 inside the USA (Newegg) and at around 40Euros inside the EU. Granted with the same amount of cash you can get an 32GB USB 3.0 flash drive but for a hardware encrypted USB flash drive this price tag is actually very good if you take into account that currently the IronKey Secure Drive 4GB personal edition retails at around USD120/120Euros (it is however a much more complete solution, although slower). Bottom line if you don't require the best possible protection for your sensitive data and you also don't want to spend much in the process then the DataTraveler Vault Privacy Edition 8GB could be just the right solution for you and for that it comes highly recommended from us.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Performance (compared to other similar drives)
- Size
- AES-256 Hardware Encryption
- CBC Mode
- IEC 60529 IPX8 Certified

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Overall Performance