CONCLUSION

   DataLocker is a name I’ve known for many years now so when they reached out and asked if I’d be interested in testing their products i had no reason to say no, quite the contrary actually. Now what makes the Sentry K300 stand out when compared to similar keypad USB flash drives is without doubt the combination of the OLED screen and the alphanumeric keypad which allow you to enter a password using both numbers and letters (harder to crack) and navigate the onboard menu. In terms of performance we had no problem surpassing the advertised speeds of the Sentry K300 64GB in ATTO, Crystal Disk Mark and Sisoftware Sandra Pro so no complaints here. As for its encryption capabilities we tried the same brute force methodologies as with previous reviews of similar products without luck. Once again however since we’re neither hackers or crackers and thus our knowledge in that field is limited, we can’t say with 100% certainty that these drives are foolproof and can withstand everything (still that’s something their certifications should guarantee).

   Currently the Sentry K300 64GB Secure Keypad Micro SSD Drive by DataLocker retails for USD196.87 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 272Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) a price tag which is right on par with what we’ve come to expect from keypad encrypted USB flash drives. The Sentry K300 however does have two aces up its sleeve, it’s OLED screen with the onboard menu functionality and the alphanumeric keypad so at least for most people it offers a better price/feature ratio than its competition. On the other hand, some of its competition does offer extra layers of protection (and some certifications along with them) so at the end of the day it all comes down to what you’d like most. Personally, I really liked using the Sentry K300, performance is there, most security layers are there as well and in terms of features the OLED screen and the alphanumeric keypad can really make things easier for you (and harder for others) and that’s why it clearly deserves our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality (IP57 Certified Enclosure)
- Security Measures (AES-XTS 256-bit Hardware Encryption / FIPS 197 Certified)
- Very Good Performance
- OLED Screen (Onboard Menu)
- Alphanumeric Keypad (Numbers & Letters For Password)
- Central Management Software (Extra)
- 3 Year Limited Warranty

CONS

- Price (For Some)
- Lacks Some Security Certifications