SanDisk Extreme Go Flash Drive Review

We purchased the SanDisk Extreme Go Flash Drive so our expert reviewer could thoroughly test and assess it. Keep reading for our full product review.

SanDisk is a big name in USB flash drives, most of which are designed with a retractable connector (and an enjoyably clicky lever that pops it in and out of the casing). The SanDisk Extreme Go USB Flash Drive has this same design.

But the most important feature for any flash drive is the read and write speeds. Although our tests hit a bit under the advertised transfer speeds, we still came away very satisfied with the SanDisk Extreme Go’s performance with USB 3.0, making it an easy flash drive to recommend for regular data transfer.

Design: Lots of plastic

The SanDisk Extreme Go is encased in a bulky black plastic shell. The case feels hollow and cheap, almost like a toy that could be crushed just by squeezing it. At nearly three inches long, it’a almost twice the length of typical flash drives. A small key ring is included, though the drive’s large size precludes us from hooking it on to our car keys.

The top of the Extreme Go features a molded slider that extends and retracts the connector. It moves forward or backward with a satisfyingly loud click, and stays locked into its position (there’s a bit of give when slotting into a USB port, however).

While connected to a powered PC, a large blue LED light slowly blinks to indicate the USB drive is properly connected.

Ports: Compatible with USB 3.0

The SanDisk Extreme Go USB drive is built for USB 3.1 Gen 1 (USB 3.0), but also supports USB 2.0 slots.

The drive and SecureAccess encryption software support Windows Vista, 7, 8, 10, and Mac OS X (version 10.7 and up). SanDisk advertises the Extreme Go’s read speed up to 200 MB/s and write speed up to 150 MB/s.

Setup Process: Easily encrypt files with SecureAccess

The SanDisk Extreme Pro is ready to transfer files right out of the box, though we found its extra plastic packaging to be needlessly frustrating. With a default exFAT file system, you can instantly transfer larger files, like full-length HD movies, on both PC and Mac (X OS).

The Extreme Pro also comes loaded with SanDisk’s SecureAccess file encryption software by ENC Security. Using the software is entirely optional and requires no installation or downloads for Windows PC (Mac X OS requires a few extra steps). After setting up a password, SecureAccess resembles any other Windows-based transfer program, letting you explore files and folders and drag-and-drop as needed.

The program was intuitive to use, though we were annoyed that folder sizes weren’t shown, only individual file sizes—even then, they displayed in KB instead of MB. SecureAccess supports 128-bit AES encryption with the option to purchase the full ENC DataPro license for $14.99. The paid features include more advanced encryption and automated file backup and synchronization.

Performance: Slower than advertised, but still quite speedy

Transfer speed benchmarking program Crystal Disk Mark provided sequential read speeds of 120 MB/s and write speeds of 68 MB/s for the Extreme Go, far less than the 200 and 150 MB/s SanDisk advertises.

Our manual USB 3.0 tests proved far better. Writing a 1.1GB, 32-minute HD video to the USB only took about 10 seconds with a very satisfying 120 MB/s transfer speed. A full length HD film, Avengers: Infinity War, took about 40 seconds at the same speed, just like it says on the box. The read speeds were about the same as the benchmark, never surpassing 130 MB/s.

Transferring a folder full of media files can be a trickier test. We transferred a music folder full of over 1,800 music tracks, sorted and unsorted (a litter over 6GB). The write speed fluctuated wildly between 40 and 80 MB/s, taking a minute and 45 seconds to fully transfer, and nearly that long to read back to the PC.

Transfer speeds aren’t shown when using the SecureAccess encryption software, but a simple stopwatch test told us that transfer speeds slowed down considerably when being encrypted, or read from encryption. No matter the file type or size, it took about twice as long to use the encryption software to transfer files.

We also discovered an interesting quirk while testing the Extreme Pro — it didn’t play well with our Sabrent four-port USB hub, despite being connected to the USB 3.0 and its own external power source. When plugged into a port on the hub, our read and write speeds were capped at 20 MB/s, or about 20 percent of the usual speed. Only when plugged directly into the USB 3.0 port were we able to achieve the normal 120 MB/s transfer speeds. That’s something to consider if you use USB hubs on your 3.0 ports.

Price: Not too expensive, but not a great deal either

SanDisk sells the Extreme Go in a 64GB and 128GB versions, for $21.99 and $34.99 respectively. Neither one is a great deal, nor are they terribly overpriced. Price-wise, the Extreme Go sits comfortably among similar USB storage drives.

Competition: A cut above the rest

The SanDisk Extreme Go 64GB model costs almost twice as much as a Kingston Datatraveler with the same storage space, but the DataTraveler lacks file encryption, and in our review tests it barely achieved 10 percent of the transfer speed of the Extreme Go.

The Samsung BAR Plus is another competitor that advertises similar transfer speeds in a smaller metallic design. It costs slightly less, but also lacks file encryption options.

For the speed and extra features you get, the SanDisk Extreme Go is worth its mid-range price.

Similar Products We've Reviewed:

• SanDisk Extreme Pro Solid State Flash Drive
• Kingston DataTraveler SE9 G2
• SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive