Is There Such a Thing as a Sturdy 2.5" External Enclosure?

[ArtShapiro]

2.5" external drives are a lot more portable than traditional 3.5" units; one can easily throw one into the laptop case or even one's shirt pocket.

Alas, compared to the typical physically-robust 3.5" enclosure, the 2.5" guys have been a disaster to me. They're typically a shell of aluminum, with two end-caps with protrusions at each end so that they can be screwed down into the shell. I've found that any sort of rough handling will break those tabs, and I've even had the crummily tack-soldered USB connections rip loose.

The IBM-branded one I bought from DealXtreme seemed much more solid, but the electronics in my particular sample failed within a couple of weeks and I ended up throwing it away.

Has anyone found a 2.5" external case that is able to take a reasonable amount of handling without falling apart? I'm happy to pay a few more bucks for something that can stand up to typical use.

Art

[Harryc]

I have one of these, and it's solid. It does have plastic end caps though. Gets good reviews.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... PHR-S250CC

[Temetka]

I have been using one of these for the last few years:

http://www.amazon.com/NexxTech-Storage- ... B0013G7S1Y

It has survived my T41p, my T60 and my X41T. I use on almost a daily basis and swap drives in and out of it at least once a month. I've had other enclosures fail and this little guy has just kept working. It's made of thin aluminum and feels pretty solid when assembled, but flimsy when empty. However considering the high rate of use and abuse I put mine through, I would buy another one in a heartbeat should it ever fail.

[ArtShapiro]

I was a little scared of Harry's recommendation, while appreciative; I must be a little tougher on the contraptions than he.

I just bought one of the NexxTech units for a whopping $8.69 on eBay, which includes California tax, so we'll see if its obviously-different construction can stand up to Arthurian abuse. Thanks for the recommendation.

Art

[ArtShapiro]

I have been using one of these for the last few years:
http://www.amazon.com/NexxTech-Storage- ... B0013G7S1Y

Nice unit - came today and is pry open rather than screw together. The instruction manual doesn't seem to remotely resemble reality with respect to the assembly. Looks like this will satisfy the requirements nicely. And it will be laughably easy to swap drives, given no screws anywhere.

Art

[tom lightbody]

the adaptec ACS-120 is quite tanklike: substantial aluminum extrusion,
one endcap fastened permanently, the other business end with 2 screws

[asiafish]

The G-Drive Mini is very sturdy. Has that "Mac Pro" cheesegrater look. Firewire 400, 800 and USB 2. I think they have an eSATA model now too.