usb3 sticks as storage device?

[Sven Seynaeve]

Has anyone used new generation usb sticks with up to 1 tb space?

Are they reliable and safe?
Is there a downside besides the factor they are really portable and do have attractive storage space right now?

 

[Peter Stelzhammer]

Main down factor would be the speed (no chance against a real SSD, modern SATA hard drive [SATA-6G] or a RAID - as the limiting factors are the slower flash-chips that are used most of the time and as the Interface usually maxes out at USB 3.0 speed - which is also a more theoretical value that is only met if more then one factors are perfect in reality [the gap between theoretical and real transfer speeds or that between peak and average transfer speed is another topic tho])...
And not to forget the fact, that's pretty easy to just loose or (depending on the build quality) break these sticks

My rule:
As main- or safe-storage; No-go for me (maybe the ONLY exception would be if the source footage stays on the original RED MAG's all the time until the project is finished)! As 2nd/3rd backup or transfer-media (sharing/transferring footage); Why not!