LaCie Rugged Pro5 SSD review: LaCie released one of the very first Thunderbolt 5 portable SSDs. With the release of the Rugged SSD Pro5, LaCie becomes one of the very first to release a Thunderbolt 5 device. We got one in our studio and we test it out with the latest Macs. This new pro-level portable storage device was first shown off at CES 2025. Fortunately, it was only a short time before it went up for order.
Apple was quick on the uptake of Thunderbolt 5 as the latest MacBook Pro and Mac mini support the stand. We had one of the latter on hand to test this out with. We a high amount of video and photo generation, we're always looking for new and diverse storage media. And Seagate-owned LaCie has always been on the top of our list. It's currently available in both 2TB and 4TB flavors and right now, we've been testing out the 2TB model.
Out of the box, er, gate, this looks like any other LaCie Rugged drive. While LaCie has introduced several form factors over the years, the Rugged line has always kept a familiar design. They used to look like a metal box with a rubber bumper around the edge. Starting with the last generation, they evolved to utilize NVMe media and are now entirely covered in silicone with no visible metal. In fact, when you compare it to the last-gen USB-C or Thunderbolt 4 model, it's basically identical except in a new blue color. We are partial to the iconic orange, especially as the blue is more likely to show dust.
You've got the LaCie logo on the top, with rounded edges that fits well into the palm of your hand. The underside has your serial number and regulatory details and "Designed by Neil Poulton" stamped into. Even though it looks the same — sans color change — it is a bit more durable than before. The resistance has increased from IP67 to IP68. Additionally, it's still able to withstand drops from up to three meters and can be even run over by a vehicle at up to 2 tons. We can confirm we did not test that last one!.
With IP ratings, the first number represents solids while the second is for liquid. So, IP67 promises to stop all dust ingress and can be dropped into water up to a meter deep and be ok. IP68 can be in a meter of water for up to 30 minutes and still come out unscathed and working properly. We can confirm we've put LaCie drives through the wringer over the years without issue. That tough shell. gives you the sense of durability.
We've never used it, but LaCie also continues to offer its rescue data recovery service. When you get the drive, you receive 5 years included should anything go wrong and you need assistance getting your data back. Of course, a certified Thunderbolt 5 cable is included in the box. It measures in at .3m, or roughly a foot. Let's talk speed. As we mentioned, we are testing the LaCie Rugged Pro5 SSD with the latest M4 Pro Mac mini. It has multiple Thunderbolt 5 ports, as does the latest-generation MacBook Pros.
Thunderbolt 5 is also backwards compatible, so if you have an older model, it will still work. Just at slower speeds. LaCie, in its lab testing with ideal circumstances, got numbers of 6,700MBps and 5,300MBps for read and write speeds respectively. It's never really possible to hit those max numbers in the real world, but the speeds were still impressive. Blackmagic gave us speeds of 4,757MBps read and 3,983MBps for write. When we ran AmorphousDiskMark with default settings of five passes of 1 GB and four tests.
At peak, it actually surpassed LaCie's speeds, yielding 7,012MBps and 5,451MBps on the read and write. But, as a fully enclosed drive, those numbers don't last long. The numbers dipped down towards the end of the AmorphousDiskMark test. We also transferred a large 100GB file to the SSD. This took a total of 52 seconds to transfer, which is strikingly fast. Even so, that averages to only 1,923MBps over the course of the whole transfer.
Other Thunderbolt 5 SSDs will likely able to offer higher sustained speeds and large file transfers if they are all metal, as it will help keep the heat down. Just for fun, we also tested this Thunderbolt 5 SSD on our M3 Max MacBook Pro which is only equipped with Thunderbolt 4. BlackMagic gave us 2,954MBps for the read speed and 2,566MBps for the write speed. As you can see, it's still a fast drive but the Thunderbolt 5 interface definitely affords higher performance.
Personally, we're OK with that dip in sustained performance for the added durability and design. We geek out about about storage devices probably more than your average user. We've been using LaCie drives for ages. There are these vivid memories we have, which are decades old at this point, of heading into the Apple Store — which at that point was a two-hour drive away. You'd be guaranteed to see the Geniuses walking around holding the raft-looking LaCie Rugged drives.
