ioSafe announces Solo, the external, submersible, fire-proof HDD enclosure

The last time we heard from ioSafe they were taking 2.5-inch HDDs, wrapping them in armor, then stuffing them into 3.5-inch enclosures -- adding fire and water protection in a standard form factor. Now they've given up on the internal route and have gone for something a little larger and more durable, fitting Western Digital or Seagate disks into hardened external USB 2.0 cases capable of being submersed in ten feet of water for three days or surviving a raging inferno for 30 minutes. $199 gets you a 500GB model, but, since you'd probably have a hard time upgrading the drive in there without a jackhammer, we'd recommend going straight for the $349 1.5TB model -- early adopters get a tidy $50 off!

Update: Jason commented to let us know they also use Seagate drives.

[SolidElectronics @ Jan 13th 2009 3:14PM]

Honestly, I'm more afraid of Western Digital drives spontaneously breaking than fire or water damage.

[Jason @ Jan 13th 2009 3:22PM]

They actually use Seagate hard drives....if it does break at least you get the data recovery service with it.

[fuma @ Jan 13th 2009 3:48PM]

@Jason - Seagate (nor any oem manufacturer, AFAIK), will service 3rd party drives. They are coded and branded differently so even if you were to open it up and try to send the raw drive to them, they wont honor it.

[Murgen @ Jan 13th 2009 4:08PM]

Had WD drives for years and yet to have one fail on me. Personally I'd be reluctant to buy Seagate with the mess they made with their 1.5TB drive.

[Savona @ Jan 13th 2009 5:08PM]

Really, I would think the #1 killer of drives would be plain old failure. Now if this was a raid box with the indestructible enclosure, great.

[Jason @ Jan 14th 2009 8:48AM]

I should have clarified...what I was getting at is the data recovery service that comes with the purchase. $1,000 no questions asked...so even if the drive fails in a non-fire situation you are getting something. http://iosafe.com/disaster-recovery-service-details

[mere @ Jan 13th 2009 3:19PM]

add shock absorbers & i'm so with you

[Steve @ Jan 13th 2009 3:20PM]

"surviving a raging inferno for 30 minutes."

When was the last time that firefighters put out a "raging inferno" in 30 minutes?

[PyRo1509 @ Jan 13th 2009 3:27PM]

during the great 29 minute fire of 2005?

[jeremyturnley @ Jan 13th 2009 3:27PM]

My thoughts exactly. I keep getting this mental picture of my boss telling me to run into the flames and get the drive at the 25 minute mark.

[DueNorth @ Jan 13th 2009 3:27PM]

Unless the fire is started by your computer, 30 minutes is with DIRECT fire contact. So it "should" be enough time for most cases.

[Dualboot @ Jan 13th 2009 3:29PM]

That was Engadget's poetic license. They say it's for home use and business (probably small business).

If you really want to protect yourself from a raging inferno, you should probably get a backup device and a data safe that may be able to withstand the inferno. Probably not your average $350 solution though...

[Jordan @ Jan 13th 2009 5:44PM]

I can tell you, as a firefighter, that a fire that last 30 min is a really long fire. It either been put out, or burned out by then.

[Anthony @ Jan 13th 2009 4:44PM]

@Dualboot- I bought a $150 2hr, waterproof safe & every month or so I just backup all photos, videos, music, etc onto a 250gb drive & lock it up. Much less than this, but a little less convenient.

[kal326 @ Jan 13th 2009 5:13PM]

@Dualboot

If you really want to be safe, there is also offsite backup. Send the files over what ever connection you can an underground data center deep in a mountain. That or get a racing fire suit and a nice set of oven mits incase the fire dept can't get your place put out by the 25 minute mark. I'm just a little humored the visual of some body running around on fire with data backup box.....

[somedude @ Jan 13th 2009 3:27PM]

What about the raging inferno INSIDE the case?

[Taylor. Yes, Taylor. @ Jan 13th 2009 3:38PM]

What about a raging inferno in my pants?
-Taylor

[telepheedian @ Jan 13th 2009 5:00PM]

Taylor, time to do your homework. We're having dinner in an hour and I don't want you staying up late.

-Your Mom

[Mobius_1 @ Jan 13th 2009 8:31PM]

Now this is an example of how not to be a parent. Talk to your children face-to-face, just like real family members do. Restricting direct communication to the dinner table and internet discussion boards will greatly reduce the ability of a child to effectively communicate in person in the future.

And he might be watching porn.

[telepheedian @ Jan 14th 2009 12:31PM]

Thanks for the parenting advice, Mobius, I'll be sure to remember that when I become a parent.

[mere @ Jan 13th 2009 3:28PM]

but does it come with monster cable?

[Ben @ Jan 13th 2009 3:36PM]

Just a thought but how bout a service like backupmax.com or something? I mean seriously. Beats running back into that 29 minute fire for those drives...well lets just say you wont see ME running back into those flames. you can keep the drives!

[MRLN @ Jan 13th 2009 3:38PM]

Actually, they've set sea water on fire with high-frequency something, I can't remember.

If you are that prone to destroying your hard drive, then you probably shouldn't own one.

[Denver_80203 @ Jan 13th 2009 4:32PM]

"If you are that prone to destroying your hard drive, then you probably shouldn't own one"

Doubly so if you think a hard drive can't be destroyed. I've seen plenty go with no abuse at all.

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Jan 13th 2009 3:41PM]

Sentry Safe has been producing fire-safes for decades and makes a fireproof hard drive that us UL tested. Personally, I'd trust my data to them, their products are proven to survive the hottest of infernos. They are rated for 30minutes but have been known to survive 4+ hour blazes.

http://www.sentrysafe.com/products/dataProtectionSolutions.aspx

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Jan 13th 2009 3:47PM]

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11297015&search=sentry&Mo=9&cm_re=1_en-_-Top_Left_Nav-_-Top_search&lang=en-US&Nr=P_CatalogName:BC&Sp=S&N=5000043&whse=BC&Dx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=Text_Search&Dr=P_CatalogName:BC&Ne=4000000&D=sentry&Ntt=sentry&No=5&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1

[Jason @ Jan 13th 2009 4:10PM]

ioSafe vs.Sentry hard drive

A glorious internet search yields the following

A) Both ioSafe and Sentry have the the exact SAME fire rating....1550 for 30 minutes
B) Sentry has 250 GB for $399 (2.5 inch hard drive)
C) ioSafe has 1.5 TB for $299 (3.5 inch hard drive, 7200 RPM)
D) ioSafe has airflow cooling, Sentry does not
D) BOTH companies offer data recovery service

I suppose the real lesson is here is teaching people to actually backup to additional locations, isn't that the point of it all?

[I LOVE THE CAPS LOCK KEY @ Jan 13th 2009 4:18PM]

But the Sentry QA0121 can be found online for $129, which allows you to add your own HDD thus lowering the cost. And as a bonus, it will also keep your optical media protected in a fire.You pay more for Sentry in general, but you are getting a brand that has a long proven track record of producing products that do more than they were advertised to do. When it comes to data security and protection trust is worth more than money. There's nothing worse than seeing your data go up in smoke because you wanted to save $50.

http://www.sentrysafe.com/products/productDetail.aspx?s=275&WT.si_n=ShoppingCart&WT.si_p=CartView

[JamesR @ Jan 13th 2009 5:02PM]

I think the video review by the Wall Street Journal is proof enough that this thing works, plus it's a fraction of the cost with more storage.

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2009/01/09/ces-drowning-and-broiling-your-hard-drive/

[kitteh @ Jan 13th 2009 3:44PM]

FINALLY, SOMETHING TO PROTECT ALL MY LOLCAT IMAGES.

[Don Corleone @ Jan 13th 2009 3:58PM]

But will it blend?

[Brian @ Jan 13th 2009 6:20PM]

They sell Blendtec's at Costco too. Convenient.

[Murgen @ Jan 13th 2009 4:07PM]

Why not buy a Firepoof safe ($100ish), a HDD dock and 2 WD TB drives. About the same price as one of the TB drives. Backup your data to the HDDs and throw it in the safe. Plus a safe can store probably 10-15 drives.

[Matt @ Jan 13th 2009 5:26PM]

A fireproof safe won't do much for a hard drive. They work by keeping the inside under the burning point of paper. One of the ways they do so is releasing moisture into the compartment (iirc). Hard drives will be damaged at much lower temperatures than paper. You need a more expensive media safe to protect hard drives.

[Steve @ Jan 13th 2009 4:13PM]

Just upload your important data to the "cloud. It's free and as an added bonus clouds, by their vary nature, do not burn.

[Robert @ Jan 13th 2009 4:18PM]

Submersable?? Do you mean submersible?

[Jay Voorhees @ Jan 13th 2009 4:31PM]

At first I read "IsoSafe" which probably would have been easier to market now that I think about it.

[Jean @ Jan 13th 2009 4:32PM]

They had a demo at an off strip house in vegas ~ we videod and shot pictures of the whole throwing it in the pool and setting it on fire up to 1400 degrees and cutting it back open to retrieve the video...

http://www.notcot.com/archives/2009/01/iosafe_solo_flo.php

[Steve @ Jan 13th 2009 4:49PM]

i kan spel...
submersable....submersible
220, 221...whatever it takes

[Robert @ Jan 13th 2009 4:56PM]

So the 99% of the time when there ISN'T a fire is what I am more worried about...

ioSafe has air flow cooling, Sentry Safe does not.

Either way, I want RAID.

[ShadowMage @ Jan 13th 2009 5:26PM]

This is great! Now I can place my external nect to my pc where I store my bottle of lighter fluid and the bucket of water and not have to worry about my HDD being damaged...

[FILA @ Jan 13th 2009 5:38PM]

it is nice but not for me, anymore that is. I need a network connection, room for extra drives and need of backups for them. other then that its kinda cheap for a fire/water proof box and a 1.5 drive.

[will @ Jan 14th 2009 11:24AM]

It's great that it is waterproof and fireproof, but it is still prone to the basic mechanical failures that all hard drives eventually go through.

[nxp3 @ Jan 14th 2009 11:49AM]

I know for a fact that hard drive gets pretty hot. How does it handle the heat if its completely sealed.

[Jason @ Jan 14th 2009 1:56PM]

I agree about the drive cooling, but it looks like they solved that pretty well.
http://www.hddfiresafe.com/hard_drive/forced-air-flow-cooling-fan-system.htm

There are some great images here of the actual internal guts of this ioSafe hard drive: http://www.notcot.com/archives/2009/01/iosafe_solo_flo.php

[justin @ Jan 14th 2009 7:46PM]

fireproof great, submersible great but can it stream media to my xbox?

[Jason @ Jan 15th 2009 9:42AM]

You could probably you use a Belkin USB to network router http://catalog.belkin.com/IWCatProductPage.process?Product_Id=474683

or the LinkSys version http://www.linksysbycisco.com/US/en/products/WRT610N

Seems like an easy way to convert any USB hard drive to NAS.