The bottom line is that the LaCie XtremKey is impressive. It stood up to just about all our attempts at destruction (we'll be honest--we were working up another ten or so).
But, in the end, you have to ask yourself the question: what's the point? As we've seen, in general, standard USB keys hold up fairly well to abuse. A quality metal model, in practical terms, is just as able to withstand the vicissitudes of the outside world as the LaCie model. Still it's a good product, reasonably fast, and all but indestructible.
It has two shortcomings, though: it's relatively bulky, and above all, it's expensive. The 8 GB version lists at $49.99, the 16 GB (the one we tested) at $79.99, the 32 GB at $139.99, and the 64 GB--an exceptional model, admittedly--at $249.99.
