For years, IT geeks have been wearing USB flash drives proudly like 21st-century pocket protectors, occasionally dangling half a dozen unmatched drives around their necks. But expanded capacities, attractive designs, and lower prices have broadened their appeal far beyond geeks and desk jockeys. With new capacities topping 32GB, and prices on some dipping to under $2 per gigabyte, documents and system configuration files are being replaced by music libraries and entire system backups.

If you've been to a trade show or two, you probably have over a dozen USB flash drives, with some holding only 32MB. Chances are you haven't used them once, and likely never will, because in this day and age, a 32MB drive is worth little more than a good chuckle. That's no reason to shrug off flash drives altogether, though—larger drives, ranging from 4GB to 64GB, can be very useful.

With large capacities, flash drives have become staples for photographers, IT professionals, audiophiles, and even college students. Photographers can now back up days or weeks of photos on a single USB stick, perfect for vacation shoots. But with great capacity comes great responsibility: If you lose your flash drive, you lose everything on it.

If you choose a USB flash drive that includes a lanyard or a carrying case, you're far more likely to misplace the drive than actually lose it. Even so, put an easy-to-identify text file with your contact information on the drive's root directory, and affix your printed e-mail address or phone number to the bottom of the drive. The low cost of flash drives makes it more likely that a Good Samaritan will return the drive.

USB caps are also easy to lose, though they're necessary to help protect your drive from the elements. (At least one drive, the Corsair Flash Survivor (32GB), can withstand particularly rugged conditions, including stints underwater—provided its cap is tightly in place.) Some drives, such as the SanDisk Extreme Cruzer Contour, include built-in covers to protect the drive's USB connector, making lost caps a thing of the past. If you're prone to losing accessories, consider a drive with a built-in cover.

Size is also a major factor in the search for the perfect USB drive. While a smaller drive may be easier to lose, many are nonetheless too wide to be practical for most users. Wide drives often end up blocking a second USB port, especially on a laptop. If size is a top priority, the OCZ Rally2, our Editors' Choice among 32GB USB flash drives, is a perfect choice: Apart from its other attributes, it's barely wider than its USB connector. Smaller drives may leave out features to stay slim, such as the eSATA connector included with the Kanguru e-Flash, or the built-in USB cover featured on the SanDisk Extreme Cruzer Contour.

A slim drive can still pack plenty of storage, but even power users may have room to spare on a 32GB drive. Don't fret—it's easy to put that extra space to good use. SanDisk's U3 software, included with the company's Cruzer Contour drives, enables users to install applications directly on the drive, letting you surf the Web or check your e-mail without ever using a computer's hard drive. Portable applications won't leave behind trails on a public computer, and they make traveling with your entire inbox and Web bookmarks as easy as ever. Simply plug in the drive and pick up where you left off. A variety of portable applications, ranging from Mozilla Firefox to FTP clients, are available for download.

If you don't want to pay the SanDisk drive's high premium ($115 street for 32GB), the free PortableApps.com suite lets you carry over a dozen applications on any flash drive, with dozens more available for free download. Our recent article, "Your Computing Life, on a USB Thumb Drive," provides a more detailed look at the benefits of portable applications.

USB flash drives are compatible with Windows, Mac OS, and Linux, and are useful for more than just storing data. In addition to running portable applications, many flash drives are compatible with Windows Vista ReadyBoost, enabling users to utilize available storage to reduce the time needed for launching applications. And since they're now selling at a small fraction of their cost just a few years ago, high-capacity USB flash drives are finally within reach of most consumers.

Featured in This Roundup:

Corsair Flash Survivor

$85 street
As its name suggests, the Corsair Flash Survivor is impervious to vibration, impact, and even water. It doesn't score high marks for performance, however, coming in dead last among 32GB flash drives.

Kanguru e-Flash

$120 street
This double-duty flash drive includes a USB 2.0 port on one end and an eSATA connector on the other. By far the largest of the bunch, the Kanguru e-Flash also offers the best performance.

Kingston DataTraveler 150

$60 street
You'll sacrifice a slim design and carrying case to get this bare-bones 32GB drive on the cheap, but the Kingston DataTraveler 150 can still keep up with the pack.

OCZ Rally2
 
$80 street
As our Editors' Choice among 32GB USB flash drives, the OCZ Rally2 is inexpensive, fast, and sexy.

SanDisk Extreme Cruzer Contour

$115 street
The SanDisk Extreme Cruzer Contour offers a sleek design and includes SanDisk's U3 software for running applications directly from the drive, but lagging performance makes it difficult to justify the high price.