There is one interesting new drive Blaustahl USB, that is based on FRAM (Ferroelectric RAM) that could last up to 200 years, but it can only store 8kb of data, that means only text files.
It is expected that future firmware updates are going to include encryption for better security.
The memory is characterized by high write speed and extremely high write retention, capable of withstanding one million billion read/write cycles. It seems to me that with a full flash drive capacity of 8kb, ultra-high write speeds will not be needed at all.
![Smiley](https://bitcointalk.org/Smileys/default/smiley.gif)
And also, you won’t rewrite the seed phrase one million billion times (x10
21).
![Smiley](https://bitcointalk.org/Smileys/default/smiley.gif)
Blaustahl USB really looks very interesting for storing seed phrases, considering that the device has a built-in text editor, accessible via PuTTY и Tera Term, the memory capacity is enough for this, and the device has a long resource for reliability and durability.
I am confused by the stated service life of the device of 200 years. About CD also claimed that data on them could be stored for up to 60 years, but as practice has shown, after a couple of years the data became unreadable. Even if the creators of Blaustahl USB made a 10-fold mistake, the device’s service life will still be an impressive 20 years. By then, technology will surely advance and more advanced devices will appear.
Not the cheapest alternative to flash drives for ~€30, but the declared reliability is captivating (together with encryption).
I'm not sure why the OP isn't considering USB external hard drives for backup purposes, because HDDs have a much better lifespan than the flash that you can find in a USB pen drive.
I know it may sound overkill based on the storage size, but you can easily bring the price down by buying like a 128GB drive. Or maybe even 64GB drives. They seem to be available on Amazon when I checked it.
This will also fit a Tails installation easily as well.
3.5 "HDDs have low write / read speeds, which is reflected in their “slowness”. And also, HDDs are inferior in overall dimensions, in other words, it bulky compared to flash drives. And don’t forget about the HDD’s sensitivity to shaking (due to the small gap between the physical disk and the read head), not to mention shocks and falls.