LaCie External Hard DriveAmazon
I ordered one of these drives to help me transition from a USB 2 to USB-C computer. Backwards compatible and so fast. As I phase out older drives that are larger in physical size but smaller in storage capacity, this is a convenient streamlined portable drive that can easily be stashed.
They also make a more rugged one with bumpers.

For those curious - my external hard drive of choice is the LaCie Porsche USB-C external hard drive. It comes in 1TB-5TB depending on your needs.

I chose it because it was USB-C compatible but also backwards compatible with a USB-3 cable si it was easy to transfer from an old machine to a new machine.

I don't like external drives that need an additional power source or that back-up constantly. My spouse had one that he assumed was writing and backing up, not only did the drive stop backing up, the whole thing failed. We sent it in it to the manufacturer and they couldn't resolve. All his photos from when he first started using a digital camera to 2017, poof, gone! I also don't like the idea of having an external drive constantly on my desk.

External drives are a somewhat personal choice and I honestly think it's more important that you decide on a method and maintain or update if needed, than it is which specific drive you use. At some point, it will fail, at some point the connection will become outdated. Don't just back it up on a drive and stuff it in a closet, or you'll be that person asking if anyone has a floppy drive adapter.

I have also used the LaCie Rugged, Seagate (they are now the same company) and Western Digital. For the ease of view or physical storage I prefer my drives to be similar in size so I can store them together.

If you are using a drive simply to transfer data, go buy any ol' cheap and easy thumb drive. But if you are trying to save precious memories, get a drive you can trust (maybe two, to store in different locations), put them in the cloud, and print them.

I publish gear reviews every Monday so you can get in gear (get it?) and start your week!