We've seen products like Silicon Memory's ClearLight range of portable hard drives before, yet the ClearLight has some of the most solid yet attractive plastic housing we've reviewed.
Encasing a 30GB 2.5in Hitachi notebook drive (running at 4,400rpm), the ClearLight reviewed came with dual FireWire ports, a funky blue activity LED and costs $405. There's a full range available from Silicon Memory, with USB 2.0 drives from $317, FireWire from $357, and USB/FireWire combo drives from $384. All use notebook disks running at 4,400rpm, so speed isn't the top feature.
Ruggedness on the other hand is a different matter. The casing may be clear plastic but it is solid to the touch and survived more than a bit of knocking about. It's also nice if you're the kind of person who loves to see the frenzied inactivity of chips, and the frenetic motionlessness of printed circuit boards.
On a bang-for-buck basis the ClearLight is a little pricey, yet if you value aesthetics and security over capacity then the ClearLight is the drive for you.