CRU ToughTech Duo C Storage Enclosure (2x 2.5″ to USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C) Review

Storage bridges come in many varieties within the internal and external market segments. On the external side, they usually have one or more downstream SATA ports. The most popular uplink port is some sort of USB connection. USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C supports up to 10 Gbps of bandwidth, and also allows for higher power delivery compared to previous USB versions. This has enabled some unique products such as bus-powered RAID enclosures. Today, we are taking a look at one such product from CRU – the ToughTech Duo C. It supports two 2.5" SATA drive bays and has a USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C host interface. It can operate the two internal drives in RAID 0, RAID 1, JBOD, or SPAN configurations. The device can operate on bus power when used with the appropriate host, but, for wider compatibility, it also supports being powered externally. Read on to find out how the product fares in our evaluation as a storage bridge.