You’d have to write hundreds of terabytes of data to even begin to wear out most SSDs, though, and few people approach that limit. Endurance: Flash-memory cells can be written to only so many times before wearing out.A portable SSD should also be sturdily built and not feel creaky or hollow. Since portable SSDs lack moving parts, they are less susceptible than mechanical drives to total failure when dropped, jostled, or subjected to changes in temperature or vibration. Reliability and toughness: A portable SSD must keep your data safe.