Here at BFR we receive numerous review requests for USB gadgets and usually don't bite simply because they don't offer anything unique. Today we are reviewing not just a USB drive but rather a company, Promolocker, and it's product offerings. They specialize in making customized gadgets ranging from USB drives, to solar chargers, to MP3 players. Promolocker started in 2001 by building USB drives with a primary focus of offering a unique made to order product. In 2003 they expanded their lineup to even more products that companies can now have customized for promotional activites.

My experience in dealing with Promolocker has been excellent. I "tested" their service by working with a sales rep who was very responsive to emails. I worked with him to pick out the style of USB drive and design a virtual mockup.

I simply provided a high-res format of the Bonafide Reviews and ShopFiber logos and the rep whipped up a few high resolution images of what the drives would look like once produced. One mockup is shown above.

I had Promolocker create three different types of 2GB USB drives. The first contains the BFR logo.

The drive came packaged as shown above with a wrist strap included in the case.

Here's a couple close ups of the drive. One side contains the BFR logo printed on the site and the other contains a faint resemblence of the BFR logo. The reason is that this particular drive lights up when plugged in.

When plugged in, the drive lights up and shows off the previously hidden logo. It's actually really bright and looks pretty cool in the dark.

I also had them make up a couple samples of second type of drive, wood! The wood drive is really interesting, the logo is actually engraved into the side of the drive so there's no concern of it wearing off. The wood itself is very smooth and well finished. The top of the wood case has a small magnet in it that keeps the top on the drive securely.

The third type of drive created is the Metallic drive. As with the wood drive, the logo is laser engraved into both sides of the drive. It's fairly small and compact and fits nicely in the pocket.

Overall the quality of the drives is good. The laser engraving on the wood on metal is a nice touch that is sure to last a while. There are many options for customization including adding color to the logo's on the drives. Promolocker will also pre-load the drive with data or even add password protection, auto run, or partitioning to the drives.

One of the biggest things that attracted me to Promolocker's offering is the considerably low price for the drives. Of course it depends on how many you order but if you purchase 50 of any of the drives found on http://promolocker.com/product/custom-flash-drives-standard-2.html they go for $7.50 for a 1GB or $8.50 for a 2GB drive. The wood drives shown in this review are currently on special, 50 1GB for $9.75.

As far as promotional items go, $10 for a 1GB unique wooden USB drive is quite a good buy considering a custom t-shirt can cost just as much. If you asked someone if they would rather have a t-shirt or a USB drive, the latter would like be a very popular choice. If you are looking for a company to custom make some promotional items give Promolocker a try. They will assign a sales rep to you and develop a virtual blueprint of the product before it's made. In my experience the final product ended up looking almost exactly like the blueprint.