The CreateMate Memory Card Case Doubles as a High

The Pgytech CreateMate is a weather-resistant memory card case that doubles as a memory card reader, so your cards and the ability to offload data from them are never apart.

Usually photographers have to pick up both a good memory card case and a solid, high-speed card reader for working on location. The CreateMate bucks that expectation by attempting to cram that feature set into one product.

Made from a mix of materials including aluminum and "ruggedized rubber" for IP54-rated protection, the CreateMate is billed as an ideal accessory for photographers, action camera users, drone operators, or smartphone enthusiasts that offers a simple and easy-to-use design that supports several popular card types and promises extremely speedy data downloads, all from a single device.

"The card reader fits neatly into the rubberized carrying case, which can be attached via the included carabiner to a belt, pocket, inside jacket, or bag, ensuring it won't get lost," Pgytech says. "The case is IP54 rated to resist splashes, dirt, and the occasional, accidental drop."

As a card case, the CreateMate can store up to four microSD, four SD, and two Nano SIM cards at once. That's not a ton of card storage, unfortunately. That said, the company says that it includes a special ejecting pin that will allow photographers to easily remove cards without risking damage to them.

From a card reader perspective, the CreateMate can handle one SD and one microSD at a time and, using what Pgytech calls a high-performance USB 3.1 chip inside the card reader, is able to perform data transfers at up to 312 MB/s. Data transfer rate is going to rely entirely on how fast an SD or microSD can even offload data, and the max of 312 MB/s is likely to exceed most memory cards in use (v90 cards only promise sustained 90 MB/s speeds, for example).

The company says that CreateMate supports simultaneous data transfers when both SD and microSD cards are inserted, but doesn't say if that total MB/s bandwidth is the cap for both cards to share, which is likely.

The connection to a computer is provided by a fold-away USB-C cable and the connection allows it to work with Windows and Apple computers as well as some smartphones and tablets.

The Pgytech CreateMate High-Speed Card reader Case is available from the company's website for $40.

Image credits: Pgytech