Install Windows (or whatever) with this 32GB flash drive for a fiver

Look, everyone needs a flash drive. These things used to be the new hotness, back before email and cloud storage made them a bit irrelevant, but it's still jolly useful to have one on hand to install (or recover) an OS, play (legally) downloaded videos on your TV or just bring your presentation in without worrying about something going wrong.

So: the SanDisk 32GB Ultra Flair flash drive is down to £5 on Amazon after a ~40% discount. If you've not got a good, fast USB drive, then why not pick this one up while it's on sale?

• Get the SanDisk Ultra Flair 32GB flash drive for £5 (was £8)

• Get the SanDisk Ultra Flair 64GB flash drive for £9 (was £16)

There's also a 64GB version for £9 after a 44% discount. Neat.

I recently picked up a USB stick myself in a similar deal, and it's kind of been a game-changer. For years, I've had a collection of old USB drives that I've got as freebies, or inherited from relatives, or bought myself in the distant past. And every time I need to do something like re-install Windows (or install Linux or macOS on my laptop), I go into this stupid pile of old drives and try them, one after another, until I get one that's a decent size for what I need and actually works. Now though, I know I have a drive that works every time and is way faster than the other, older drives that I have - so I can load it up with a 4K video, or a Windows install, or whatever, and I know it'll just work first time, which is brilliant.

So yeah, if you tend to have need of USB drives from time to time, for £5 this is a pretty awesome deal. It's big enough for the most common things you'd want to copy onto it, it's fast enough to not waste your time, and it's new and reliable enough that it should stay useful for years. And it comes in a relaxing blue colour - what's not to like?

Have you got a story of USB flash drive appreciation? Share it in the comments below. I'll read it.