That really depends on the stick. In Germany, there is a brand called Intenso that is unfortunately rather popular here, you'll find their low-priced USB sticks

That really depends on the stick. In Germany, there is a brand called Intenso that is unfortunately rather popular here, you'll find their low-priced USB sticks everywhere and I've had nothing but problems with the few I had to use. They often were much slower than advertised, sometimes they would just break down completely in the middle of copying files. It always felt like they try to source the cheapest flash chips that barely pass quality assurance. Not to mention all the "fake" USB sticks that report a larger size than what their actual capcity is, which you may only find out after it's too late. In contrast, I have had a single hard disk with a fatal failure in the last twenty years or so.