Good Travel Surge Protector?
 

Hi all,

I'm looking for a travel-sized (compact) power strip that has at least 3 international outlets, and at least 0.5m of cord to the main international adaptor.

The Belkin Mini Surge Protector with USB charger (http://www.belkin.com/IWCatProductPa...duct_Id=400738)
almost fits my requirements, however it requires that all my devices have US style plugs, plus it only fits in US sockets..

Now if it also acted as a USB hub, that would be perfect!

Would be grateful for any feedback from any fellow Forumites...

Safe travels!

I'd love one as well.

I have the Belkin. Thought I'd use it with a plug adaptor internationally. But it's rated at 125V. (Which I didn't find out until I received it since the specs page doesn't mention this.) So no 220-240V. I just use it in the U.S.

Thought I'd mention in case anyone is considering trying it with a plug adaptor as I was.

I wish this thread had come up before buying this a few months ago; I didn't end up opening it until after the return period. At least the Belkin was cheap.

Does anyone know of anything similar but either autoswitching voltage or without the USB parts so it's passive at any voltage? The USB charger part is a big plus, but the main thing is just compactness compared to a cheapo standard power strip.

These are two that I use:

With European mains plug:

http://amzn.com/B000784H4K

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...B5%2BYErZL.jpg


With U,S, Mains:

http://amzn.com/B003UHYDYO

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41el81HBeCL.jpg

Just ordered this. Thanks!

I have this plug adapter and love it's flexibility. I've only been in 1 or 2 hotels/offices where I couldn't use it.

http://www.amazon.com/All-One-Travel...xgy_01_02_t_lh

I use something like this

The outlets are universal -- they take US, EU, UK and even CH plugs. So if I'm in a hotel that has one outlet and a desk lamp plugged into it, I can plug the lamp into the strip and my laptop and and a USB charger.

The power cord is interchangeable -- I have US, EU, UK and CH ones, though if I need multiple one on a single trip I usually just use a plug adapter.

The biggest drawback is the power cords are overkill for a 3 outlet strip, so they are a fairly heavy gage of copper and a bit heavy. They use the same power cords for their 6 and up strips so it makes sense.

Thanks to all for your feedback!
 

Cheers!

How annoying are your cords and wires?
 

As a consultant, I'm constantly wrapping and unwrapping the same 3-4 power wires (laptop, tablet, phone, ereader, camera) all the time. At the airport, at the client, at the hotel, at the office, at the coffee shop etc. I'd guess i follow this habit at least 20x a week.

I basically want something like my current surge protectors at home, where I can just leave everything plugged in, but carry with me on the road. My searches haven't returned anything. Maybe someone knows of some product?

I was debating doing something about it and dabbling my hands in a personal passion at the same time (product development). But before I go down that route, I figure it best be to ask the FlyerTalk community if cord management is just a perceived nuisance by me, or if it's also frustrating to you? If so, respond or PM.

For those seeking organizational solutions, I found another cord management thread which game some great tips http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...traveling.html

Thanks to suggestions here, I love the charge pod

http://callpod.com/products/chargepod

It's made traveling so much better, I usually go with the laptop adapter and the charge pod for everything else.

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/5...gpodbanner.jpg

Well right off the bat, it seems like there are some redundancies. I'm not claiming to know anything about your situation or needs, but why carry a tablet and an eReader, and also a phone and a camera? Tablets can be eReaders and cell phone cameras are getting better. So there are two chargers you can eliminate right there. Yes, there might be some sacrifices in qualities or features, but it's the convenience that outweighs this for me. Maybe your phone doesn't have a great camera, and your tablet isn't a good eReader, so I understand that. My cell phone camera doesn't compare to my dSLR. But then again, I'm not constantly charging it on on the go.

Also, can you not charge anything via USB? All of the mobile devices I carry regularly charge via USB, therefore I don't bring their individual chargers. I bought a very short USB cable, about two and half inches, and it's one of the most convient things I bring with me. So basically, I'm only bringing one charger, for the laptop. Everything else charges via USB. It works even better because if I need to charge something and there's no outlet, I can use the laptop. The whole power supply for my gear fits easily in the palm of my hand.

Hell, even my toothbrush charges via USB (but I've never had to charge it).

Right, there's a good opportunity for efficiency improvement, and the camera was definitely just a throw in, while iPad is work only, so I'm hesitant to put any personal use items.

My current "configuration." is the laptop charger and USB with 2100 mA adapter for iPhone, iPad, and Kindle. I guess the real reason for the post is just watching everyone else in the airport constantly digging for wires and wrapping them back up so frequently.

I've also taken to bringing along the CyberPower travel surge protector. (http://www.cyberpowersystems.com/pro...mageI=#tab-box). Its no different than the other USB+120V surges out there in that it charges USB at 500 mA (so its terrible for tablets).

I just think there has to be a cleaner solution, hence the post.

I agree with Trauma 1 here. The idea is to a) take as few devices as you can, b) make as many of them USB-chargeable as you can.

For the camera I'd like to add that you can easily add a second battery. One battery in a digital camera nowadays last between 200 and 400 shots. So two batteries will get you 400-800 shots. Do you have time to take that many pictures while on a business trip? Or do you take pictures as part of the assignment?

Till

Travel surge+USB
 

I am looking for something that sits between the laptop and the wall, provides surge protection and USB charging. It should not have any AC plugs -- those can be supplied by the same cable / adapter as I would use for the laptop, anyways. Edit: the surge protection is less important than the convinient cabling.

Such things exist and unavailable in USA/Canada:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/universal-la...23&t=122701653

http://blue.bandridge.nl/products/po...1/general.html

http://www.konnext.com/new/product.a..._id=PS-MPS-4US

Any ideas? Especially the last looks superb. I had the first but lost it :(

I could buy a whole unviersal charger with a USB port but I am afraid of cost / quality / weight.

Meritline has one. http://www.meritline.com/inland-nss1...--p-73427.aspx

They also have one with three outlets.

I wish I could buy something like -
http://www.i4u.com/10053/moenegallet...power-splitter
or http://www.amazon.co.jp/exec/obidos/ASIN/B003INEYOE/ in the US. :/