Tara Singh
There’s a particular product on the market that’s been dubbed the ‘universal travel adapter’ for the new intrepid traveler, so that they can ‘plug and play’ anywhere across the globe. Yet, as a veteran travel arranger for teams around the world for 8-years or so, the worst adapter for travel would in fact be the ‘universal’ travel adapter. Simply because the sliding pronged internal switch on said adapters will fail after 30-60 uses (making the adapter itself useless in any single country let alone 150 as suggested), do not pass adequate amperage (power) to chargers as specified and are generally far too large in size as to fit snugly into outlet sockets allowing said adapters to sag under the weight of cables used to connect for power. And yes, ‘works in 150 countries’ is true, but NOT ‘every time in any one country’ (ie reliably) – which is what travelers need most of all when it comes to relying on such seemingly ‘basic’ products.
Why the universal adapter fails
A Universal Adapter, like this Travel Universal Adapter, is made with sliding prongs, allowing the adapter to fit into various sizes of outlets around the world. While these kinds of adapters do technically work in 150 countries, by no means does this mean that the adapter will work every time it is used in a single country. These sliding prongs loosen up rather quickly over the course of about 30 to 60 uses. Some outlets are simply recessed more than others, like outlets in older European buildings and in many Asian countries. After 30 to 60 uses, the prongs will not fit into some of these outlets. Furthermore, the internal contacts of a Universal Adapter are not as solid as the prongs found on a country-specific adapter with solid prongs. Also, a Universal Adapter does not sit snugly into all outlets, often causing the adapter to droop, placing strain on the prongs and cord, in order to accommodate the weight of the cord.
What country-specific adapters cost and weigh
One Type-G (UK), Type-F (continental Europe), Type-A (U.S./Japan), Type-I (Australia/NZ), and Type-D (India) adapter will cover 90% of the countries for most trips. A Type-G adapter costs about $4-$8 and weighs about 1-2 oz. And with 5 adapters for $40 (or less) total in a small pouch that fits in a pocket or purse, it’s a small price to pay for reliability over a Universal Adapter. For one destination trips, you can simply bring one adapter.
USB-C is changing the calculation
On the other hand, if you only carry gear that can be charged via USB-C (i.e., most new laptops, phones, tablets, headsets, etc.), then you don’t need much. Just bring a high-wattage single brick USB-C charger with two ports for your MacBook, laptop and/or phone(s) and one or more country-specific adapters for the outlets you will encounter (to avoid having to unfold a large universal adapter that has a bunch of loose prongs that inevitably deteriorate from use after about 30 to 60 uses). That’s it. No need for cumbersome extra chargers, and you can put this tiny 65W charger and one of these small charge cords in your pocket for easy access when needed. An example that I have found recently is this (in very travel-friendly black) 65W (with 2 ports for simultaneous-charging of MacBook-pro sized laptop(s) and phone(s) such as an iPhone) USB-C fast-charger and the slightly larger but still very travel-friendly charger by Nimble: 100W, with 2 USB-C ports, (black too, in a very compact folding rectangular design with one fold on each edge), for larger power-hungry travel-gear, that also includes a Nimble Type-A-to-Type-C adapter for older equipment (not needed for newer USB-C-only-machines) shown above on the right, both shown here folded-up for easy storage in a pocket (total weight each less than 4-oz each, when folded), and also shown here unfolded. The two nimble travel-chargers shown above work really well together, with the 100w charger’s additional watts required for charging the larger, more-power-hungry older-laptops, like my Dell XT-2 shown here charged by the 100W Nimble above, via one of its 100w USB-C ports (while the other 100w port can be used to rapidly charge a phone(s) or a 2nd-larger secondary-laptop too at the same time, all with their own separate cables).
What to look for in a USB-C charger
GaN technology, such as used by Anker, helps to shrink charger size while keeping them cool. Look for chargers that support PD 3.0 (Power Delivery 3.0), which will allow the charger to negotiate the correct wattage for the connected device. PPS (Programmable Power Supply) is a useful feature if you travel with a lot of Samsung Galaxy devices, as it supports their fast charging capabilities. A charger with one USB-C and one USB-A port will allow you to charge older devices too. I try to avoid very cheap chargers as there is a risk that they don’t actually deliver the wattage that they claim, potentially damaging your devices. As with anything, it’s worth paying a bit more for a quality product and I can recommend Anker, UGREEN and Nimble travel chargers. I record notes from research such as this in a small notebook, which is roughly half the size of this article.
Voltage and amperage: do not panic
Most modern electronics charge via their power supply (laptop, tablet, phones, etc. ) and automatically switch between 100V and 240V, so simply check the charger. Also check the rating of older hair dryers, hair tools, and small appliances for 110V / 220V. If 110V, they will burn out in Europe. And, most important, hair dryers, hair tools, etc. are NOT to be considered for traveling and need a voltage converter (which are big and heavy) as opposed to adapters. If you have hair tools that you travel with, you’ll need a voltage converter for those.
What I carry on every trip now
In fact, for every trip I take now I bring a single country specific adapter for the location, a 65W GaN USB-C charger (with two ports), a very short USB-C to USB-C cable (for charging laptop and phone simultaneously), and a single USB-C to Lightning cable for the single iPhone user in the group who has an older model (15 or so) that cannot be charged with USB-C. Total weight: 6-8 oz. The cost is under $80 for the lot and it replaces the worst travel product for the solo traveler (i.e. those horrid, bulky universal adapters) and the worst cabling problem (i.e. the tangles of adapters to try to reach all of the various outlets in a hotel room for every single device of every single traveler).
