Picture this: you’ve put in the time (and money) to plan your trip. Your flight arrived and you’ve finally made it to your hotel in your corner of paradise to unpack and start exploring! And then, it happens: your smartwatch buzzes on your wrist to let you know it’s almost dead and your e-reader ran out of juice about 30 minutes before you landed. You connect your phone to the hotel Wi-Fi and the deluge of e-mails, messenger notifications, app updates, and the like have drained its battery in record time. That’s a problem because a) you now don’t have a working phone, and b) you were planning to use it as your camera to document your travels. You cross your fingers and toes as you power-on your laptop, hoping you remembered to charge the battery before you left. No such luck. Panic ensues.
And so begins an all too familiar series of events. First, you frantically run around your hotel room, searching for anything that resembles a power outlet. You finally find the one open outlet (seriously, why are they always behind the bed and nightstands?!) that isn’t in your bathroom (can I plug my phone into the 220v outlet or will that blow it up?!) and then settle on the order of importance of your devices, telling you which to charge first. Of course, that’s only possible if you remembered to pack your power adaptor. 🙂
Sound familiar? Us to, we’ve been there. But, we’re happy to say there’s a better way. First, there’s all kinds of power adaptors out there to pick from (also note the difference between power adaptors and converters, as they do different things) at all kinds of price points. Most come with a series of ends you can clip onto the end, allowing you to plug-in and power-up wherever you might be. Trouble is, most of those will let you plug in 1-2 devices at a time. That’s great if you only have your phone with you, but if you’re like us and travel with just a little more than that, having more options is preferred.
What we discovered a few years ago is there are power strips you can take with you on your travels. We prefer this one from Bestek.
They have a few models to pick from, but the one we have has an end that’ll plug into most European outlets on its own. Like other adaptors, this one came with a few different ends to use in different parts of the world. However, because this is a power strip, it has 3 outlets (the familiar ones you’re used to seeing in the US) on the top and 4 USB ports on the side. So, when fully utilized it can charge up to 7 devices at a time! We have two of these, not because we ever need to charge more than 7 devices at a time, but sometimes it’s nice to spread things out. Jason has taken his to China and we’ve taken them on our travels throughout Europe, too. Works like a charm every time. Size-wise the main part of the power strip measures 6.5″ x 3″ x 1.5″ and comes with its own little travel pouch, making it really easy to throw in your backpack or carry-on without taking up much space.
We also make a habit of travelling with a power bank, too. Charge it up at home before you go and it’ll charge your phone, tablet and noise cancelling headphones multiple times before needing to be recharged itself. As with power adaptors, there’s all kinds to pick from. We’ve used this one from MyCharge for the past few years and it’s great: small, easy to pack, and keeps a charge for days. Just make sure, when you’re travelling, to always keep this in your carry-on, and if you need to gate check your carry-on, put it in your purse or backpack, as these cannot go in the cargo holds.
So, with a little careful planning and the right equipment you can keep all of your devices charged, letting you focus on your trip and not how much battery you have left. Still, just to be sure, go check.
Happy travels!
