Batteries, Chargers & Accessories

Traveling abroad with electronic gadgets?

Just a couple of decades ago, most travelers didn’t set off with anything electronic beyond a hair dryer or a short-wave radio. Now it’s not uncommon for a tourist or business traveler to be packing a miniature Radio Shack selection in their carry-on: cell phone, digital camera, portable DVD player, MP3 player, digicam, laptop, portable speakers… and the list goes on.

That’s all fine if you’re staying on home turf, but what about when you travel to another country? In some spots, you’ll need something to adjust the voltage or your precious electronics will go up in smoke. In other destinations, the current is fine but your plug won’t go into their wall socket. Making matters worse, a twenty-mile trip across an international border may present you with two vastly different kinds of plugs.

Thankfully, there are plenty of travel adapters available to solve these problems and prevent a citywide search for an electronics store. Many of them are built to be used in 150 countries or more, yet are designed in a way that the plugs fold or fit together tightly to enable the device to easily fit into a suitcase. Note that most don’t include adapters for the odd three-prong plugs used in India and South Africa though. Upscale hotels in both countries generally have a 110v plug in the bathroom, but otherwise you’ll need an additional plug for those countries.

The following travel adapters are the best available and are both convenient and lightweight.