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Kensington 33117 International All in One Travel Plug Adapter
By admin | September 7, 2008
Kensington 33117 International All in One Travel Plug Adapter
With the Kensington Travel Adapter, there’s never a need to be at a loss for power again. This all-in-one unit provides plug adapters for use in more than 150 countries. Simply slide out one of the built-in plugs and plug in a laptop, cell phone, battery charger, or similar electronic device. And its safety release button and built-in fuse ensure safe operation for most consumer electronic devices.
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars An Easy-To-Use Adapter But With Limitations
This is one of the most convenient plug adapters I have ever used. I have used it throughout Europe and Africa. It is great that everything is self-contained in one handy unit.
Keep in mind that this does not convert voltages so you have to be plugging in something that can use the voltage supplied. For instance most laptop power supplies can handle 110 volt as well as 220 volt. Check the label before traveling.
A couple of cautions. This adapter is fused and is limited as to how much wattage can be drawn. Good for safety, but don’t use a travel iron with it or try to power multiple devices. You’ll blow the fuse which I learned the hard way. Also, it is a bit bulky and may not fit in tight spaces. A few times I had to hunt for an outlet that was less restricted.
Overall a good product for supplying low-power devices.
5 Stars Very practical
This is worth the money. Very practical and it worked better than other adapters I have tried unsuccessfully before.
5 Stars Works fine in Singapore!
Based on some of the reviews, I’m concluding a lot of people haven’t been to many countries where the voltage is 220-240. Yes, this is a plug adapter ONLY, it is not a voltage converter (Kensington says so right on their website: “Suitable for most consumer electronics. Does not reduce or convert electrical voltage. Not for use with high-watt devices such as hairdryers and irons. Please check electronic device specifications before using.”)
That said, this adapter worked fine for me during my entire 10 day stay in Singapore. I charged both my Canon Digital SLR camera’s battery via the Canon charger AND my Sony video camcorder via the AC adapter; I read the fine print on both products and they are both auto voltage switching. Make sure you do your research before you leave the country and you’ll be all set with fewer headaches later on. 
1 Star Shoddy construction
This same design is sold by several companies, and has two major drawbacks:
* European-style plugs come with prongs of varying thickness, including some where the thickness varies thoughout the length of the prong. This adapter is only able to handle the thickest ones when excessive force is applied and the mechanism will cause the thinnest ones to stuck so that you can not pull them off;
* The adapter consists of two parts which are linked in a fragile way, a break is almost certain to happen.
1 Star Misleading claims!
This product does NOT support laptops or other products that require a ground (for US plugs). I have a standard Dell laptop, so I assume it’s very common that most US laptop plugs have the third plug for the ground. They market this product for laptops, but this product has no hole for the ground plug and the website/description does not explain that. I had to buy a different adapter with at the airport, so basically this product ended up costing me $60.
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