Voltage Converters

It depends on your charger, not where you're going. My digital camera charger says "INPUT: 110V-240V" - that means all I need is the adapter. If yours doesn't have a range, you need a converter. My guess is if your charger is relatively new, you should be fine with just the adapter, but you should check the input voltage on the actual thing itself :)

Grazie! It does give a range. Hooray! That converter was SO HEAVY! I really didn't want to take it!

My wife purchased a European 2-prong adapter for her digital camera. BUT, we have run into quite a few outlets in Europe that are recessed enough so that the adapter won't reach. Fortunately, we also have the Europe adapter from my adapter/converter kit. So we just plug the camera adapter into the kit's adapter, then plug kit's adapter into the wall, basically using the kit's adapter as an extender.

Digital products made in Asia usually work with both voltages. Laptops do work with both. In your case keep in mind that in Italy you need a 3-plug jack whereas in Switzerland and France it's the traditional European two-plug.

This is from this website:

"Ireland and Britain use the three prong version. Regardless of what you may read from other companies selling these things, everywhere else in Europe uses the little two prong version."

It sounds like France, Italy and Switzerland use the same converter.

Mary, a few points with regard to your "charger" question. I gather from one of your previous posts that you have verified that your digital Camera Charger is designed for 100-240 VAC? If that is in fact the case, you will only need a PLUG ADAPTER to operate in the countries you mentioned (the Adapter for those countries will have two round pins). Therefore you won't need a VOLTAGE CONVERTER.

If you have any further questions, post another note.

I am looking at the same thing for my stuff- I saw at target yesterday a wattage converter forboth LOW and HIGH (guessing 110v things and hair apps for high)
and it also came with adapters for 29.99 which is a better deal that I've seen.

alayna, be sure to check my reply to your "Laptop" post. What you will need for travel with your Hair Dryer, etc. is a VOLTAGE CONVERTER. There are two methods for converting voltage, and it's important to purchase the correct type for the devices this will be used with (regardless of the price at Target).

Without confusing the issue too much, for Hair Dryers and other high wattage appliances that use a simple heating element, a solid-state Voltage Converter with a capacity of 1600-2000 watts is the appropriate model.

However, DON'T use this to power electronic devices such as Camera Chargers, IPod Chargers etc. For electronics a 50-watt Transformer Voltage Converter is appropriate. Some Voltage Converters have both, and this is probably the "High/Low" model that you found at Target. These can be problematic, as the user has to remember to change a switch. If it's left in the wrong position, unpleasant results can occur!

Again, you might consider dual-voltage appliances.

CONNIE, some clarification regarding your Post - "Ireland and Britain use the three prong version. Regardless of what you may read from other companies selling these things, everywhere else in Europe uses the little two prong version."

There are other differences between the UK and Euro Plug Adapters besides the number of "prongs". UK Plug Adapters have three large rectangular pins, with the third pin being either plastic (non-grounding) or metal (grounding). The size of the housing is also noticeably larger than the Euro models.

The Euro Plug Adapters may have two or three small round Pins OR these may have two pins plus a receptacle for a "male" grounding pin. For most applications the two pin model works for most travellers. I use Adapters that have a fairly small housing, as they fit the recessed receptacles more easily (I carry both grounding & non-grounding models).

One important point when using any Plug Adapters is to ensure one doesn't forget these in the Hotel room!!!