Portable Battery Chargers

How do you charge your phone over here? With a plug-in charger, right? Take a close look at it. It probably has a surface with all the specifications printed on it, and one probably says something similar to "Input 100-240 VAC 50/60 Hz". That means it is "dual voltage", that is, it will work virtually anywhere, worldwide. All you really need is a simple "plug adapter". I think some Apple chargers even have a removable plug module and you can buy from them plug modules for other countries. For the most part, there should be a universal "Europlug" adapter that will work all over the continent, but the UK has a different one. Check Rick's travel store.

We have been using the standard iPhone and iPad chargers in Europe each year since our first trip in 2012. We now have newer camera that takes a special battery but before that we used AA batteries with that size charger. We have not had a problem with any battery or device plugging the chargers directly into the European outlet using the proper country adapter.

Robert,

For more capacity while you're out touring, it sounds like you're referring to an external battery pack. There are lots of them on the market. Here's a sample - take your pick.....

http://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Cell-Phones-Accessories-External-Phone-Battery-Packs/zgbs/wireless/7073960011

I've been using an older battery pack for several years, and find it to be quite helpful for topping-up the charge during long flights. The battery pack can be recharged using a standard USB connection, so it's easy to keep that topped-up as well.

I have a Jackery Giant portable charger and I love it! Jackery has smaller chargers that are lighter weight, but this one is about 10 oz and can charge two devices at the same time, and it has a large capacity of 12,000mAh. It holds a charge and I can recharge my phone and iPad several times before having to recharge the device itself. The device comes with a USB cable and can be charged from your laptop. You need to use an AC plug to charge the device from a wall socket, and that does not come with the device. I use the AC plug from my iPhone to connect to the wall socket. And my understanding, and I hope someone will correct me if I am wrong, is that if the AC plug is dual voltage, which the Apple plug is, then you can safety charge the device in a wall socket in Europe, provided you have an adapter for the socket.

Hope this helps!

The general rule of thumb is, adapters are OK with US and European/Asian voltages. HOWEVER, and this is a big HOWEVER, you must scrutinize each adapter to ensure that somewhere on it it says INPUT 100-240V or words to that effect. That's what it says on the LG adapter I just looked at.

And yes, you will still need the full complement of outlet adapters for each country you visit.

I think there should not be any problem if you use it in Europe also. Otherwise you must check for the specifications of the device through manual. You can also charge them using wall outlets.

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If anyone's interested -- On those little white AC plugs that come with iPhones and iPads, on the bottom (between the prongs) in little teeny tiny print (seriously I had to use a magnifying glass) is the "100-240v input" information

Hi Robert -

I've used this charger for a trip to Europe as well as general every day use when at kids sporting events where I may not have access to a wall plug.

http://www.amazon.com/Anker-10000mAh-Portable-External-Technology/dp/B009USAJCC/ref=sr_1_3?s=wireless&srs=2528932011&ie=UTF8&qid=1441329928&sr=1-3&keywords=anker

I have found this charger to give many charges to both my iphone and ipad. My charger lost its ability to charge after about 18 months, but for this price, I happily bought another.

I previously had a Mophie phone case with a battery built in and didn't think it was worth the money spent.

Happy Travels!

I have a camera that uses AA batteries and an AA/AAA battery charger that plugs into a USB port. Because I always travel with my netbook, which has three USB ports, I just plug the charger into a USB port and charge batteries while a use my netbook. If I had a phone or other device that charges off USB, I would plug it into my computer to charge while I use the computer.

And yes, you will still need the full complement of outlet adapters for each country you visit.

Nope, probably not. Everyone except for the UK and I think Ireland uses the schuko plug. This is a good properly grounded adapter that will not fall out of the wall when you put the weight of your little recharging transformer on it. http://www.amazon.com/6PKSCHUKO-Grounded-American-European-Adapter/dp/B0038L54ZO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1441514309&sr=8-2&keywords=plug+adapter+schuko

They did just fine in Western and Eastern Europe as well as parts of the Middle East.

"Everyone except for the UK and I think Ireland uses the schuko plug."

True, most countries on the continent (including some in eastern Europe) use Schuko receptacles (or it's French cousin which has a protruding pin for grounding. However, Italy's "official" receptacle has three round, 4mm, co-linear pinholes, the center hole is for grounding. Some newer installation might have a Schuko socket and an Italian three hole socket. In Switzerland, the standard receptacle accepts a plug, similar to the Italian plug, but with the grounding pin offset so that the plug can only be installed one way. This is the only receptacle/plug combination in Europe that is reliably polarized.

A lot of so-called Europe-to-American plug adapters have two 4mm pins, 19mm apart. This is often called the Europlug. That plug is limited by codes to 2½ amps (about 575 Watts).

I just picked up the 20,000 mAh version of the Anker and it works very well so far. I plan to use it to recharge iPads during the long flights over and to keep the iPhone charged while out and about during the days - I take a lot of photos with the built in camera.