ultimate travel charger - After 20 years of travel I finally figured it out

I'm glad to see that you (forum) folks are cluing in to gallium nitride, just 5 years or so after I started posting about it. :-P

Anker makes another one-piece that has six ports and a specific two-pin plug for the Continent -- about as compact as you can get with six ports, but it is limited to just the two-pin outlets.

@ avirosemail

Problem with that one for me is three fold, number one you're back to the old number one complaint in that the heavy converter has a hard time staying in the outlet and secondly you're limited to the location of the outlet, the power strip allows me to plug in say at the outlet near the nightstand and put the power strip on the nightstand, plug in things like a phone and have it next to me instead of hanging off the wall somewhere.

Lastly, the number one thing I will not miss is the converter dying in the middle of a trip, over the years no matter how much I pay for them, they all seem to eventually die, but that might vary upon how much you travel, but my converters always seemed to become victims of power spikes, dirty power and just don't seem to be made to last, a power strip is pretty much just a dumb collection of wires without trying to convert voltage, the more simple I can keep technology the better relationship I have with it.

I've switched to compact desktop chargers a long time ago already. The one I currently travel with has 2 USB C and one USB A (and the next one I'll buy will be USB C exclusively). And it does 100W. So it is all I need for everything I ever travel with. Even my shaver is nowadays charged via USB...

And yes, since it has a power cord you do not have a bulky think hanging precariously from a wall socket. You can deal with sockets being rare, or in odd places...

I just wish it had more USB C outlets. It drives me crazy that so many power strips still have more USB A outlets than USB Cs. My current power strip (not Anker, but still good) has 2 USB-Cs and I wish it had 1-2 more, but I can live with 2.

Thanks Mike for the tip! I just ordered the white one from Amazon which is 40% off at $35.99. The black one is $45.99. I ordered white in the hopes that I won't forget it in our hotels or apartment rentals--hoping it will be more obvious (seen) than a black one which is now more expensive than the white one. I like the feature of a regular plug that won't be falling out of the sometimes very old sockets in Europe.

Mardee.....you can get an adapter that will convert a USB-C plug into a USB-A plug. I use them all the time. I even have one device that uses micro-usb and I have an adapter for that.

USB-C to USB-A Adaptor

I agree that the power strip can make it easier to fit the quirky spaces and uses in your lodgings.

Just as the devices are improving over time, though, I'm finding that more often than not the lodgings are furnished with outlets right on the desk and/or the bedside table. Hopefully that trend will continue!

(Either that or the table lamps will have electrical sockets / ports )

@Mardee

Yes, I agree, it's weird that manufacturers are still not embracing lots of USB C outlets on these devices. This is why I bring along the Anker Nano Charger, 47W USB that can plug into the outlet on the power strip and gives me 2 more USB C outlets.
https://www.amazon.com/Anker-Charger-Compact-Foldable-Included/dp/B0BDKCBJ95/ref=asc_df_B0BDKCBJ95/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693712892362&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9387152759258323144&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9028756&hvtargid=pla-2158746092112&mcid=57c4a8aae3a937d4a6ca03caf43d5a90&th=1

It seems like it will be only a matter of time until manufacturers start to provide more USB C's but I thought the same thing 2 years ago. Obviously you can get one like this a lot cheaper but I like Anker products, they are just the best on the market.

@ avirosemail
Yes, it all depends on the property. Just spent 6 weeks in Italy with a week in Venice, was lucky to have an outlet at all in the bedroom in these ancient properties many of the airbnbs were in, especially Venice. :-)