A to Z 2014: Power Bar

{For the month of April I will be blogging alphabetically on the topic of travel tips.}

Travelling with a power bar has made life so much easier!

All power bars should have plug configurations like this.

Having a multi-plug adapter is great. But how many do you need? You'll need one for the phone, one for a laptop, tablet, eBook, camera battery charger, GPS... Or will you? Nope! If you have just one plug for the country you're going to, you can use a power bar to charge all your devices! We seem to have collected more than necessary over the years. (To know which plug configuration you need, there is a handy chart on Wikipedia.)

If you get one universal plug adapter and one power bar, you should have all you need no matter where you go. This is especially helpful if you're on a trek that takes you to many different regions with different power systems.

You'll still want to make sure the devices you are using have chargers that can handle different voltages. Most small electronics do. (You know that brick in the middle of your laptop cord? Yup.) If you are planning to run something like a hair dryer or you've brought your Magic Bullet along, you might need a transformer as well. Maybe leave those at home.

USB transformer for my phone.

In a pinch, your hotel might have an adapter you can borrow. I had to do this on my first work trip to Indonesia. I felt so silly for not having thought of that! But don't count on that adapter having the correct female end for your device anyway. Best to be prepared.