In a recent post I mentioned that there were several travel tools that were absolutely indispensable during our week and a half-long trip to Italy. I suppose the trip would have been possible without them, but they made it much easier and more enjoyable. In this series of posts, I’ll examine each of those tools in detail.
There’s no question that gadgets and electronic tools can enhance our travel experiences: they provide useful information, entertainment, and can even guide us to our destinations. Along with these benefits, however, comes the problem of how to deal with all the different chargers these devices require, which itself is exacerbated when we travel internationally and have to deal with voltage changes and power adapters.
Our recent trip was a good example: we brought along an Asus netbook, my BlackBerry Tour, a Canon S90, an iPod Touch, and iPod Shuffle, and a Garmin Nuvi 350 GPS. How can one keep all these tools charged without bringing along an extra bag full of wall warts and power bricks??
In our case, the iPods and GPS can be charged via USB cables connected to the netbook, but the netbook itself, the BlackBerry, and the Canon require their own chargers. Complicating the situation was the fact that I only own two universal power adapters, limiting how many items I could charge at the same time.
The solution we employed is the nifty iGo universal charger. The specific model we used is the iGo Netbook Travel Charger. The iGo enabled me to leave both the power brick for the Asus and my stand alone BlackBerry charger at home. I was able to charge the Asus, BlackBerry, and iPod Touch simultaneously with the iGo. Sadly enough, the S90′s battery does not charge when the camera is connected to a computer via a USB cord, so I did have to bring along its small charger; the good news is that charger only weighs 67 grams (2.36 oz.), and is quite compact.
Here’s the iGo charging the Asus and my BlackBerry in one of the hotel rooms we stayed in; in the upper right, you can see the corner of the pouch which holds the iGo and its various connectors.
“Travel” in any iGo product name means that the charger will work on standard AC current (110 – 240 volt compatible), from a DC car power outlet, and on planes equipped with either EmPower or 110 volt outlets. In the photo below I’m using the iGo with my iPod Touch on a 777:
Later in flight I had to stow things for meal service, so I left the charger plugged in, putting it and the iPod in the sliding drawer near the foot of my seat:
I’ve been extremely happy with the iGo, as it performed flawlessly while we were abroad; I’ve also used it extensively at home and while traveling domestically.
A couple of cautions: the iGo website isn’t particularly wonderful in my estimation. If you’re interested in purchasing one, I suggest you call the company and speak with a a Customer Service rep, telling him or her exactly what devices you want to charge with the product. I’d also recommend that you read my original “Quick Take” on the product; because the website isn’t clear, I ended up getting two power tips for my Asus. Click here for that post: Quick Take – iGo Travel Charger.
The iGo Travel Charger normally sells for $59.99; it’s currently on sale for $49.99 Incidentally, the iGo charger with all of its power cords, stored in its case, weighs 588g, or less than 5 ounces; the pouch measures ~8½” x 3½” x 4″.
The iGo has definitely earned a spot in my travel arsenal; it’s a great way to avoid bringing along a fistful of chargers and wall warts, and will save you space, weight, and hassles! …plus: you can use that extra bag for souvenirs and other goodies!
The Fine Print: I have no connection to iGo; this post contains affiliate links
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June 21st, 2010 at 7:21 am
I agree…it’s best to find multi-chargers that make your travels lighter and more efficient.
I have travel chargers from two other companies that I’d like to share. (The more choices people have the better chance they can find something that works best for them.)
The first is the Chargepod from Callpod. It will charge six small devices at once. (Ipods, Cameras, Blackberries, etc.) The complete package includes a regular charger (110-240v) and car plug. This version will not charge a laptop but the newer Chargepod 2 will. They also make something called a Fueltank and Fueltank Duo. These are portable chargers that use the same adapter system as the Chargepod. They can be charged via the chargepod and then used when a plug isn’t readily available. (For leisure travel, I don’t take a netbook along so this charger is invaluable to me.)(I also use the Chargepod at home to charge my smaller devices.)
The other products I sometimes use are made by Gomadic. Similar to the Igo, it includes a combination regular charger (110-240v) and car charger. I also have their battery travel charger which takes 4 AA batteries.
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June 21st, 2010 at 3:59 pm
Costco sells iGo Universal Netbook Charger as a handy kit, which includes 7 of the more commonly used tips (a variety of netbooks, iPod/Touch/Phone, mini & micro USB) for about $43. I agree with Kevin, a fantastic product!
http://www.costco.com/Browse/P.....409c6f4563
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June 22nd, 2010 at 1:06 pm
I agree that a universal charger/battery pack is a must-have travel tool. I bought a ZAGGsparq 2.0 from Zagg.com last month, right before a long weekend trip. Since then, it has proven to be a great device. Unfortunately, at $99 it is more than an iGo Uninversal Charger. Signing up for Zagg’s email newsletter gets you occasional one-time coupon codes. I used a 50%-off one when I bought the ZAGGsparq 2.0. Like an earlier commenter noted, it is another choice that may work best for you.
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June 23rd, 2010 at 7:18 pm
I received a Twitter Direct Message from iGo: if you’re an iGo follower on Twitter (@iGo_Inc), you can get a 10% discount on iGo products. Just enter TWITTER10 at checkout. Click here to go to the site: http://t.co/tgIteq2
A reminder,- I have no connection to iGo.
kc
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June 28th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
The iGO is such a cool idea, but my only problem is the adapters cost just as much as the standard charger would have cost in the first place.
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Kevin Reply:
June 28th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
Well, not really. The tips cost $7.49 each, but 4 come along for free with the unit, plus you’re able to choose an additional 2 free tips.
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July 9th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
I take a slightly different approach – I have standardized on mini and micro USB.
I carry a wall plug that has a USB port, one mini-USB to USB cable, one mini-to-micro USB adapter, and a 12V car plug with a USB port in it. The whole set is only about as big as a pack of cigarettes.
With this setup I can charge anything that uses mini or micro USB. However, I still carry my laptop brick, which is pretty small.
This setup meant giving up my iPod, but if I really want it I can bring the USB charging cable and plug it into either my laptop or the wall charger.
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T Reply:
August 9th, 2010 at 10:59 am
I carry a multiple USB port travel wall plug too but use IGo’s USB tip adapter cord so that I can use my Igo tips for my iphone and other small gadgets. My only problem is having confidence in most USB-port carplugs. A few brands did not work with European or Asian car rentals. I’m not sure if it’s the shape or not since I can’t seem to find info online about car plug adaptability. As a backup I bring my IGo car and wall charger (which seem to work everywhere) and the correct adapter plug for the countries I’m visiting.
Overall I’m not sure I’m saving that much space.
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