When traveling abroad, most people will carry a number of electronic devices, such as a cell phone, tablet etc. that they want to stay working at all times during their trip. If you are planning on taking a trip, whether for business or pleasure, you have probably heard of the need for a quality travel adapter. Although you have heard of travel adapters, you may not know why a travel adapter is needed for international travel, or what kind of adapter to choose for your international trip. We’ve put together a guide on the basic information you need to know when choosing a global travel adapter as well as some of the best travel adapter recommendations.

What are Travel Adapters?

When you want to plug in one of your devices during a trip abroad, you’ll need an adapter. Universal travel adapters enable a dual-voltage appliance - a transformer or a converter from one country to be plugged into the wall outlet of another country. The purpose of the travel adapter is to help the plugs on your electronic devices fit into other countries’ outlets so they can charge and work as they do in your own home country.

From Wikipedia, “The Universal Power Adapter for Mobile Devices (UPAMD), codename P1823, is an IEEE group working on global power supply standards intended to cater to the power range of 10–130 W (optionally 240 W) for mobile devices like laptop computers. The power supply was required to have an output capacitive energy of less than 15.1 µJ and an inductive energy at disconnect of less than 5.3 µJ. A common Direct Current power plug is intended to make life easier by eliminating the confusion regarding what voltage and current transformer one needs to buy and carry.[6] This can help mobile devices, laptops, many consumer electronic devices, office devices like Ethernet switches/hubs, and wireless routers to use the same power adapter around the world.”

Advancements in Travel Adapter Technology

Many travel adapters on the market today are designed with single-use fuses to protect electronics from power surges and overloads but replacing them and carrying the spares around can be a hassle. To resolve this problem, Zendure launched Passport GO in 2019, the world’s first travel adapter with an auto-resetting fuse and GaN technology to enable USB-C PD fast charging for all your travel essentials like iPhone X, MacBook, and more.

About Passport GO

Passport GO is a compact and lightweight universal adapter that packs a 4-port USB charger with 30W Power Delivery (PD), a travel adapter with auto-resetting fuse, and a power adapter into one sleek unit. This all-in-one adapter allows you to charge up to 5 devices together in over 200 countries and regions. .

Passport GO can accept type A, B, C, E, F, G, I, J, K, L and N plugs. This is related to the devices you want to use, or in other words, where you are from. Passport GO can plug into type A, B, C, D, E, F, G, I, J, K, L, N and O outlets. This is related to where you want to travel to with Passport GO.   

Passport Go Advantages:

• All-in-one design.
• Charging for all your travel essentials i.e. iPhone X, MacBook, etc.
• PD (high power) and 4 Total USB Outputs
  (Those of you that are familiar with Zendure’s original Passport travel adapter--Here's the difference from original Passport. Passport has 4 USB-A ports. Passport PD has 1 USB-C Power Delivery port and 3 USB-A ports. Higher power output for the latest devices.)
• Auto-resetting fuse.
• Zendure brand’s quality and reliability.
• Passport PD has a USB-C port, which can be used to charge compatible phones and laptops. Passport PD uses GaN technology to deliver up to 30W in the USB-C output.
• Passport PD as 3 USB-A outputs, a USB-C output, and a universal AC output. They can all be used at the same time to provide power to up to five devices.

Best Travel Adapters

An award winning all-in-on design featuring an auto-resetting fuse and 4 built in USB ports (1 USB-C and 3 USB-A). The Passport GO utilizes groundbreaking GaN tech to enable super fast 30W PD charging while still maintaining the compact profile people have come to expect from Zendure Passport Travel Adapters.

Passport GO’s use of auto-resetting technology allows the device to recover from an overload on its own within just one minute, making it electronically unbreakable, and the most resilient travel adapter ever. Other adapters have a fuse that needs to be manually replaced upon overload which requires travelers to source and carry back-up fuses every time they travel. With Passport GO’s auto-resetting fuse technology you can travel worry-free knowing the fuse will be good to go when you need it with the ability to withstand up to 10,000 resets!

Baby Proofing

While a traditional travel adapter with wide-open slots can be easily explored by a curious toddler using any small object, and this poses a risk of shock. Passport GO’s universal AC output has a child-proof shield to make sure that the outlet is only used for plugs. We designed this proprietary baby-proof shield to reduce potential safety hazards.

Tips on Buying Travel Adapters

Not all travel adapters are made equal. For this reason, there are a few things you should know before buying one for your trip abroad. Travelers from North America should know that travel adapters only converts plugs, not voltages. A converter converts the electrical voltage from the outlet to 110/120V so that North American devices can be used safely. This is important because outside North and Central America, the Caribbean, and a couple of other countries, mains voltage is 220-240 volts, this is about doubled so if your devices can't adjust to the change in voltage, the result is likely to be a damaged device that stops working. It should also be noted that many devices are now made ‘dual voltage,’ which allows them to be used with both 110/120V and 220/240V.

Travel adapters are available in various sizes and designs, from single region adapters to universal travel adapters that covers most countries. Many travel adapters only have sockets for two-pin North American plugs. For instance, British Standard BS 1363 requires use of a three-wire grounded and fused plug for all connections to the power mains. Two-wire class II appliances are not earthed and often have a plastic grounding pin which only serves to open the shutters of the outlet. The lack of such an earth pin on a Type-C plug makes it impossible to connect it to a type G receptacle, if you use devices with the round earth pin, it won't fit in that kind of adapter. Check the adapter's maximum power output, both for individual sockets and the adapter as a whole. iPads and newer smartphones require more power so check for at least 2.4 amps from each socket that you plan to plug in your higher-powered devices. Zendure Passport GO is the smallest international travel adapter with four powerful USB ports (5A/30W max), the highest in the industry.

Ensure Reliability with a High-Quality Travel Adapter

Zendure’s Passport GO is beautifully designed and includes built-in power adapters for almost every region of the world. Zendure’s Passport series are the World's First Global Travel Adapters with auto-resetting Fuse. The auto-resetting fuse (patent pending) allows Passport GO to recover from overloads without service or replacement. With Passport GO, you only need to use one hand to push switch between countries and slide to extend the power connector directly. Zendure is taking the hassle out of travel with this amazing gadget. Pre-order on Kickstarter for up to 42% off the future retail price.