Home > Consumer Reviews > Belkin Mini Surge 3OUT Wall Mount 75K 918J with USB Charger

Bought this primarily for the multiple outlets & surge protection, and the size is nicely compact for that. Bonus features are the USB ports for charging, which means device chargers can stay home (as long as you have a cable), and the swivel plug. Very happy with this!

Belkin has missed the mark with this adaptor.

It simply is not "mini." At least, it is not mini as compared to other three outlet grounding adaptors. It is 4x the size and 4 the weight of a typical cheap (i.e. $3) three outlet grounded adaptor. This means that it cannot easily be dropped into a bag; you have to make room for it.

While it is surely is smaller than most surge suppressors, buyers only need something this small when traveling, and this is so much bigger than what it might replace that it is not likely to be brought along for the trip.

Belkin -- a company whose products I generally like -- clearly decided to make solid and sturdy product. The plastic is thick and strong. I have no doubt that the thing could even hold my weight, where I stand on it or even jump on it. But the trade off there is bulk, both in size and weight.

This is unfortunate because the product is a great idea. Between phones, MP3 players, bluetooth headsets and BlackBerries, there is quite a need for USB charging, especially on the road. Power outlets are usually in short supply in hotels and airports, so carrying this kind of device would be a good idea, if only it was easier to carry and forget about until needed.

I bought this and use it for travel. Hotels often don't provide enough plugs. Especially in Europe, and then you will need a plug converter for each device...or just one if you use a power bar like this.

I used to travel with a cheap power strip which would give me six plugs, but I didn't need all six, and I didn't have surge since the surge adds weight and size. With a power strip in one's travel case, one can often plug it into the single desk outlet that hotels provide, and instantly have enough outlets for your laptop, phone, headset, media player, etc.

I got the Belkin to reduce the size, and add surge. In particular, I like the notion of the USB ports, since I can then carry small/light 12 inch USB charge cables for my gadgets instead of bigger AC adapters. Before, I would often leave my laptop on to get powered USB ports.

From my high expectations, these were the setbacks:

- The USB ports are under-powered. The specs say it will deliver .5A to each port, but I think it does less. In fact, I think it only delivers decent current to one of the ports at a time. When I plug in two WinMo phones, in the morning, one is always charged, the other always dead.

- It's big. Maybe not too big, but big. OK, it has surge, but because of the plug layout, and the power limitations mentioned above, it turns out to be a two-plug, one USB device...and it's too big for what it offers.

- Won't charge iPhone reliably, since iPhone wants 1A, and this offers .5A

- The outlets are too close together for inserting AC adpaters. They could have designed this better by placing an outlet one of the blank sides of the unit.

Cheers!
djk

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Did you know?:
Soon, laptops will be shipping with USB ports that are powered-up even when the laptop is off. It is called "Sleep-And-Charge". It is in response to the growing number of devices that recharge from USB ports. Cool. At that point, I'll get rid of this Belkin. But bear in mind, it will still be mostly the 500mA standard power limit that doesn't satisfy iPhones.

I used this power outlet on a recent business trip. I am sure when the hotel maid saw there were two usb cords and two power cords plugged into the on-desk single outlet she must have done a double take. But it made plugging in all those electronic must-haves I take along on my excursions simple and quick. No more looking behind furniture, under lamp tables, or worse, putting my electronics far away in the bathroom, for a charge up. I highly recommend this product.

I can verify that this surge protector really works. I have an outlet near one of my office desks where I test various electronics gear and one of these Belkin Mini Surge 3OUT protectors is plugged into it. In the other plug of the same outlet I do not have a surge protector. Anyhow I was testing two of the same device, both similar to wireless routers, and I was short on outlets so one of the devices was plugged into the Belkin Mini Surge while the other device was plugged directly into the wall. A storm came through and we lost power briefly, a couple seconds, and the next day I noticed that one of the devices was fried. The device plugged into the Belkin Mini Surge was fine but the device plugged directly into the wall was dead.

I love the fact that the protector is vertical so it follows the flow of the plug and takes up minimal space. If you need a couple outlets near your desk and don't want to have to coil the cord of a normal surge protector then this is the device for you.