Are Travel Outlet Adapters Safe To Use? Here's What You Should Know

There are a lot of ingredients to a perfect holiday, especially if you're planning a trip abroad. Obviously, there's the initial booking phase wherein you find travel buddies, snag your plane tickets, and choose your hotel. But afterwards, it can quickly turn into a whirlwind of other things. For some people, the act of planning outfits on their Notes app and packing them into luggage can already take a lot of time. For others, it's downloading the necessary travel apps to help you do everything from budgeting, navigating, to translating. But while your smartphone has replaced a ton of other travel-related paraphernalia, like guidebooks and travel wallets, it introduces a new problem: making sure you're able to charge wherever you are. 

If you're having a European summer lined up, we've mentioned before that your American charger might not work because of two main things: the plug and voltage. These days, there are plenty of devices that already have chargers that can manage voltages across different regions. But if yours doesn't, you'll have the option to buy a separate voltage converter. But, you'll still usually have to get an adapter to actually be able to physically stick it into the socket. Depending on your travel destination, the right plugs will vary. Not to mention, not all adapters are made alike, and some issues can turn into real safety problems real quick. Here are a few that you should consider when buying travel outlet adapters for your next trip abroad.

Typically, when you buy official products from reputable brands, you can limit a lot of issues related to travel outlet adapters. Often, their products have passed the necessary safety certifications, such as the FCC, UL, ET, and CE, which ensures consistent manufacturing quality. In addition, they are accountable if their products fall below standard, which can come in the form of overheating or not grounding. Although certifications can be faked, especially if you're buying an adapter from some random store on the road, even legitimate brands can have issues.

For example, Apple has a history of recalling an older version of its AC wall plug adapters. Apple offered to exchange certain models that were shipped as part of its Apple World Travel Adapter Kit from 2003 to 2015. In recent times, another common issue among travel adapters is the risk of electric shock, often due to poor build quality. Some brands that have been known to have this problem include Travel PD and Wenger. While this can be alarming, buying from reputable brands from authorized retailers helps reduce a lot of risks, including the benefit of being informed when they release recalls for devices. In addition, there are many reputable brands that offer travel outlet adapters that have built-in safety features, like grounding and overload protection, which are already a step in the right direction. 

If you want to cover all your bases, the $24.99 EPICKA Universal Travel Adapter is a popular option on Amazon, with a 4.7-star rating from over 16,000 reviewers. Built with safety features like a 10A fuse and plug locks, it has 4 USB-A ports, a USB-C port, and an AC socket, which you can use to charge half a dozen devices all at once. And if you ever need to replace the fuse, EPICKA sells those too.

Alternatively, if you don't necessarily need all those features, you can also just get an adapter specifically for the plugs from your home country to your destination country. Starting at $11.99, Ceptics sells 2-prong and 3-prong inputs that are made for various destinations. Or, if you want to cover all your bases, you can get the Ceptics World Travel Adapter Set instead. Priced at $27.99, it has 11 grounded types of international adapters with two inputs, so you can charge up to two devices at once. 

That said, if you absolutely need an adapter that also has a voltage converter, the 250W BESTEK International Power Adapter has an average rating of 4.4 stars from more than 3,800+ Amazon users. With prices that start at $37.38, it doesn't just have a step-down travel voltage converter, but can charge up to 7 devices at the same time via AC plug and USB ports. Plus, BESTEK shares that it works with high-powered devices, like hair curlers or hair straighteners.