Customer Reviews

Outlets To Go Power Strip with USB - Black

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Yes, despite what most people are saying, the entire "Outlets to Go" line of power strips WILL work internationally with a 220/240V connection. I found several people who had emailed Monster on the subject and I myself did the same. Remember that the electronic device you connect to it needs to be able to handle the voltage as well. The USB port has a converter built into it already to convert down to 5V DC, so it will work overseas as well. [....]

If you bring gadgets with you when you travel, this is incredibly handy. It's fairly compact and very easy to pack - and very useful in hotels where you often don't have enough outlets for your laptop, cell phone charger, and other gadgets. Since it's on a cord, it helps when the hotel wall outlet is in an awkward place, like behind the night stand next to the bed. Since so many phones and other gadgets nowadays can charge from a USB port, you are no longer a slave to $30 proprietary chargers. I use mine at home, as well, and will probably get a second one.

I also bought a similar product made by Belkin, which has 2 USB outlets (the Monster only has one). But the Belkin's USB outlets put out less power and people have had trouble when they try to charge two USB devices at the same time. Plus, the Belkin unit is larger and heavier than you'd think, so it's slightly less travel-friendly. And it plugs directly into the wall rather than being on a short cord, which isn't as helpful when your hotel room's outlet is in an inconvenient place.

Another related item you might consider is the Scosche Dual USB Car Charger, a jack that goes into your car's cigarette lighter outlet and has TWO usb ports for simultaneously charging two devices. Scosche Dual USB Car Charger

I'm a big fan of the inclusion of usb on power strips. I also have the belkin travel power block that has 3 plugs and 2 usbs. Thats great for when I'm traveling out of town, but I've been looking for something that will easily fit in my everyday back pack that I could bring around to coffee shops and around and about. I got this today and I'm using it now, it has a nice illuminated primary plug and a well located usb port, it all stores up so nice as well. I haven't used it for usb charging yet, but I doubt I'll have any issues.

Updated, I'm using the usb right now to charge my ipod, while I'm powering my laptop and its working exceptionally well. I'm really glad I picked this up.

Cannot recommend.

I bought this power strip in the relentless search to minimize bulk and weight of my "road warrior" kit and increase convenience. This item fails miserably on all goals:

1) At 7 ounces, it is no so light.

2) The USB is low power only, so it will not charge an iPad or an Android phone.

3) With only 3 outlets and a lame USB port, it is not so small at 24 cubic inches (6 x 2 x 2 inches folded) Since the Monster 3 port travel power strip is 20 cubic inches, the USB is "costing" 4 cubic inches and 3 ounces. By comparison, the Apple low power USB charger is 0.75 oz and 1 cubic inch. The Griffin high power 2 port USB adapter is 3 cu inches and 2.5 oz; the Lenmar USB adapter is slightly larger (5 cu in) but has 4 high power USB outlets.

4) No surge protection.

From Monster, the "Outlets to Go -- 4" without the USB is better. It has 4 outlets in 22 cubic inches and you can carry a 2 outlet high power AC -> USB converter in the same weight and size. Cheaper and smaller is a Cube Tap adapter combined with a single power strip liberator. Lighter, cheaper, more flexible.

For the AC -> USB adapter the Griffin PowerBlock Dual Universal or the Lenmar ACUSB4 AC Travel Adapter 4 port adapter are small, light, and support high power USB devices. If you buy this, it is costing you weight, size, and extra money.

PROS: Cheap, convenient, includes USB charging port (which can charge my iPad)
CONS: USB power output rating on package doesn't match rating on device

I got this power strip for under $10 and the price keeps dropping. This is an extremely convenient device for so little money--just about everyone lugs around multiple electronic devices these days and has a portable media player, phone, tablet, etc. that can charge over USB. This strip takes care of all of that, and although it's a little long (roughly 7") the cord wraps neatly over the device so it doesn't take up much extra room. And since it's quite thin (less than 2"), it's easy to slip into a backpack or carry-on and take it with you whenever you travel.

When I first received the power strip, I was pleasantly surprised to read on the package that the USB port is capable of putting out 1.5A, which is TRIPLE the current a standard USB port on a computer or devices like the Belkin Mini Surge Protector Dual USB Charger can produce. However, upon inspecting the device itself, I noticed that the USB output is rated at 500mA. This inconsistency bugged me enough to email Monster and ask them which spec was correct, and I was told 500mA. When I emailed back to ask why the package had the rating incorrect, I received no response. If anybody has any inkling, please leave a comment!

Contrary to several other reviewers, I can charge my iPad through the USB port with the sync cable. It doesn't charge as quickly as the stock wall charger, but the iPad shows that it's charging. It's definitely faster than using a computer USB port--I'd say it takes about five to six hours. Since the iPad has a 25 watt-hour battery, this equals about 4W, which means the USB port is actually putting out about 800mA.

In summary, this is a very handy device for travel or to have on hand anytime you need more plugs than the nearest wall has to offer.

UPDATE: I charged my iPad today through the USB port and used my Kill-a-Watt to monitor the power consumption. It reported a charging power of 6W throughout the process, which would indicate a charging current of about 1.2A (6W / 5V). However, since the iPad itself charged at about 15% per hour, the USB port itself couldn't have been putting out more than 4W. I assume this means that the power strip is not very efficient, especially compared to the stock iPad charger, which draws 10W from the wall and is capable of charging the iPad in about 2 1/2 hours.

Length:: 2:16 Mins

One of the constants when it comes to travel is the unpredictability of your accommodations. Whether it is the brand of soap to the likelihood that the hotel tv remote will actually have batteries that work. These are rather minor aggregations, but one that I consistently run into is finding enough power outlets to power my electronic devices. There are times when I need to charge my computer, cell phone, and a GPS - and I am out-of-luck. Enter the travel power strip by Monster - it offer three additional outlets plus a USB port
A few notes -

-I like the fact that the Monster strip has two outlets on one-side and one on the other. This is handy for things like my cell phone charger that takes up a lot of room when plugged into the outlet.

-I use the USB jack as an emergency charger for my Blackberry. This way if I leave my Blackberry charger at home I still have a way to charge.

-I love the way that the cord plugs into itself- this makes it very convenient to store and to stick into my backpack.

-I have has issues using the USB jack to charge my iPod Touch. This is not too surprising since my iPod Touch seems to be pretty finicky on what it allows to charge it.

-While this is a power strip - I would not depend on it as a surge protector.

- Quite a good value - I would not have been surprised to pay 2-3X more for this power strip.

Final Verdict - A new must have travel accessory. While you will still need a sterp-down voltage converter for Europe the Monster Outlets-to-go Power Strip has everything I am looking for.

5 Stars

Got this for a trip to Europe and glad we did. Works perfectly all around Europe: hotels, airport, and trains. Just need to use the proper adapters (we use all-in-one something like All-in-One Travel Power Plug Adapter for US, UK, EU, AU). Used it to power a netbook, charge my camera, and used the USB to charge an iphone and blackberry (separately). I tried to be greedy and used a USB splitter but no dice, there's not enough power to charge two phones at once - owell.

We got stuck in the airport (due to unforeseen weather conditions from something called a volcano! This is why people get travel insurance (of course we didn't) <sigh>). Anyways, this baby helped out a lot, we plugged it into one of the charging kiosks and found it funny that people would go up and just plug their phones right into it to mooch off us! - we even thought about charging them :). It proved to be a great conversation starter!

It's nice and compact, much more portable than the belkin multi-outlet "brick"Belkin Mini Surge 3OUT Wall Mount 75K 918J with USB Charger. It was also great in the Euro hotels where there's not many outlets so what we did was unplug the lamp and used a universal adapter to plug the outlet in so we could charge all our electronics, we still needed light so we just plugged a second universal adapter (tip: good idea to always bring an extra universal adapter too :) ) right into the strip and plugged the lamp back in and viola there was LIGHT!

There's also the 4 plug version Monster MP OTG400 BK Outlets To Go 4 Outlet Travel Power Strip (Black) which is exactly the same but with a 4th plug instead of the USB. I prefer the USB as it lets me reduce the amount of plugs/adapters I need to lug around with me.

We also used this on the plane, I have an airplane inverter which I easily plugged this puppy into. Great to power a computer, dvd player, phone (airplane mode of course ;) ), nintendo DS, boom box, shaver/curling iron (you know for those long flights), and anything else you want to make your neighbors jealous.

If you travel and you bring your electronics (or like to play outlet power czar at the airport) this is a MUST HAVE!

Does work with 240v Power (no fuse or circuit breaker on the AC outlets) - charged my iPhone 4 just fine when plugged into the USB port on both 120v and 240v power, HOWEVER on 240v would not charge iPad 2. Almost perfect.

Just got my strip and I'm loving it. It makes so much sense if you spend any amount of time in a hotel room or in the airport.

Only cons I can come up with is the USB port doesn't seem to work with my iPad, however it does work with my iPhone 4. It's also a little bigger than I had hoped, but it didn't matter, I still stuck it in my backpack for my trip today.

It's also very nice that the outlets are spread out to fit larger plugs. I'm thinking about buying some for my co-workers as gifts.

There have been some confusing reviews on this product, and I would like to offer some clarification. I took this power strip on a trip to Australia and New Zealand. They are on 220 volt power. This power strip functioned flawlessly on 220. The USB port worked flawlessly on USB power. It works just fine on 110 volt power at my home in Virginia. I will try to upload a "customer photo" showing it attached to the outlet in my hotel room in Sydney. Buy with confidence - though it isn't articulated at all in the Amazon copy or on the package, it will work fine on 110-220 volt power supplies.