Customer Reviews

Ziplinq ZIP-PWR-NB Retractable Universal Notebook Power Cord (5 feet, Black)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I bought this to help reduce my cable clutter when I'm traveling. I'm pretty pleased with the result. It is fairly chunky, the retractor hub is 2 1/4" in diameter and 3/4" thick, but it still takes up less space than my old cable, with less mess. It seems sturdy and well built.

It replaces the laptop AC cable, i.e the cable from the wall AC outlet to the laptop's power transformer. (It doesn't replace the transformer!) At the transformer end, it supports the standard two prong "Figure Eight" connector and includes an adapter for the three prong "Mickey Mouse" connector. These are the two most common laptop power connectors.

First, this is a great product idea...

But I ordered a couple and both have now exhibited a pretty bad problem. In both cases, the connection of the cord to the PC-side adapter is a bit loose and bare wire (!!!!!) starts to show. This does not happen on the wall-plug side. This happened to one of the cables after only a couple of days of very gentle use. I figured it was just a bad sample. Then my 2nd cable did exactly the same thing. If you have one of these, you should check it...

Bought this unit about a 10 months ago. I stowed it in my bag attached to my laptop's power brick. Unwittingly, over time, as it jostled around in my bag, that caused the edge of the spool casing to rub against part of the cord (right at the base of the plug) and it severed one of the wires, rendering it useless. It worked really well before this, but I would have hoped it'd be a bit less prone to damaging itself (such as by the wire guides having rounded corners instead of sharp(ish) ones). I'll buy another one, but only because it's so cheap and I haven't found a substitute that looks markedly better. So, 3 stars...not bad, but not great.

Update: Bought a second one...same exact failure within 1 year, and I haven't really even used it very much. Changing my rating to 2 stars since these should be advertised as "disposable" cords.

This is an excellent item for those who travel with their notebook or if you just want to reduce clutter. Stores well in a laptop bag. No problems using this cord outside of the United States with 220v power, however a plug/outlet adapter will needed.

Concur with other reviewer. Cord jacket is separating from plug exposing bare wires after only a few months of light use. Will see if manufacturer stands by their warranty.

I bought two of these and one worked for about a week, then surprisingly jammed up. It wouldn't come out of the spool. I must have pulled too hard because the whole thing exploded, with the two plastic halves of the spool and the coiled up spring flying across the room. A bit funny and embarrasing in front of a customer... The second one has worked fine.

After using this for about five weeks, it suddenly failed-- as in, it retracts fine but no longer conducts electricity.

Annoyingly, it died just two days after the return window expired.

I'll try another one-- it's very convenient and the price is right.

After a few weeks of use, it got jammed. There is no way to open to spool without breaking it, so I pulled the wire. Then it popped open and the springs popped out. I have since used it as a regular power cable. I wouldn't recommend this product at all unless it is the most inexpensive notebook power cable since the only good thing about it is that the cable itself is durable and has adequate length (not too short, not too long).

The main reason for this product was to minimize the tangles. The product does that well even though the amount of space taken up by the reel mechanism is significant. However, I am concerned that the three prong male adapter simply connects to the standard cord's two-prong connector, leaving the earth unconnected on the PC's side. That defeats the PC designer's intent in having an earth for the power adapter; Zip-Linq should have used a three-wire cord in order to comply with the OEM design.

The more I read on the review sections the more I get the feeling that the competitors come to trash their rivals products.

I have about 8 varieties of Zip-Linq products and after over a year of heavy use, they are doing their job without any problems whatsoever.

When I read "Great product idea, but" I start wondering if the Acme Coyote is writing a review for a competing product. The reel is plastic. Don't use it to hold up a car whilst changing a tyre. Don't toss it in the bottom of your back pack and then cram a 10 pound laptop on top of it. And for God's sake don't chew on the wires. I mean this thing has the same wires that would be on a power brick or USB. You need to have a little kindness toward the gadget, but I find them amazingly durable and as a man with OCD, clean, neat and tidy (without nasty wear and tear making my computer look ugly) is of the utmost importance.

Buy them, you will be happy.