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This Travel Power Adapter Makes Life So Much Easier for First-Time Travelers

Epicka's little universal adapter can charge six devices at once -- and it can fit in your hand luggage.

Mary-Elisabeth Combs Associate Writer
Mary-Elisabeth is an associate writer on CNET's How-To team. She's a recent graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill's English Department, and resides in Charlotte, North Carolina. On the How-To team, she covers a little bit of everything. When she's not writing, she's catching up on Formula 1 or reading.
Mary-Elisabeth Combs
2 min read
Epicka universal travel adapter on an orange background

Epicka's All-in-One International Travel Adapter

Epicka

Recently, I traveled internationally for the first time and I had two major priorities when packing for my trip: Pack as lightly as possible and stay connected while I was on the road. These priorities met when I was deciding what kind of travel adapters to bring on the trip. I wanted an adapter that could charge all of my devices, that wouldn't take up too much room in my suitcase, and would work in all the countries I planned to visit.

Enter the Epicka All-in-One International Travel Adapter. This adapter was an absolute lifesaver during my trip. It is lightweight at just 5.1 ounces (145 grams), compact and highly utilitarian with six different options for charging. The adapter costs just $23 and features four USB-A ports, one USB-C port and one AC socket for charging all of your devices. UK and AUS pricing isn't available, but the US price converts to about £20 and AU$35. 

The adapter includes three different plugs -- US/AU, UK and EU -- which work in more than 150 countries. These plugs are extendable and retractable, meaning you can easily tuck the block into your suitcase without worrying about the prongs of the plugs. If I hadn't had this, I would have had to bring multiple blocks and adapters to keep all of my devices charged and usable during my trip, taking up valuable space in my suitcase and increasing the chance of me losing one (or more) of them. 

I stayed in some very old hotels with very few outlets. Having the space for six different devices to charge all at once was invaluable, and ensured that my devices were always fully charged before a big day of exploring a new city. Also, only needing one charger for my various cords made it so I had one less thing to worry about when packing and repacking my suitcase, something that was welcome stress relief on this trip. 

However, this product is not without its downfalls. In some of the older hotels I stayed in, the block turned out to be a bit heavy for the outlets, and would have to be propped up to keep from falling out overnight. Another frustration that I had with the outlet is that it does not convert the voltage from the outlet. While this proved no issue for me, as I was mostly charging smaller devices; a few of my fellow travelers' fried their hair dryers and other self-grooming appliances when using the same device. The adapter does have solid safety features to protect you and your devices, but not having to bring an additional converter or risking frying your devices would be one less worry. 

Despite those minor frustrations, the Epicka adapter still made my international travel much easier. Traveling internationally for the first time can be stressful, between making sure you have enough supplies and you aren't overpacking at the same time, but having this took one big worry off of my plate.