Traveling as a modern man, with modern things, can be undeniably cumbersome. For every camera, gaming system, iPhone, iPod, laptop, iPad, etc, one must also bring a charger. I used to have a bag called the "Cord Bag." This was a gallon freezer bag abomination to lug around all of my chargers. It would swell and tear and I would curse my damned wires, but I am the kind of idiot that brings a mac, iPad, dslr camera, backup camera, iPhone, Nintendo DS, and a Sony PSP on trips. I pretty much deserve a gnarled bag of lunacy.
This problem changed about a year ago when I made a hitherto unmatched travel purchase. I bought a Chargepod by Callpod. This device comes with a wall plug and a car charger. It has slots for 6 extensions, and can rightfully charge 6 devices at one time. It is epic. The best part about this convenience? No more wire bag. You can buy small adapters to charge everything from Blackberries to tom toms. As of this writing, they have adapters for over 3,000 different devices. Personally, I use two Apple adapters, a psp adapter, another for my Nintendo DS, and one USB charger to charge any device that can be charged by USB.
I highly suggest one of these if you travel. Beyond the benefit reaped from less long wires is the convenience of only having to use 1 wall socket. Especially in Europe, I always find that I have only one or two wall sockets, and I need to rotate my chargings to keep things on. It is nice to forgo trade-offs.
This device costs about 40 USD in a bundle pack on Amazon here.
Too check for device compatibility, check this website. It is search-able and you can find the adapters that you need for your devices. Unfortunately, the camera offerings are a little light.
Pros: Less wires needed, small size, ability to charge 6 devices at once, less sockets needed, indicator lights
Cons: Not many camera adapters, plug is somewhat bulky, must buy most adapters separately
I give it 8.5 out of 10 stars.
