Review: Targus Mini Mobile Surge Protectors

I was in the market for a mobile surge protector to use with my laptops while on travel and at home. Since I wanted to minimize the bulk i had to carry around with me I wanted a small unit that i could easily fit in my travel bag.

After some searching i cam across the Targus mini mobile surge protector. Which seemed to meet my needs perfectly. I was able to pick them up at Amazon for around $18. Amazon.com: Mini Mobile Surge Protectors: Electronics



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The package comes with two surge protectors which you plug between your power supply and power cord. One is for three pinned cables and one is for two pins. I'm using both, the three pin for my Envy 14 and the two pin for a Lenovo T400. Easy to use, just plug them in and forget about them. The surge protectors will glow orange indicating that they are functioning. If the led are off it's an indication that the unit is no longer working either to a power surge or other reason. I guess you throw them out at that point.

Been using them for over a month now and am pretty happy with them. Haven't experienced any power surges so can't really say how well they protect. But for a little piece of mind they are not so bad. That's my 2 cents.

 

I have been using a surge protector just like the ones in the image above for over ten years, but it was an no-name brand off ebay.

 

I've also been using this type of surge protector for about 7 years. I think one has died on me in that time, presumably fulfilling it's duty.

Aside from being very portable, the light usefully shows whether the mains power is working.

John

 

I've only used one of these but used it for about 5 years.

It worked great for a long time but I finally had to retire it when it started to short out. One day I could hear it arcing if I moved the cable around and I could see the light flickering in conjunction with the arcing noises.

At first I decided to see if it just wasn't plugged in all the way but when it started to make a ringing noise and began to smoke I decided that was it.

So that was my last experience with one of these units but really I cant say I have any complaints. It lasted for 5 years and when it finally failed it was easy to spot and it didn't cause any damage. The only reason I've yet to buy another is the fact that I simply don't think about it when I'm at the electronics store.

 

Probably not very well. But between them and nothing, you don't have much to lose.

 

I didn't know I can be covered with something so small and relatively economical.Thanks for the post.