The “All-In-One” Travel Adapter: Because Who Doesn’t Want to Carry a Half-Pound Brick to Recharge Their Ego?

Ah, the Baseus EnerCore CG11. It’s being hailed as the “nifty” solution to your travel woes, currently on sale for the “lowest price ever” of $24.95—down from a totally-real, definitely-not-inflated MSRP of $69.99. Because nothing says “quality engineering” like a 65% discount and a promo code that looks like a cat walked across a keyboard. Before you rush to Amazon to solve a problem you don’t actually have, let’s peel back the plastic on this “good investment.”

The Myth of Space-Saving
The article claims this “palm-sized cube” saves space because you don’t have to pack multiple adapters. Here’s a fun fact: the EnerCore CG11 weighs approximately half a pound. In the world of ultralight travel, that’s not an accessory; that’s a weapon. Most dedicated single-country adapters weigh less than two ounces. Unless you are planning a 48-hour whirlwind tour of London, Paris, and Sydney in a single afternoon, you’re literally carrying the mechanical weight of the British Empire and the European Union in your carry-on for no reason. It’s not “saving space” if the solution is heavier than the three things it replaces.

The Retractable Cable: A Masterclass in Planned Obsolescence
Baseus is very proud of its built-in, 27-inch retractable USB-C cable. We’ve all used retractable cables before. They have the life expectancy of a fruit fly. One slightly over-enthusiastic tug or a grain of sand in the mechanism, and you’re left with a 70W charger that’s permanently tethered to an limp, useless string. If the cable dies—and it will—you are now the proud owner of a very expensive, very heavy wall plug with a dangling appendage. It’s like buying a car where the steering wheel is made of glass: innovative, until it’s not.

“200 Countries” (Or: How to Over-Engineer Your Weekend in Cabo)
The marketing fluff loves to brag about compatibility with 200+ countries. This is the travel adapter equivalent of buying a 40-piece Swiss Army knife to open a can of beans. You’re lugging around Type G, Type I, and Type C sliders while sitting in a hotel in Cancun that uses the same Type A outlet you have at home. You aren’t “prepared”; you’re just carrying a mechanical museum of international electrical standards.

The 60W Laptop “Powerhouse”
The article notes you can charge “beefier gadgets, including laptops, albeit at slower speeds.” That “albeit” is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Most modern workhorse laptops (like a 16-inch MacBook Pro) come with a 96W or 140W charger. Using a shared 60W/70W hub to charge your laptop while simultaneously plugging in your phone and earbuds is a great way to watch your battery percentage stay exactly where it is for four hours while the adapter reaches temperatures usually reserved for the surface of the sun. It’s “versatile” in the same way a tricycle is a “versatile vehicle”—technically it moves, but you’re going to be frustrated the whole time.

The “No Surge Protection” Feature
In a stroke of marketing genius, the lack of surge protection is framed as a benefit because it makes it “cruise ship safe.” Only in the tech world can you sell a missing safety feature as a “specialized travel perk.” It’s like a car manufacturer selling a vehicle without brakes and calling it “ideal for downhill racing.” If you’re not on a cruise ship—which is roughly 99% of the traveling population—you’re just using a high-wattage device that offers zero protection against the sketchy, fluctuating power grids of those 200+ countries the article is so excited about.

The MSRP Mirage
Let’s address the $69.99 “original price.” Baseus, like many brands in the “Amazon-native” ecosystem, loves an anchor price. Nobody has ever paid $70 for this adapter. It exists at that price point solely so you can feel like a Wall Street genius for “saving” $45. At $25, it’s a reasonably priced plastic cube. At $70, it’s an insult to the concept of currency.

If you enjoy carrying a dense, mechanical brick that might stop retracting by Tuesday and offers the same surge protection as a wet paper towel, the Baseus EnerCore CG11 is the “deal” for you. For everyone else, maybe just pack the one adapter you actually need. Your shoulders (and your laptop’s motherboard) will thank you.