Remember back in 2019 when hopping a continent wasn’t a big deal? Instead of facemasks or hand sanitizer, international travelers had to worry about how they would charge their multitude of electronic devices. Not only did you have to pack your travel device specific charging adapter, you had to worry about voltage converters or plug adapters.
Wouldn’t it be nice if you could have a single converter/adapter that you could use almost everywhere in the world? And what if that converter/adapter could charge up to 6 devices simultaneously so that you didn’t have to worry about bringing the extra adapters? It may have arrived during a global pandemic and international travel bans, but the Charwego 45W charger/adapter is going to be a must have for jetsetters.
Design
The Charwego 45W charger/adapter measures at 1.89” x 2.95” x 2.28”. It weighs 6.2oz. It’s considerably larger than the wall warts that used to come with your smartphone but you have to keep in mind that this potentially replaces your laptop, smartphone, and tablet chargers. Size-wize, it’s about the size of 3 decks of cards stacked together. It features 4x USB Type-A, 1x USB Type-C and pass-through power for 110v and 220v outlets.
What is truly ingenious about the Charwego charger/adapter is the method in which international plugs extend and retract into the body of the charger itself. Switching from one plug type is as simple as pushing a button to retract the current plug and move a lever to select the necessary plug for your country. The sliders are labeled US, EU, UK, and AUS. Combined, they cover over 200 countries. No need to carry a bag of conversion adapters.
Performance
Without a proper electric current meter, I’m not able to measure the exact wattage delivered by the Charwego, so I have to take their word at face value. The combined charging output of the device is 45 watts.
While the Charwego can charge up to 6 devices simultaneously, it is limited to 45W total output. Technically, the device itself can only charge five devices via its 4x USB-A and single USB-C ports. The sixth device requires that you use a separate charging adapter plugged into the Charwego as a pass-through. The USB-A ports are further limited to 12W or 2.5 amps of charging at 5v. The single USB-C port supports 5V3A, 9V2A, 12V3A, 15V3A, or 20V2.25A.
If you’re looking to quick charge your device, unfortunately you are limited to the single USB-C port. Reading through their Kickstarter campaign, this is the chief complaint and reason for cancellation of pledges.
I was successfully able to concurrently charge two phones, a portable battery charger and Bluetooth speaker using the Charwego without tripping the auto-resetting circuit breaker built into the charger. I didn’t notice any significant slowdown when charging simultaneous devices.
Summary
If you can live with the charge rate limitations, the Charwego is a compelling device for frequent global travelers. Even when you’re not traveling, the Charwego might be a good charger since it consumes a single outlet while also allowing a pass-through.
The Charwego is 100% funded having met their Kickstarter campaign goal in just 3 days since going live in December of 2020. Having sold out of their early bird pricing levels, the current cost to back this project is a minimum of $44.99 USD which is 23% off of their retail price of $59. Similar devices are available through your “prime” online retailer but aren’t capable of delivering 45W of total power as well as being limited to fewer international plug types.
