Typically, when you buy official products from reputable brands, you can limit a lot of issues related to travel outlet adapters. Often, their products have passed the necessary safety certifications, such as the FCC, UL, ET, and CE, which ensures consistent manufacturing quality. In addition, they are accountable if their products fall below standard, which can come in the form of overheating or not grounding. Although certifications can be faked, especially if you’re buying an adapter from some random store on the road, even legitimate brands can have issues.

For example, Apple has a history of recalling an older version of its AC wall plug adapters. Apple offered to exchange certain models that were shipped as part of its Apple World Travel Adapter Kit from 2003 to 2015. In recent times, another common issue among travel adapters is the risk of electric shock, often due to poor build quality. Some brands that have been known to have this problem include Travel PD and Wenger. While this can be alarming, buying from reputable brands from authorized retailers helps reduce a lot of risks, including the benefit of being informed when they release recalls for devices. In addition, there are many reputable brands that offer travel outlet adapters that have built-in safety features, like grounding and overload protection, which are already a step in the right direction. 

If you want to cover all your bases, the $24.99 EPICKA Universal Travel Adapter is a popular option on Amazon, with a 4.7-star rating from over 16,000 reviewers. Built with safety features like a 10A fuse and plug locks, it has 4 USB-A ports, a USB-C port, and an AC socket, which you can use to charge half a dozen devices all at once. And if you ever need to replace the fuse, EPICKA sells those too.

Alternatively, if you don’t necessarily need all those features, you can also just get an adapter specifically for the plugs from your home country to your destination country. Starting at $11.99, Ceptics sells 2-prong and 3-prong inputs that are made for various destinations. Or, if you want to cover all your bases, you can get the Ceptics World Travel Adapter Set instead. Priced at $27.99, it has 11 grounded types of international adapters with two inputs, so you can charge up to two devices at once. 

That said, if you absolutely need an adapter that also has a voltage converter, the 250W BESTEK International Power Adapter has an average rating of 4.4 stars from more than 3,800+ Amazon users. With prices that start at $37.38, it doesn’t just have a step-down travel voltage converter, but can charge up to 7 devices at the same time via AC plug and USB ports. Plus, BESTEK shares that it works with high-powered devices, like hair curlers or hair straighteners.