Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Since these get plugged into your power system, it is important to know if they are safe. I took the back off and did a quick engineering assessment. Overall, the quality looks very good. The line, neutral and ground bus bars, which are the copper strips in the photos, are well separated by molded plastic and appear to be beefy enough to carry the rated power for the strip. The incoming power lines to feed the bus bars are welded to the copper. Surge protection is provided by some Metal Oxide Varistors which will "short out" if there is a high voltage surge, preventing the surge from reaching the equipment plugged into the power strip. I did not check the MOV values, but they were wired correctly across the bus bars. Build quality is good, but could be neater. All USB charging ports worked - I checked by plugging in a phone and confirmed the charging icon showed. I also checked one of the four ports at random and the total amperage it provided exceeded the rating - My USB amp/volt meter showed it provided 3.19 amps at 5V! The only major drawback I noted is that the power switch is very sensitive - if you barely touch the rocker switch it while ON, it will momentarily turn off even without 'clicking' to the off position - see the video. This interrupts power to the whole strip! The power switch is recessed, which helps to minimize this from happening, but if these are placed where they might get bumped a bit, such as under a desk, and your foot touches it, you'll lose power. The power switch is also the circuit breaker, there isn't a separate "push to reset" switch. Overall, for the price, it is a good deal. Pros - 1. Good build quality (but could be better) 2. Surge protection appears adequate 3. Nice length for the power cord 4. USB power (current and voltage regulation) is excellent 5. Beeps when drawing more than 15 amps, and the circuit breaker in the power switch trips at 20 amps Cons - 1. Sensitive power switch can be accidentally turned off if bumped