Bestek 8 outlet Power Strip Surge Protector Review
Bestek 8 outlet Power Strip Surge Protector Review
Buy it on Amazon: Bestek 8 outlet Power Strip Surge Protector [Affiliate Link]
Takeaway: Conflicting specs, questionable certs and surge protection, works fine as power strip.
I got the version of the surge protector with the 15 ft long power cord (no longer available?). It has eight 3-prong outlets and 4 USB ports. The unit measures 10”L x 3.75”W x 1.5”H. The heavy gauge insulated cable has an attached Velcro cable tie and the connector on the end is angled 90° for easier cable management when plugged into the wall, which I thought was a nice touch. In the top left hand corner you have the power/reset switch which is red when the unit has power. Each of the grounded outlets have dust doors inside that closed when nothing is plugged into the socket. The two offset outlets on the right help accommodate larger power bricks. The USB ports also have silicone dust covers when they are not being used. The two ports on the left output 2.4A while the next two output 1A and 0-2.4A respectively but the max output combined is only 4.2A (about 1 A per port), so that's a bit misleading if you thought you'd be able to maximize the power output through the USB ports.
On the bottom of the surge protector are the specs and two holes for hanging or mounting the unit. Disappointingly, the specs indicate that this is more of a power strip than a surge protector. It notes only protection for the 4 USB ports on the spec sheet and no official joule rating for the outlets themselves. When the USB ports are shorted or overloaded the LED will be flashing. No analogous functionality is available for the normal outlets. The stated load capacity is 1870 or 1875 Watts (depends where you look on the literature). This product is not officially UL certified, and I’m not inclined to trust the ETL certification stamp because the logo stamp is a forgery. When compared with the real ETL stamp, you'll see the middle character in the symbol is different; it has a ‘T’ not an ‘I’. I would use this for surge protection at your own risk. There's just a lot of inconsistencies in what the company is claiming. As a power strip, it worked fine for extending the reach of my outlet to electronics that were across the room. However, during a thunder/lightning storm I would probably just unplug the whole thing to protect any devices attached to it.
Buy it on Amazon: Bestek 8 outlet Power Strip Surge Protector [Affiliate Link]
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