I meant to use Satechi’s latest accessory at my desk but it turned out to be the perfect travel charger — here’s why
When packing for a trip — or even worse, a family trip — there are quite a few things you need to remember to bring, especially if you’re going somewhere more remote. Fortunately for the rest of my family, I always remember to bring a charger — several, in fact.
From towels to pool noodles and everything in between, our car was absolutely packed when we finally pulled out of my driveway. While everyone else made sure to have their beach gear and plenty of extra clothes, I was in charge of electronics per usual.
Now, we don’t let our four-year-old use a tablet at home, but with a six-hour drive ahead of us, I had no problem making an exception to that rule. So I charged and loaded the TCL NXTPAPER 14 with all of his favorite movies. Even though I consider it one of the best tablets, it doesn’t have a headphone jack, which meant this would be his first time using Bluetooth headphones instead of wired ones.
With my son squared away, it was time to pack my own tech bag. After packing my Nintendo Switch 2 and a pair of the best smart glasses so I could get the big-screen experience on the go, charging was next. While I always bring a plug-in GaN charger to quickly top off all my devices, this time around, I decided to do things a bit differently.
You see, as I had Satechi’s new ChargeView 140W Desktop Charger waiting on my desk, I threw it in my bag at the last minute — and I’m glad I did. While it’s designed for your desk, it ended up being the perfect charger for our trip. Here’s why.
From the wall to your desk
At 3 x 3 x 1.5 inches, Satechi’s new ChargeView Desktop Charger is quite compact. Still, it packs a punch with a total power output of 140W. In the box, you get the charger itself, a power cord, and a stand. Even though it’s meant to be stationary, it’s small enough that you can easily slip it — along with the power cable and stand — into your bag.
One of my favorite things about this particular charger is that it uses a standard, figure-8-style power cord. This means it’s easy to replace, and I guarantee you have more than a few of these lying around your house. In fact, the PS5, Xbox Series X, and even the Mac mini M4 all use this same cord.
In addition to giving the charger plenty of room to breathe, the included stand has a neat trick up its sleeve. While you can use it with the charger lying flat on its side like I did, you can also set it up vertically. So whether you have horizontal or vertical space to spare on your desk, you’ll be able to find a place for the Satechi ChargeView. Likewise, you won’t struggle to plug it in, since it uses a standard wall plug as opposed to a bulky power adapter that takes up multiple outlets.
Now back to our family trip, where it proved to be as useful for me as it was for everyone else at our rental property.
Enough watts for the whole family
Now, this wasn’t my first time staying at this particular Airbnb, as we had actually stayed in the upstairs unit last year. As such, I knew the layout like the back of my hand before we even set off. The living room is right next to the front door as you walk in, and I remembered there were two fairly large end tables on either side of the couch. I figured this would be the perfect place to set up the Satechi ChargeView, since I knew we’d be running back and forth from the beach pretty frequently.
I plugged the Satechi ChargeView in behind the couch and set it up horizontally toward the back of the end table. Then I grabbed a handful of USB-C to USB-C cables of varying lengths and plugged those in, too. Although I like to plug in my phone and wait until it’s fully charged before picking it up again, I know my wife’s cousin is the type to use his while it’s charging. He is a Zoomer, after all. This is why I plugged a longer cable into the port closest to the couch.
On the front of the device, there’s a bright display that gives you plenty of charging info at a glance. On the main screen, you can see the total output power and which ports are currently in use. However, pressing the button on top of the Satechi ChargeView lets you drill down for more details. You can see how many watts each connected device is currently pulling and whether the charger is running cool or if its active cooling is currently engaged.
Now, I’m sure the Satechi ChargeView will be even more useful at my desk back home, but with four people charging everything from phones to tablets to AirPods, it was interesting to see which devices had fast charging and which ones topped off at a trickle. The stand and overall design worked great here, too, since I never had to worry about it coming unplugged. At the same time, this is a charger nobody can borrow and forget to put back — which I know happens quite often on big trips with a lot of people.
Your charger, their outlet
Now don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore my plug-in GaN chargers, and even with the Satechi ChargeView set up in the living room on our trip, I still had one tucked away in my bag. The problem with these types of chargers isn’t the devices themselves. Instead, it’s where you plug them in, since no two power outlets are the same.
For instance, the Ugreen Nexode 65W on the right in the photo above has a retractable plug. This is great as it makes the whole device more compact, but I’ve definitely been in situations where I just couldn’t get it to stay put in an outlet. Alternatively, the Ugreen Uno 100W on the left is a beefier plug-in GaN charger with more wattage and ports. As such, it’s on the heftier side, which has led to a similar situation where I just couldn’t keep it securely plugged into older outlets that have loosened over time.
Now with the Satechi ChargeView on my recent family trip, I didn’t have to worry about this kind of thing at all. Its long power cord made reaching the nearest outlet a breeze, and its desktop-style design meant I didn’t need to bring extra-long charging cables with me. The display on the front made the whole charging experience a bit more fun, too, since we could all see how fast our devices actually charged.
After a successful family trip, I’m now tempted to bring the Satechi ChargeView on my next work trip, too — and for good reason. I can unplug it from my desk and grab a spare power cord to quickly throw it in my suitcase. Then once I’ve checked into my hotel, I won’t have to worry about where the outlets are or whether or not they’ll be a good fit for my plug-in GaN chargers. I never meant to bring this desktop-style charger with me, but now that I have, it just might be my new go-to travel charger.
Follow Tom’s Guide on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Subscribe to Tom’s Guide on YouTube and follow us on TikTok. Finally, you can visit our dedicated Tom’s Guide Savings Squad hub for expert help on getting the best products for less.
