The travel tech I didn't know I needed — until it saved my workflow in 3 countries

Tom's Guide

10-07-2025

I used to think a universal adapter was just a minor travel inconvenience — one of those checklist items you grab at the airport kiosk and forget in your bag. That was until a failed charger in Barcelona forced me to beg for a café outlet during a Zoom call as my battery crawled toward 2%.
I'll never forget the look from the barista as I scrambled to find a working plug, my laptop sliding off my lap, the hotspot overheating, and 15 minutes of presentation left to survive. That's when I realized power is peace of mind, and I needed a better solution.
I found it in the TESSAN Voyager 205 Universal Travel Adapter — a name I hadn't heard before, but one that quickly earned a permanent spot in my bag.
Unboxing the TESSAN Voyager 205, I found premium tech's sleek, no-nonsense look. But it weighed less than I expected. At just 336g, it felt more like a power bank than an eight-device charger.
For the first time in years, I left my usual charger pouch at home — the one filled with international adapters, USB bricks, and backup plugs.
I packed it for a three-country sprint: Lisbon → Prague → Singapore. I didn't pack any other power bricks. I didn't need to.
The first time I appreciated the TESSAN Voyager 205 was at the airport. My seat had one outlet, and I had four devices in the red. Usually, that's a panic moment. Instead, I pulled this thing out of my carry-on, plugged in my laptop, iPhone, iPad, and earbuds, and sipped coffee while watching four little battery icons turn green.
That became a pattern — coworking desks, Airbnbs with ancient wiring, and hotel rooms with hidden plugs. It always worked, stayed cool, and just… handled it.
At a coworking space in Lisbon, outlets were buried, hard to access, and barely working. However, TESSAN Voyager 205's generous cable reach and outlet capacity made setup painless.
Later that week, in a Prague hostel lounge, I charged four devices from a single wall plug while others waited for their turn.
Its GaN (Gallium Nitride) core efficiently and quickly delivers up to 205 W total output with zero heat stress. I charged a MacBook Pro and Surface Laptop simultaneously and still had ports to spare. There was no lag, no resets. It just adapts, quietly doing its job while I do mine.
Throughout the trip, there were small but telling moments when the TESSAN Voyager 205 quietly proved its value, each one reinforcing that I'd made the right call.
It made me realize how much mental load disappears when power isn't a question mark. It's not just a charger — it's a workflow enabler.
There's a lot to appreciate when a piece of gear disappears into your routine in the best possible way. These are the things that stood out to me the most:
No device is perfect, and while the TESSAN Voyager 205 impressed me in nearly every scenario, a few minor things are worth noting:
If you're wondering whether this is the right fit for your lifestyle, here's who I think will get the most out of it:
I didn't expect to love a charger, but the TESSAN Voyager 205 quietly became the tech I now won't travel without. It didn't just make things easier—it removed friction from every part of my day, from meetings to long train rides.
If you're building your travel kit for 2025, this should be included, right next to your passport, laptop, and noise-cancelling headphones. Period.