Zendure Passport Ii Pro Travel Adapter Review: I often work away from home and sometimes even abroad, so I’m always looking for ways to bring fewer chargers and cords with my 13-inch MacBook Pro. I’ve used global travel adapters with USB ports before, but nothing like Zendure’s just-released Passport II Pro, which I’ve been testing at home for a few weeks.
This 61-watt GaN USB-C travel adapter is an improvement on Zendure’s famous Passport, which was the first travel adapter in the world with a fuse that resets itself when it blows. The 30-watt Passport Pro came after that. It used GaN technology and could charge a tablet and four other devices at the same time.
The Passport II Pro, on the other hand, is the world’s first 61-watt GaN travel charger with 5 USB ports and an auto-resetting fuse. Based on how well Zendure’s Kickstarter effort did, a lot of people are interested in this adapter. Let’s take a closer look at what it can do.
Features
The 61-watt USB-C port on the side of the Passport II Pro was the first thing that caught my eye. This port has enough power to charge a 13-inch MacBook Pro. Apple’s charging plugs have never been small, but the one that comes with the 13-inch MacBook Pro in the UK is especially big and not easy to carry.
On the other hand, the Passport II Pro is smaller and lighter than the Apple UK plug by a few grams (170 grams vs. 225 grams). This is because Zendure uses GaN technology, which lets the adapter give a computer enough power without making it bigger. (Zendure says that the Passport GO is 20% bigger than the Passport GO, but the Passport GO is a few grams heavier.)
On the bottom of the adapter, there is a USB-C port with 61 watts, three USB-A ports with 12 watts each, and a USB-C port with the same amount of power. Altogether, there are five ports. When all the ports are used at once, the 61-watt USB-C port drops to 45 watts and the other USB ports drop to a total of 12 watts.
The adapter’s slot-loading plug works with ports in over 200 countries, including the US, UK, Europe, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Asia, the Middle East, and more.
The adapter’s front-facing plug slots work with the same kinds of devices and can charge a sixth one. They are also covered by a shield that keeps kids from putting things in the sockets. The Passport Pro II can take three-prong plugs, but the middle plug won’t be grounded. It also works with reversed plugs, but Zendure says that before you do that, you should make sure that the device is double-insulated.
The Passport II Pro doesn’t change voltages up or down, but most current electronics work fine between 100V and 250V, so nothing I plugged into it caused any problems. So, check everything before you hook something up.
In the event of a power surge, the auto-resetting fuse stops power to the devices that are plugged in. It then turns back on within a minute so that charging can continue. The fuse has also been raised from 6 amps to 10 amps, so it can now power many high-power gadgets like hair dryers and electric kettles.
Design and Performance
The Passport II Pro is well-made and feels like it would be able to handle bumps well when it’s stored. I also found it easy to use the sliders that change the plug pins that go into slots.
By design, you can’t move the sliders to make more than one set of pins stick out. This is because you can’t move the sliders if one set of pins is already sticking out. You also have to put a little pressure on the sliders to get them to move. This keeps them safely stored inside the adapter frame when they are not in use.
All of the plug types I tried fit into the front-facing socket holes, and I didn’t have to force any of them past the child-proof shield, which isn’t true of other international plug adapters I’ve used.
It’s easy to plug and unplug the adapter because of its size and shape, and it’s much easier to pack than the charger for the Apple 13-inch MacBook, which I think is a big win.
It’s too bad that the row of USB ports on the bottom of the body can’t say the same. When used with a U.K. plug, the location of these USB ports can make it hard to plug in USB cables without unplugging the adapter fully, and the tiny LED that shows whether or not a USB device is charging is hard to see.
Other travel adapters have USB ports on the top, which, at least when I’ve used them at home, makes them easier to use. Depending on where you live and the plug standard, your experience may be different.
Using just the Power Delivery port, I was able to fully charge my 2020 13-inch MacBook Pro in a little over two hours, which is the same speed I get from Apple’s charger. This time went up to just over three hours when I put in an iPhone 11 Pro, an Apple Watch, AirPods Pro, Sony WH-1000XM3 headphones, and a 12.9-inch iPad Pro at the same time.
When I stopped using the Power Delivery port, the extra power was sent to the other USB ports, and all the devices I had plugged in got a boost in charging.
Conclusion
Zendure’s Passport II Pro is a 61-watt GaN USB-C travel adapter that offers a more compact and lightweight option than Apple’s UK plug. It uses GaN technology, allowing the adapter to provide enough power without making it larger.
The adapter has five USB ports, including a 61-watt USB-C port, three USB-A ports, and a USB-C port. It works with over 200 ports in the US, UK, Europe, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Asia, and the Middle East. The auto-resetting fuse stops power to devices plugged in and turns back on within a minute to continue charging.
