A few questions re: London

[imagirliegirl]

Hi ladies, I know there are some England threads, but I've got optic neuritis and I really cannot read well enough to sort through the threads. I was hoping you might help me.

First off, hair dryers. I was just planning to take mine with an adapter but my prof (it's study abroad) said that might fry. She recommended buying one in London, which is what she did, but the thought of spending 50 bucks on a blow dryer grosses me out. I did some searching on Amazon, as much as I could, and I found some dual voltage ones on the cheap. But she says those don't work that well - they are "too weak". Opinions? I have really short hair, it's chin length, so I don't demand a super powerful dryer. I just need something to work well enough that I'm not frizzy.

Also, what about my camera battery? She recommended disposables, but of course I have a Sony camera which doesn't take those. I was looking at buying an extra battery, just to be safe, but is my charger going to get fried when I plug it in, even if I have the adapter?

My husband went to Europe a few years ago and said he had no problems charging his camera and stuff, but now I'm all paranoid.

Thanks a bunch!

[alisong]

A dual voltage hair dryer will be fine. Yeah, it will get fried eventually, but if you're not going to need it long-term, you'll be fine. Just buy something cheap here, and use a plug adaptor. I've found that 120V hair dryers will work great in 240V-land (they'll be over-powerful, if anything, hence the frying), but not vice-versa.

Your camera should also be fine without a voltage converter - I'm pretty sure most camera AC converters are rated to 240V (it will be written on the converter), so again you'll only need a plug adaptor.

[bookworm]

Where are you staying? Your hotel may have a hair dryer (even if they don't have them in room, some will have them at the front desk).

I had a bad experience with a laptop battery being fried despite having a converter, so I'm a little gun shy about those. This was nearly 15 years ago, though (when did I get so old??), so things may have changed.

In the past I have recommended picking up a dryer at Boots, but that's before the exchange rate got quite so wretched. I'd probably risk it with the hair dryer (or find a hotel that has one), but buy an extra camera battery.

[imagirliegirl]

Will I be able to charge my iPod without frying it with just an adapter or do I need a converter?

[kdotp]

I was over there for about 3 months and ended up just buying quite a few personal items over there: hair dryer, clothes iron, etc... I had my personal cd walkman (hey, it was 9 years ago!) and I just would buy batteries as I needed. One of my flatmates (we were all from the same school doing a work-study program) had a laptop, but I can't remember if he bought a converter or had ordered a different cable before we left.

It looks like there's an iPod power "world traveler adapter kit" (http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=MTU5Mjc&fnode=home/shop_ipod/ipod_accessories/power&nplm=M8794G/B) available from the apple site. I've found that apple-specific products tend to have fewer problems with apple items than other brands.

[tlew12778]

Are you bringing your laptop? I would just charge your ipod via the USB.

I bought my digicam in the US and I charge it using an adaptor. The charger takes 100-240v so you just need the adaptor plug. Same with your ipod charger probably. You can buy these little sets of adaptors for like $15 in any travel store.

Just check your hairdryer. If it does not take up to 240 just buy another one there. I am sure you can find them for like 10GBP at Boots.

[AmyE]

I lived in Rome for two years and used my $10 Target hairdryer the entire time. It was dual voltage - just flip the switch, stick in the plug adapter, and you should be fine. If it fries, then you have to shell out for one in London. If it doesn't fry, you've saved some cash.

Our Apple computer, laptop, and ipod have now survived two years in Asia plugged into plug adapters. Our elecrtical current isn't reliable, so we do have them on surge protectors. I don't think outages or surges are an issue in London though, so you'd probably be fine. We do charge the iPod via the laptop though, which is dual voltage anyway. Just easier.

on the camera - buy an extra battery.

[Mrs. M.]

Apple has a kit for international use, called the world traveller kit. The plugs fit all the Apple stuff I think.

http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=MTM5NDY&nplm=M8794G/B

For the Ipod you could just get an AC-USB cable when you are there, or charge the Ipod from a computer.

[tlew12778]

I have the world traveler kit and honestly I consider it a total waste of money. I got it for my MBP but the thing gives me shocks if I use the adapter plugs bc they are not grounded. Probably not so much of an issue with an ipod but I would save the $35 if I could.