APC - SurgeArrest Essential 6 Outlet 1080 Joules Surge Protector - Black

I rarely criticize anything that Schneider Electric / APC manufactures, but I have to make an exception this time; this product could be better, with just a few improvements. Even though manufactured items must be built to a certain price point, the choice of PLASTIC (instead of METAL) for the base of this surge protector means that it is fairly flimsy. The removal of tight fitting plugs may cause the entire device to twist and distort, particularly if you have chosen to rotate the outlet receptacle to a horizontal position. While the rotating outlet feature helps deal with the obligatory “wall-wort” power supply, I have my doubts that the electrical connections will remain trouble free for the duration of the product's life span. Also, the dual function input circuit breaker / power switch is vulnerable to accidental turn off if something is dropped on the surge protector if it is being used under a desk, for example. The switch cap is not recessed adequately to prevent a book, or other object turning off your computer or router. This could easily have been prevented by designing two raised ridges surrounding the switch cap that would prevent such an inadvertent activation. Many of APC's other, more expensive surge protectors have this feature, why doesn't this one? My final suggestion would be to make the two green LEDs a good bit brighter as they are somewhat dim and hard to see, from an angle. This change could be implemented very easily. These small changes could make an otherwise excellent product better, for little increase in manufacturing cost, in my opinion.

I love the rotating outlets! Extremely helpful to get bricks and angle cords the correct way. I welcomed upgrade to my garage workshop! To clarify though, the outlets don't exactly "swivel". The rotation is actually comes in the form of a plastic cover that sits on top of 3 outlets (top, left, and right position). [This review was collected as part of a promotion.]

This new style power strip has USB charging ports and swivel outlets. Perfect for smaller spaces. I would like the power cord to be on the other end at least in my application but that is not a deal breaker. The swivel ports enable you to direct the plugs right or left when mounted on a wall for better cable management. [This review was collected as part of a promotion.]

The Rotating Outlets allow the use of a variety of plugs and power bricks. The line test features make me feel safer using this to protect my equipment. I plan to use this to protect a few items that do not need to be attached to a battery backup, just protected when in use. I trust APC from many years of use, and I like the features of this SurgeArrest. [This review was collected as part of a promotion.]

I have just gotten this APC SurgeArrest power strip. The biggest problem with power strips is that with power bricks for cell phone chargers, tablets, laptops etc, there is not enough room to plug them all in, because the outlets are all in a row. This unit is different. You can turn the outlets a full 90 degrees either way from the normal position and stagger the outlets to accommodate power bricks. While the outlets will stop at 45 degrees, there is a shield that blocks use of the outlet at 45 degrees, so you must rotate the outlet a full 90 degrees from starting position, either way. There is a power indicator light which is useful so that you know if the unit is delivering power. Some power strips do not have that. The power switch has a toggle switch to turn on and off power. The cord is about 6 feet long which should be long enough for most uses. There are two USB outlets so that you can plug in devices and charge them from the USB port instead of using a power brick. That frees up two more outlets for other duties. I would have liked two more USB ports, but this is a minor quibble. This is a much more compact and useful power strip than the one that I am using. I will look forward to packing it on my next trip due to its compactness. But it is great even at home and in my office. This is a great device, and one that I am happy to now own.