MICRO – The World’s Smallest Universal Travel Adapter

$29 USD

By Michael

Editor's Rating:

Travel light wherever you go with Micro, the World’s Smallest Universal Travel Adapter. This adapter works in over 150 countries around the world, and it weighs under 1.5 ounces. Micro has built-in surge protection to keep your gadgets safe, even in the most remote places on Earth. The lightweight design is perfect for backpacking, and small enough to fit in any laptop sleeve. The adapter has a modular third pin, which means it works perfectly with English-style sockets. In addition, the innovative casing covers the extra pin on three-pin plugs, so you stay safe at all times. Made from eco-friendly silicone and other high-quality material, Micro can also take everyday use. This innovative adapter helps you stay connected and work remotely, while you tick off your bucket list.

Pre Order $29

Via Kickstarter

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Comments

Kickstarter Comments (50)

300

Monica

Review from Kickstarter

@JEONG SU YONG, thank you for your comment. MICRO helps you adapt from one plug type to another, however it is not a power converter. Let us know if you have any other questions and thank you for supporting MICRO!

JEONG SU YONG

Review from Kickstarter

Can micros serve as a transformer?

David Peacock

Review from Kickstarter

@Monica You are correct in saying that it is a decision of the relevant authorities as to whether a product is compliant, but when the non-compliances are so blatantly obvious then it is a foregone conclusion as to what that decision will be! There are many illegal products offered for sale on Amazon, that changes nothing! The authorities have a constant battle in trying to resolve that, but they are to be commended for working diligently to block the sale of unsafe products. A relevant example would be the adaptor (which I brought to your attention in my original email) having the same illegal method of connecting to a British socket as the MICRO, you will not find that for sale any longer:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Belkin-F8E449-Universal-Travel-Adapter/dp/B00008O393 I note that you continue to avoid the issue of the false claim that the time delay fuse you specify will provide surge protection. It does not, and nor will anything else unless you provide an earth connection and the appropriate circuitry!

Monica

Review from Kickstarter

@David Peacock you are welcome to come back with as many reasons as to why you don’t approve of MICRO, the unquestionable point remains that it is the decision of the relevant regulatory bodies to decide whether a product meets the required international standards or not. Furthermore, repeating what I said in the previous response… on your website you listed approximately 10 travel adapters (http://www.bs1363.org.uk/html/adaptors.html) not meeting the same types of requirements you invoke about MICRO. Almost all of the travel adapters you deem unfit for sale are currently being sold on amazon.com and other reputable marketplaces, airports, and local stores. Taking MICRO through all the correct certification is our responsibility and one that we have communicated to our backers throughout the campaign. I am unsure as to why you are so keen to pursue us in an aggressive manner while also prompting your engineer colleagues to attack us on other platforms outside Kickstarter. As mentioned during my previous comment, we also appreciate you are dedicating your spare time to communicating with us and we’d happily engage with you if this wasn’t an endless exchange of redundant messages. We trust you can in turn appreciate that we have a lot of commitments to fulfil during the last few days of the campaign and will therefore not be able to continue engaging with you further at this point. We hope you don’t interpret this as rudeness on our side and we wish you a great Saturday afternoon for now.

David Peacock

Review from Kickstarter

In the further interests of transparency, backers may like to consider some of the points made by other qualified electrical engineers in response to Monica's LinkedIn article at:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/micro-worlds-smallest-universal-travel-adapter-surge-monica-lazar#pulse

David Peacock

Review from Kickstarter

@Monica This is not about personal opinions, it is about the standards and regulations which control the sale of such products here in the UK as well as elsewhere in the world. In my original email to you I provided a small sample (about 20) of the many EU RAPEX alerts detailing travel adaptors which have been banned from sale in Europe in the past few years for the very reasons that your product is non-compliant. Your reply to me here is the first acknowledgement I have had from you that you actually received that email! It is very obvious from your FAQ item: "MICRO will be FCC, CE and IEC certified. The testing is done by authorised laboratories to be legally sold worldwide. We have already contacted the regulatory bodies and have all the arrangements lined up for certification." that you are not at all aware of your safety obligations and responsibilities. The FCC (the US Federal Communications Commission) has absolutely no involvement in travel adapters, CE marking is not relevant to domestic plug and socket products (which encompasses adapters), and the IEC is a standards body, not a certification body. If you had actually contacted the relevant regulatory authorities you would have listed them, not completely irrelevant acronyms! As far as the UK is concerned, I am very familiar with BS 1363 (the standard for plugs and sockets) and with BS 8546 (the standard for travel adapters which interface with BS 1363 plugs and/or sockets). I have given you detailed reasons why your product is non-compliant. Similar lack of compliance applies to the national standards of other countries. To achieve compliance will involve, amongst other things, the addition of socket shutters, a proper fuse complying with BS 1361 (and fitted in such a way that it is not possible to gain access to it when the plug part of the adapter is engaged with a socket), a set of BS 1363 compliant pins, and an increase in the dimensions of the socket face to ensure that it is not possible to insert only a single pin of any plug with which the adapter is intended to be used. There can be no doubt that compliance will involve a complete re-design, and result in a significantly larger adapter. Despite your protestations of the maintenance of full transparency, you have also ignored the fact that your claims of a fuse which provides surge protection for the connected device are entirely false.

Monica

Review from Kickstarter

@David Peacock, thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts. We appreciate your concerns for everybody’s safety because those same concerns have been at the core of our project since we designed and created MICRO. You might already know that the legality of a product such as MICRO is not dictated by personal opinions (however well informed) but rather by international standards set forth by official governing bodies located around the world. They will take MIRCO through a very thorough assessment before certifying it for safe use according to international standards. Should there be any adjustment needed as far as design and functionality are concerned, the laboratory undertaking the certification will guide us accordingly. In keeping with our transparency: All our backers deserve to know that you have contacted us previously with a very long, rather threatening email, prompting us to stop our marketing efforts for MICRO and to take down our campaign because you deem the product illegal and unsafe. After a quick search on your website (http://www.bs1363.org.uk/html/adaptors.html) and other references that popped up, we understood that you seem to have a problem with almost every plug adaptor on the market that doesn’t submit to your opinions. The plug adaptors you deem unsafe on your website are available everywhere in the world: street shops, airports, online sellers or major retailers. You can find them sold by Amazon, the world’s biggest online marketplace, and we are sure everybody has (just like us) at least one of these adapters in their house or luggage. You further proceeded to contact Mr. Miloseski-Reid (representing the London Boroughs of Merton and Richmond Regulatory Services Partnership) and prompted him to also contact us and ask us to take our campaign down. As you already know, the London Boroughs of Merton and Richmond Regulatory Services Partnership is an investigative body responsible for enforcing UK and EU consumer protection laws in the UK. Mr. Miloseski-Reid had a very pleasant discussion with our CEO and understood our commitment to taking MICRO through the required certification process. For these reasons, we decided not to entertain your previous, less than courteous email, although we now realise it was only a matter of time before you’d take to backing our project so you can comment on the campaign page. We maintain full transparency with all our backers and we are happy to address all genuine concerns, however you will have to forgive us for not engaging further with you on this topic. We have over 9,000 backers that deserve all our attention in the final days of our campaign, and we are therefore happy to welcome further discussions with you after the campaign is over. We thank you again for your comment and we wish you a relaxing weekend ahead.

David Peacock

Review from Kickstarter

@Rex John Ramos, not sure why you assume that is the case? Having lived in America for several years I can assure you that only old properties do not have grounded outlets, it has not been legal to fit ungrounded outlets in new installations for over 50 years. A fridge will certainly have a grounded plug, and a laptop will have one if that is what the manufacturer provides. My American bought HP and Lenovo laptops have grounded plugs, my old American Dell does not.

Monica

Review from Kickstarter

@Adrian Ward, we are really sorry to hear you found the survey confusing. The original colour never actually had a name, we called it "sky blue" for lack of a more creative reference. The survey only included one blue option (reflected in the survey photo in a stronger blue than the original "sky blue" colour) and it was called Electric Blue. Thank you for sharing that insight, and if there's anything else we can clarify, please feel free to let us know anytime. Have a wonderful weekend for now!

Rex John Ramos

Review from Kickstarter

David Peacock... Thanks for the info. For sure the creator has the answer for that. By the way, why does US and Asia plugs have only two pins for appliances like laptops and even huge refrigerators?

David Peacock

Review from Kickstarter

Edit to my comment below; Regarding "overhanging" plug pins it should read: The MICRO does NOT provide this protection, and therefore fails most national safety standards.

David Peacock

Review from Kickstarter

You claim that "you no longer have to worry about a surge frying your devices. The built-in 6.3A fuse keeps your devices safe". But the fact is that a fuse cannot protect a connected device against surges. The fuse you specify, "T6.3 A" is a time delay or "slow blow" fuse, sometimes known as an "anti-surge fuse" which means that it will NOT blow when a surge occurs. It does not protect your device, it protects itself. Surge protection actually uses devices which route the surge current to ground (earth), so can only work when there is a ground connection. The MICRO has no ground pin, and therefore cannot provide surge protection, or ensure that a grounded device is safe to operate. Contrary to what is suggested, it is not only larger appliances which need grounding, many laptops do also. Other adapters are larger for a reason, to make them safe to use. There needs to be space around the plug pins to prevent you touching them when plugging in. There also needs to be sufficient space between socket holes and the edge of the socket face to prevent any possibility of plugging only a single plug pin in, and leaving the other pin "overhanging" the socket, which is potentially lethal. The MICRO does provide this protection, and therefore fails most national safety standards. It will be illegal to sell in many countries, especially European countries. (There is a long list of adapters that have been banned across Europe for this reason.) Use in the UK requires properly shaped rectangular plug pins, which the MICRO does not have. It is neither legal nor safe to use in the UK. UK sockets are designed to contact flat surfaces only, not round pins, and forcing a round pin plug into a UK socket results in a poor quality (high resistance) connection which can overheat and cause a fire. In many millions of better quality UK wall sockets it is simply impossible to plug in "Europlug" style pins (which is what the MICRO has), the socket shutters are specifically designed to trap round pins and prevent their insertion. Many people think that UK socket shutters are always operated by the earth pin, but that is only in cheaper sockets, the good ones do not work that way! It is very clear that this is a product designed by someone who has no knowledge of the fundamentals of plugs and sockets, or the standards and regulations they are required to meet. The designers have no interest in the safety of the user, and no understanding of what surge protection is, and how it is achieved.

Adrian Ward

Review from Kickstarter

The survey was a little screwy, the blue option changed names throughout and without an image of the colour it was difficult to understand what was being selected.

Monica

Review from Kickstarter

@Rex John Ramos, we don't find you rude at all and we appreciate you took the time to share your thoughts. :) We aren't sure of each backer's colour preference at the moment, we will only know once the campaign has ended and we send out the backer survey. Based on the survey results, we will know exactly what colours to produce and it might be that the original sky blue is not the majority's preference. Keep an eye on Monday's update, we will announce the new stretch goal unlocking at £500K. Thank you again for your continued support, we appreciate it more than you know!

Monica

Review from Kickstarter

@Daniel, thank you for the kind words and for supporting MICRO!

Monica

Review from Kickstarter

@David Tang, we hear you and will definitely consider the suggestion. :) Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts!

Monica

Review from Kickstarter

@SD, it does indeed come with a fuse by default + a spare, so this would be and extra spare.

Monica

Review from Kickstarter

@Kartikeya Jha, always a pleasure. We wish you safe travels and a beautiful day for now!

Rex John Ramos

Review from Kickstarter

Hi creator. I hope you would not find me rude. But I just want to ask if you have numbers of people who would like your sky blue color? I know that this is your original idea color. But don't you think that more people would like other colors such as the Kickstarter Green compared to the sky blue? Just asking. :( I just want Kickstarter Green than extra fuse since you can buy it in a local hardware store. :(

Daniel

Review from Kickstarter

Hi there; congrats on the project and it's growth. I would ask for the fuse as a preference. cheers. Daniel

David Tang

Review from Kickstarter

@creator, as the fuse just cost several cents. For stretch goal of half million, I proposed to have both extra fuse and green colour option unlocked.

Steven Shilts

Review from Kickstarter

People saying it's hard to find fuses lol, you can buy them at gas stations or even better online.

Peter Ng

Review from Kickstarter

Hi, would I be able to choose the color a month after the campaign ends? I'll be working on a ship in the next few days so I might not have internet access to reply to the survey. I'm looking forward to get the ruby red color adapter. Please advice. Thanks.

Review from Kickstarter

Doesnt the micro already come with a spare fuse?

Kartikeya Jha

Review from Kickstarter

@Monika thanks again! Guess I'll keep my fingers crossed and get the Micro for the time. Hopefully it works while in India. :)

Rose Ludwig

Review from Kickstarter

Extra fuse. Definitely.

Ali Mughal

Review from Kickstarter

I'll vote for extra fuse.

Monica

Review from Kickstarter

@everybody sharing their preference on the final stretch goal, you guys are all amazing! We appreciate you're taking the time to tell us what you need and we're listening carefully. The unanimous preference is pretty clear already :) but we'll see if the balance shifts until Monday when we post the update with the winning stretch goal. Thank you, really! We're sending you a virtual hug and we're wishing you a relaxing coming weekend, wherever you are.

Monica

Review from Kickstarter

@Kartikeya Jha, you are most welcome! MICRO's pins are a bit longer than the prong depth afforded by the Indian plugs. That means it will be sticking out of the plug and will likely sag. We would not advise using MICRO in India but it will definitely be a loyal travel buddy when you travel to other countries MICRO is compatible with. If there's anything else we can do for you, we are always happy to help!

Roland

Review from Kickstarter

Definitely second fuse here too! You need the new fuse right in the moment when the old was is blown away. Otherwise you might have a road trip finding a new fuse in a foreign country...

Seen

Review from Kickstarter

Definitely voting for the second fuse. You don't want to be stuck with a blown fuse and not being able to charge any of your devices in a foreign place where you'll have problems with even finding the right store!

Fern Delaney

Review from Kickstarter

Definitely second fuse! I wouldn't want to have to find one in a country where I don't speak the language!!

Vinko

Review from Kickstarter

Love to get an extra fuse. Really looking forward to my Micro

Namgyal choephel

Review from Kickstarter

Good morning to all, extra fuse will be perfect ��. can't wait to get my Micro

Pasha Khan

Review from Kickstarter

Hi
Extra fuze is a great idea
Best

Toni

Review from Kickstarter

As a person who travels a lot, I think an extra fuse qould be very helpful. Becouse in a lot of countrys not in big citys, we have got a several time problems with the current/ voltage and often a fuse burns. Often was not possible to finde shops where sells fuse. With an additional fuse it is more reliable to get power and to use it.

Kartikeya Jha

Review from Kickstarter

@Monica thank you for the detailed response to the question. Can I ask for your suggestion on this? I suppose from your response that the Micro would have troubles in this situation, but do you think it is worth taking a risk if there's any chance it may work? I may use it for other countries when I travel to them in the future, but right now my immediate use would be for India. Thanks for your help and advice on the matter. Cheers! @Vishrut let's hear what the team has to say on this. We'll see.

jane nearing

Review from Kickstarter

extra fuse, please

Bethany Asplundh

Review from Kickstarter

2nd fuse 100%!

Beat Kappert

Review from Kickstarter

2nd fuse, please!

Tevel Arbel

Review from Kickstarter

2nd fuse

Nicolai Lindholm

Review from Kickstarter

2nd fuse please

Joshua

Review from Kickstarter

2nd Fuse!

Martin Post

Review from Kickstarter

a 2nd extra fuse would be great for the last stretch goal.

Dusk Shadow

Review from Kickstarter

PErhaps an extra fuse or two would be great for a stretch goal. So long as these micros are sturdy enough, even a limited warranty will be enough in case of a failure event. So fuse us up plz ^~^

Brian

Review from Kickstarter

I vote for the fuse as the next stretch goal.

EmrldPhoenix

Review from Kickstarter

I would also like an extra fuse for the last stretch goal.

Christine Lesourd

Review from Kickstarter

Extra fuse please for the last stretch goal.. Thanks

Monica

Review from Kickstarter

@MELUDOS, great reading your comment :), thank you for taking the time to post it! And thank you for backing MICRO, we really appreciate it!

Monica

Review from Kickstarter

@Kartikeya Jha, there is a slight compatibility between Indian sockets and European plugs. Although the centres of the prongs of a Europlug are closer together (17.5-18.6 mm vs 19.1 mm) than those of an Indian plug, a Europlug fits into an Indian outlet without much effort, largely thanks to the elasticity of its pins. However, the Europlug cannot be fully inserted into an Indian receptacle, because the prongs are longer than the pins of the Indian plugs (19 mm vs 14.9 mm). That means Europlug pins don't always make proper contact and may cause the socket to spark, which, in some cases, might result in a short-circuit. The same is valid for Indian Plugs going into MICRO - the Indian plug prongs are shorter and might not make proper contact with the circuits, resulting in intermittent or no electricity supply to your devices. We hope that helps clarify why we haven't included India on the list of countries MICRO is compatible with. And if you have any other questions, we are always happy to help. ;) Thank you for backing MICRO and have a beautiful day!

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Overview & Specs

Categories :

Weight :

1.41 Ounces (40 g)

Discovered on :

05/19/17

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MICRO – The World’s Smallest Universal Travel Adapter

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