Finally received my Anker PowerExtend 12 after a surviving shipping purgatory. The unboxing has been covered very well in many of the other reviews but it comes in recyclable box and plastic bag to protect it during shipping. I would suggest that the plastic bag as it isn’t really necessary but it is very reminiscent of the biodegradable plastic from the super markets.
This is a side-by-side with Belkin 12-Outlet. You will see a cleaner design and smaller for my needs as I don’t require the Coax and R11 protection. The cable provided by Anker is thicker than Belkin and it even incorporates a plastic sheathing to protect against wear at the attachment point to the surge protector.
| Belkin | Anker |
|---|---|
| 15.6 x 6.1 x 2.1 in | 11.5 x 4.5 x 1.2 in |
| 3940 Joule | Dual 4000 Joule |
| 12 surge-protected outlets | 12 surge-protected outlets |
| 8’ cord length | 6’ cord length |
| Protected/Not Grounded indicator lights | Protected/Grounded indicator lights |
| BlockSpace™ outlets | Even more separation the BlockSpace |
| Tamper Resistant Plug | No Tamper Resistant Plug |
| Cord management lifts and locks | No Cable Management System |
| Damage-resistant housing | UL-VO Flame-Retardant Casing |
| $300,000 Connected Equipment Warranty | $300,000 connected equipment warranty |
| Coaxial protection | No Coax protection |
| Phone line protection | No RJ11 protection |
This is the mess that I had to pull my Belkin from, don’t judge!
The Anker product is smaller in every dimension but if you look closely the separation between plugs on edges is larger and is far more useful when you have to plug large transformers in. This is very important and isn’t something that is noticed until you need that extra space. I am plugging in 2 homebase, 1 secure homebase, Netgear router, and TP-Link router transformer.
This is with space to spare. I realized after cleaning up the mess of wires that many of CAT5 cables lead nowhere and were no longer needed.
All an all the design of the surge is much more slim and with the uniform thickness throughout they were able to spread the plugs further apart and this allows for more different size plugs to be inserted. I would recommend this surge protector for home desks or a closet full of equipment but not suited for home entertainment center. I would stick with the Belkin in that case since the cable management and Coax protection would be more suited in those cases.
