I’m going to visit two countries in Eastern Europe (late August-September). The organizers assure us that there will be hairdryers in every hotel where we’ll stay. My issue is that I don’t go anywhere without my flat iron–has anyone here purchased a flat iron that you can use with the electrical outlets in Europe. If so, would you recommend it and is there a link to the product online.
You can either buy a dual voltage flat iron ahead of your trip, or pick one up there. While in London, their Boot pharmacy had good products; not as nice as my home flat iron, but worked will enough for the trip.
I have heard horror stories of flat irons blowing in other countries, so was always afraid to buy one here to take. I did have to buy a flat iron while out of town for a wedding at the last minute, so purchased one at Ulto in the city we were in. I went ahead and bought the dual voltage as it was the better iron they had in stock. I then gave it to my daughter as she lived in London to keep as a spare.
I think this is the one I got; it was 4 years ago, so might be a different model, but I know it worked in the UK.
https://www.ulta.com/g2-ceramic-titanium-125-hairstyling-iron?productId=xlsImpprod11441045
I have successfully used my US flat iron in several foreign countries with a converter. I know it’s not recommended, but it worked and didn’t harm the flat iron/cause a fire.
There are two issues: the voltage difference, and the shape of the plug needed for the outlet. If you get a converter, make certain that it has the right adapter features to fit the outlets you will be using. One I bought this summer went straight back to the store when I realized it would be unstable in the outlets I needed it for. Read the instructions that come with the converter. The one I returned was specifically labeled for short uses such as hairdryers, etc. Not for hours of continuous use.
In the end, it turned out all of our gear was already dual voltage, and we got along fine with just a couple of “Flight 001 Grounded Adapters” that I picked up at the Container Store. These are color-coded for different outlet shapes. Green was perfect for Prague.
We use converters and adapters too.
The converter we have is heavy! I prefer to travel without it.
I use a hot air brush for my hair and I bought one in London a long time ago to be used exclusively in 220V countries. For some reason dual voltage appliances that use high wattage don’t work well.