Imagine coming home with a new TV, a new gaming system, or even a new hair dryer and unbeknownst to you, you’re out of outlets where you need them… What do you do? Unplug something “less important,” return your new purchase, or buy a new power strip/surge protector?

I’m sure most of us would choose the latter. In fact, I did just that when I ran into this exact situation earlier this year and, honestly, I’m glad I did.

Here’s my review of the Belkin BE112230-08 12-Outlet Surge Protector.

This thing has all the outlets you need!

What I Like

Belkin has done something wonderful with this surge protector. Not only did they design it to hold both large, bulky, three pronged plugs and small two pronged plugs, but they laid it out in such a way that it’s extremely easy to configure your plugs and not cover any unused outlets.

Is it a feat that beckons an award? Absolutely, not, but it is impressive considering how few surge protectors actually accomplish this.

In addition to the great plug layout, I love the cord! Seriously, I LOVE IT! The cord is a whopping 10ft long (there is also an 8ft model), which makes for easy maneuvering behind, up, or even around a wall. With a cord that long, you can avoid running 12 seperate cords to an outlet and only run this one. It’s a thing of beauty.

I use these surge protectors for two of my TVs, because I hate cords. These surge protectors are mounted behind my TVs on the wall, with their 10ft cords ran behind the wall and into the outlet near the floor. That way, I have space for twelve plugs directly behind my TVs and I never have to run another cable behind the wall again. With these surge protectors, I basically future-proofed my TV outlets.

What I Don’t Like

The cable management needs work.

I like most everything about these surge protectors, but with every positive usually comes a negative.

The biggest one for me, is the cable management that is built into these. I’m not sure who thought that was a good idea, but I hate it because it constantly gets in my way. It adds extra, unnecessary bulk to the surge protector and it forces you to use it or your cables end up in the way from bypassing it.

Don’t get me wrong, cable management is a very important thing, but that’s something that should be handled entirely separate from this unit. I personally use velcro strips and cable holders that attach to the wall, which make managing cables much easier than Belkin’s version.

Things Left Untested

Because I don’t necessarily want to force a surge on my system, I haven’t been able to test the surge protection features of this unit. That being said, It comes with a very high 3940 joule energy rating, which should protect all of your equipment if disaster happens.

There are some Amazon reviews that have had issues with the surge protection capabilities of this surge protector, but at the same time, there are also many that had high praise for the surge protection. Take it as you will.

Where to find the best price: Amazon. At the time of this writing, Amazon offers this surge protector for $17.63 (no coupon required).

My Rating:

Buy Now