Is the SMALLRT Power Strip Tower Worth It for a Crowded Desk?
By Daniel Kruger, consumer tech · updated 2026-07-27
A vertical outlet tower that trades floor space for overload protection, not a surge protector in disguise.
Worth it if you need outlets, not certified surge protection
around $35price at time of review — check Amazon for current
- Worth it ifYou have a cluster of chargers and devices competing for outlets
- Skip it ifYou need a strip for heavy-duty tools or appliances
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Picture the underside of a desk with three chargers fighting over two outlets, a power strip already maxed out, and a laptop cord stretched at an angle that can't be good for the plug. That's the scene the smallrt power strip is built to fix, a scenario every dorm room and home office knows by feel, not by spec. The real question isn't how many outlets it has, it's whether cramming that many devices into one strip is actually safe.
Here's the clever bit: instead of lying flat and eating floor space, this power strip stands up as a tower, so twelve AC outlets and four USB ports (one USB-C) stack vertically instead of spreading sideways. That single design choice is why it works in a dorm room where every inch of surface matters. The USB side runs on a small chip that checks what's plugged in and adjusts the output, up to 2.4A per USB-A port and 3A on the USB-C port, so your phone doesn't trickle-charge just because a laptop is also plugged in nearby. The bigger deal is what happens if something goes wrong. A built-in circuit breaker watches for overload across all outlets and cuts power automatically rather than letting a fault sit there heating up a cheap strip until something melts. Pair that with a flame-retardant shell and pure copper wiring at the connection point, and the strip is doing quiet, unglamorous safety work every time you plug something in, which matters more than the outlet count ever will.
So you're not really buying twelve outlets, you're buying a circuit breaker that happens to come with twelve outlets attached. The vertical tower is the space-saving trick, the overload protection is the reason to trust it with a laptop charger and not just a lamp.
Worth it if
- You have a cluster of chargers and devices competing for outlets
- You want a vertical, space-saving design for a desk or dorm room
- You want overload protection built in rather than a bare strip
Skip it if
- You need a strip for heavy-duty tools or appliances
- You need a long cord that reaches across a room
- You specifically need certified, joule-rated surge protection
Not for workshops, large appliances, or anyone who needs a long cord run across a room.
If you're in a dorm room, a shared office, or anywhere devices outnumber outlets, this is a quiet yes, it earns its spot on the floor by using less of it. If you need a heavy-duty strip for tools or large appliances, or a long cord run across a room, look elsewhere, this is built for charging clusters, not workshop loads.
Check price on Amazon · around $35 or Add it to your Amazon cart to sit on it
Before you go
What should you never plug into a power strip?
Avoid plugging high-draw appliances like space heaters, hair dryers, or refrigerators into any standard power strip, they draw more current than the strip and its breaker are designed to handle safely.
Do surge protector power strips actually work?
Genuine surge protectors work by absorbing sudden voltage spikes, but this SMALLRT model is built around overload protection, a circuit breaker that cuts power when too many devices draw too much at once, rather than a joule-rated surge component, so it isn't the same layer of protection as a dedicated surge protector.
Should a TV be plugged into a surge protector?
Yes, a TV is exactly the kind of sensitive electronics that benefits from surge protection, so if that's your priority, look for a strip with a rated joule surge spec rather than relying on overload protection alone.
Full spec sheet
| Brand | SMALLRT |
|---|---|
| Color | Black |
| Total Power Outlets | 12 |
| Voltage | 125 volts |
| Special Feature | On And Off Switch |
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