Matador Global Travel Adapter Review
A handy piece of kit - but is a packing brand worth trying for electronics?
Matador Global Travel Adapter Review Introduction
Matador knows accessories. They always have. In fact, I’d argue that for a while that was their bread and butter before they started producing some of the best travel packs on the market (like our recent GlobeRider 35 review or my favorite “when-I’m-not-reviewing-another-bag” bag the Seg28). It’s really what put them on the map. Blankets, toothpaste tubes (I have one on every trip), packable bags (ditto), pill capsules, etc.
One thing they haven’t really gotten into is electronics, and honestly that makes sense to me. That’s an entirely different ball of wax. Different factories, different design chops, etc. It’s also a category that’s kind of been done to death - so until the tech capabilities themselves leap forward, with some items there is only so much you can do. So by coming out with their own multi-country Travel Adapter - do they do enough to separate themselves from a very very crowded space? Why should you go with theirs over another? Let’s find out.
This is my review of the Matador Global Travel Adapter. I took this on a recent trip to France for 8 days and had a range of modern hotels and old chateaus that I stayed at. That means some older style wall sockets and such, even if in the same Euro format. I was able to test it in a variety of locations, including the train.
As always for full transparency, I did ask Matador if they could send me a review unit and they were kind enough to do so. That said, this is not a sponsored article and I received no money to write it. I do use affiliate links which help to support the site if you decide to use them to make a purchase, but you’re under no obligation to do so and there’s no additional cost to you. Thanks for stopping by!
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Global Travel Adapter Overview and Features
Size comparison w/ iPhone 16 Pro and Passport.
So if you’ve been in the travel world for a while this accessory shouldn’t be too much of a mystery for you. We’re discussing an adapter that has everything you need built right in. They do this without any additional pieces to carry around, it’s all one unit.
The charger covers US, UK, EU, and Australia style plugs. Which when you spread out across the world, that MOSTLY covers what you need, with a few rare exceptions. Just make sure you’re looking up your plug style where you’ll be going. That’s just a smart Wandering best practice.
The way the unit does this is by building the different plugs internally, then using a bunch of sliders to pop out the ones you want. These then lock in place, with a release button added on when you want to pop it back in.
On top of that, it’s got 3 USB-A ports and 2 USB-C ports (one of which is a full power 35w PD charger; this means it can handle a MacBook Air or similar just by using USB-C).
Lastly - you’ve got a universal plug on the front. What I mean by that is that if you have this plugged into the wall, you can use the front socket as a “pass through” and just plug in whatever you need, regardless of the country. So if your laptop needs more juice, you can use the pass through and you’re basically plugging it directly into the wall.
The max wattage on here is about 35w. As noted, that is enough for tablets and MacBook Air style laptops. Keep in mind (with ANY multiport charger) - as you plug more than one device in, your wattage gets split across devices. Overnight, this isn’t a problem. But if your time is short and you need to juice an important item up, just plug in one or use the Universal socket on the front. Again - this is how ANY adapter/charger with multi ports work. Now you know.
Tech Specs from the Website:
Weight: 5.8oz (165g)
Dimensions: 3 x 2 x 2in (76 x 51.2 x 52.6cm)
Input Plugs: Europe, UK, USA/Australia
Output Plugs: Europe, UK, USA/Australia
See full list of compatible countries here
Full Product Technical Specs: View PDF here
Additional Info: PFAS-Free
Product is compliant with international safety standards including CE, RoHS, UKCA, and FCC.
It retails for $36.00 USD as of Sep 2025 which I think is an extremely reasonable price for a branded accessory. It comes in black and a hot orange that we’ll touch on later.
The Good
Well I’ll start off by saying this is a typical Matador-y accessory. What I mean by that is they always impart some nice thoughtful design aspects to their items. The lock/release mechanism for the slide out adapters is a very nice touch. I’m not saying they invented that, but I’ve had a LOT of these adapters and personally am yet to own one that had it in a smiliar way. I really like that.
Another nice little design touch is their use of the hot orange color. For one, the full-orange Global Travel Adapter is called “forget me not” orange. It’s not just a clever name - they did this so you literally will have a much harder time forgetting this in your room because it jumps off the wall in that color. (Raise your hand in an ashamed way if you’ve failed to always bring your adapters home with you….). Another nice “orange” touch is that the high powered USB-C port has an orange connector in it. This is so you always know which one has the big juice. Similar to how they use a different color on their zipper pulls for their bags’ main compartments so you can find them quickly. Nice.
I do think they balanced a good wattage level with real world usage. Most people don’t need more than 35w and if you do, you can plug right into the mains with the front universal port.
USB-A ports? I mean, glad they fit them in. There if ya need em, though I do not these days.
One thing I do want to cover off on are the Certifications and the QA. Like I said this is a crowded market and I wanted to understand what differentiates this product other than the logo and the orange. So, I asked Matador this question directly. I won’t quote them because I did not get their permission to do so, but they noted both the required Certifications they have, as well as the QA process. So let’s talk about the “trust” factor here - which is basically the answer.
For one thing, you can TRUST that these have the proper certifications on them. Which when it comes to adapters, is frankly important. Secondly, each unit is individually tested before it goes out. How much? Can’t say. But I’m confident this isn’t the norm on the low end, no name versions.
The reason I bring this up is not to say there aren’t reputable brands on Amazon. There are. But how do you know which REALLY have the proper certs? How do you know which REALLY QA to a high level? If it’s an established brand and they tell you they do, well I think you can trust them. But people are buying A LOT of legit GARBAGE electronics on Amazon. Either willfully for the price or unknowingly through normal lack of expertise. I think the trust in quality and safety is a big reason to go with a company you know like Matador. Especially since they are not putting a brand tax on this. So let’s talk about that next.
The price here is really very good. This isn’t a 65w or 100w charger, I know, but consider the brand loyalty, brand trust, and feature set/design cleverness here - $36.00 is a MORE than fair price to pay. Great job on Matador for not just slapping a $59.00 price here because they are a US brand. Really good to see. Well done, Matador.
No pieces! This is an all in one unit.
The Bad
Couple things to note here, and it’s more about “what you need” and “what’s not here” than anything really criticising the product itself. Admittedly, I don’t have much to harp on in terms of the product itself - it does what it’s supposed to do and it’s a nice quality.
The max wattage might be a limiter for some. I think this is a bit niche and I’m sure market research led Matador to the same conclusion. The amount of people that truly NEED more than 35w is not actually that big (when expending to the general population, I know there are quite a few of you out there in a numerical sense). I’m not counting the “THINK THEY NEED it” people in this - those people need to do more to optimize their carry because really most don’t need more. And, there is a pass-through universal plug here so really, you should be good. But, there are lots of Spec-Hawks out there, rightfully or ignorantly, and they’ll miss the additional 30w you see on Amazon models.
Another thing to note on the spec trail is that to my knowledge, this is not a GaN charger. Not the end of the world, but that is the most up to date tech for efficiency and product size. I’ll update this if they confirm that it IS GaN, but until then - I’ll put this as something to think about for the next iteration. To note I’ve never noticed a difference in performance myself between GaN and non-GaN, it’s more on the science side of things and of course the size.
Also for that next V2 - if it can make the unit smaller, maybe remove the USB-A ports. It might not matter, the adapter components might be what drives the size, but if this can trim it down even more, I’d suggest that, too. Smaller and lighter is always better to me.
Final Thoughts On My Matador Global Travel Adapter Review
So there we go. I finally was able to give this a proper test after having the Global Travel Adapter in my possession for a good 6 months. Sometimes, you just have to go by the travel schedule. I never test/write about things I don’t actually travel with so it had to wait!
Would I recommend this overall? Sure would. In fact I love being able to find another trustable brand to recommend on this kind of thing. You should see the reddit threads on this stuff. People ask for a rec, and then the entire “personal anecdotal” options come out. Which isn’t wrong - don’t misunderstand me. But because people just grab these things in different countries and right from Amazon - the thread looks more like folks used the old-internet Wu-Tang Name generator to come up with some of the brand names and slapped the sticker on an adapter. Now, you’ll still find stuff like Epicka and Minix and what not. But I cannot speak to their QA process and I think it would be easier getting support from Matador if you had an issue. That said, I’ve no issues with those brands either, to be fair. No shade their way at all!
I have to say I’m going to adopt this as my travel adapter now. And that’s a good thing because in May I’ll be heading back to Japan and China, with a stop off in Hong Kong. I’ll need it. I liked the little design thoughtfulness they’ve added here and there and I think it worked as needed and I never thought about it until I had to write. When you are talking about travel adapters, that’s kind of the point. You don’t want to think about it. My only regret? That I didn’t pick up one of the Orange ones! No shame in admitting - I certainly will be. I’m a sucker for hot orange accessories but in this case it’s also helpful.
Lastly, I really think they hit a great price point, and I think that’s a great thing for those price conscious shoppers that still want something they can trust.
As always with the indie brands, I’d suggest buying directly through their website for best service. You should certainly consider Matador if you’re in the market for this kind of accessory.
And remember - wander more, and wander smarter.
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Head on over to our Travel Tech reviews page for more like this as well as the SoundPeats Air5 Pro review.
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