MY BACKGROUND STORY I have personally and thoroughly researched a hundred surge protectors in order to determine the best surge protection system for my home. When I started this adventure, I wanted to know things like do I need lightning rods, what are whole house surge protectors, which are the best strip surge protectors, etc. And, what did I find? I found a disaster! I found an industry that is filled with misleading, deceptive and outright lying advertising. I've researched other industries before but I have to admit this has been one of the worst I've seen. I didn't find a single company that was truthful. Every single business in this business distorts their own results to make themselves look better and try to word things to make it sound like something else. It was a nightmare to figure out the truth. I'm genuinely surprised that no class-action lawsuits have been filed against any of these companies! Let me say that independent testing has been done on other more reputable power strip companies and for these companies and their competitors, the actual specs do not match up to what's published on the box! It's crazy that there isn't a government agency that hasn't stepped in and put all these power strip companies in line. I guess not enough people have made enough noise... THIS HAS GREAT PUBLISHED SPECS On the other hand, the published specs on this Amazon product are awesome, relative to the price. The only problem like I said is that given the reputation of the industry, I truly wish that an independent party would test this. It would be extremely helpful. This product has extremely great specs but I doubt its veracity. Other factors that lead me to this doubt is the build quality of this unit. The unit isn't particular sturdy and has a cheap plastic feel. It's hard to plug and unplug cords into this. Sometimes, plugs will need to be forced in or just simply impossible. And, although I can deal with the powerful green light that other reviewers complained that it prevents them from falling asleep, I agree that it's a little overwhelming - a major design flaw. CONCLUSION I'll get right to the point and tell you what I thought of this product. (I know you are all busy.) So, how is this surge protector? I THINK it's darn good! The technical specifications that are listed in the product description (for both the 8 foot and 10-foot cord versions) are pretty amazing. This has the lowest UL certified clamping voltage possible. Its surge rating is 4320 which is one of the highest I've seen so it's going to last a long time. It's EMI/RFI filters eliminate 75 dB of noise, which is a lot. The highest that I've actually seen even among devices that were 3 times more expensive. It also has an LED indicator that tells you when any of the 3 power lines are broken. I know that most of you, guys have no clue what I'm talking about but trust me that the specs on this are wonderful. Better than $60 surge protectors! No kidding. It also looks nice, I have to say (besides the green light). And, it seems that this is all confirmed to be true by one of the highest Amazon ratings of 4.7. It's the perfect surge protector so, why did I give it 4 stars instead of 5? HERE IS THE BUT... 1. The build quality is below average. For example, you have to occasionally force plugs into the outlets. They don't go in smoothly like other surge protectors and I find it a bit annoying. It also makes me wonder about the build qualities of other things inside the surge protector. For example, is the important MOV inside the device securely attached to its wires? (If it isn't, it could fry your equipment.) This leads me to my next point. 2. I wish a thorough field test was performed on this product. I know that this is rarely done. Surge protectors are rarely field-tested by an independent 3rd party so I really can't hold this against AmazonBasics. But, it would make me feel extremely safe to know that the specs that this product claims to have are actually true. The UL certification just isn't enough in my opinion for surge protectors. 3. Bright Green Light. Some people have complained about the very bright green light that tells you that the surge protection is working. This is THE biggest complaint (forget about whether it actually protects your equipment). I agree it's bright but I don't think it's a big deal. In an office, it won't matter. If it's in a bedroom, I would just stick it under the bed then. Problem solved. Even if I did find the green light annoying, I would still buy this surge protector because it's that much better than anything else out there in this price range. No question. When do you ever really find a product that has awesome specs AND has a great price? It's a rare find so pick them up fast if you can. *After some thinking, I docked off 2 stars because I really don't know if the published specs are true or not. And, given that all of their other competitors have lied their socks off, there is a high probability that they might have also. I simply don't know. Given that there is so much uncertainty, I have to give it 3 stars until I can get confirmation. Also, remember this fact when you are looking for the best surge protector! DO NOT RELY ON BRAND REPUTATION. Just because I recommended say for example a Tripp Lite model, that doesn't mean all Tripp Lite products are good. In fact, that is far from the case that I've found during my research. A company might make a really good model but the rest of its products might stink. So, you have to research each individual surge protector to determine if it's worthy enough to purchase. I know it's a big pain but that is how it is.
