Hair dryers/chargers, etc: should I buy it there?
 

I travel frequently, mainly to Europe, and I wonder whether it make sense to purchase items like a hair dryer, battery charger(for camera batteries), etc at a dept store there and just use them for my trips to Europe, thus eliminating worries about voltage, adapters, etc. when I bring my US junk to Europe.

If I traveled to Europe a few times each year I would probably do just that.

Most of that stuff you'll probably find at a hardware store (in Europe), including the hairdryer.

Hi Jenschuld, I agree with kswl, if you are travelling to Europe from time to time buying European appliances would make the most sense to me.

Might be worth it. I buy dual voltage hair dryers & curling irons in the states, but while the curling iron works fine on the alternate voltage setting, the hair dryers only work on about a "medium" setting.

But if you travel frequently & want a full power hair dryer without having to worry about whether or not your hotel will have one, it would be worth it.

On the other hand assuming you might use the same hairdryer more at home or while traveling in the states than you'll use it in Europe, I think the logical thing would be to have one that plugs into a regular outlet at home, but uses a small plug adapter in Europe. Otherwise, you end up with one that has a European plug on it and everytime you want to use it at home or traveling at home, you have to put an adapter on it just to plug it in.
So I'd buy it at home.

I've been traveling to Europe with the same Conair dual voltage curling brush and blow dryer that I use at home for nearly ten years. I leave plug adapters in the baggie I keep packed and toss in the case when packing for Europe.

The blow dryer switches only on to Low in Europe, which is the same as High at home. I find my dryer is much lighter and much more powerful than those available in Europe.

Djk, if you have a good dual plug dryer, you're way ahead of me. I make do with whatever is provided in the hotel, rather than take along my own hairdryer---because after years of having dryers removed from my bathroom and sneaked away to boarding school or college by teenagers, I finally had one hardwired into the wall. It doesn't travel. (Nor does the hairbrush that is secured with a 10-foot length of bicycle chain looped and locked through the hole in the handle, the other end being bolted inside a vanity drawer.)

If you have a battery charger for camera batteries it may very well accept dual voltage already so be sure to look at the label.

I have a dual voltage hair dryer that I actually use in Europe for drying clothes with a special nylon "pillow" that I bought from Magellans a couple of years ago and I have that same Zip-Lock bag full of different adaptors that I keep in my traveling "tech kit" (along with the elastic clothes line, the duct tape, battery-powered alarm clock, etc.) that is already packed and ready for Paris this Friday.

Dual voltage and/or battery-powered is the way to go IMO..you won;t regret the investment even if you do only use them infrequently.

IMHO, it is really difficult to understand why anybody who willingly spends more than 50€ per day on a hotel room would worry about things like this.
BUY the suff you need where you need it. You get hair dryers everywhere from under 10€. How can anybody start a discussion on such a stupid subject?

I use to have my travel hairdryer that I bought overseas and would only have to bring along a couple of adapters. In the past few years I realized almost all hotels have them in the rooms. Smaller places will usually have one you can use if you ask.

Hmm...if such a "dumb" subject why is someone bothering to read and post about it? How rude....

I too have decided to just buy dual voltage appliances. This way I dont have to worry about shopping for something right away or wondering and worrying if the converter will work.

It's usually someone without hair that deems a subject like this "stupid". :))

"You get hair dryers everywhere from under 10€. How can anybody start a discussion on such a stupid subject?"

It's a girl thing. If you have hair like mine (coarse, thick, wiry,unruly) you learn which appliances will tame the beast and which will merely pi$$ it off. Most european appliances made for retail fall in the latter category.

It actually isn't just a "girl thing" and I also do not think it is a "dumb" or "stupid" subject.

One of the things to keep in mind when travelling to developed countries, such as Western Europe, is that anything you can find at home you can usually find in your destination country. So you don't need to bring everything from home. Sometimes it's cheaper to just buy something you need on the spot. For example, if you forget your hair dryer or it won't work in Europe, just buy an inexpensive one in Europe--it's only €10 or so. If there's a slim chance it might get cold, don't bother packing a sweater--just buy an inexpensive one in Europe if cold weather sets in. If you need a razor to shave, don't worry about forgetting to pack one ... you can buy a razor in any tiny grocery store anywhere in Europe.

If you were travelling to the Arctic or to some tiny Third World country, yes, you might need to pack just about everything to take with you. But in Germany or France or the UK or anywhere else in Western Europe, especially in large cities, don't worry about the small stuff, as you can buy it all on the spot if you need it (and it will still represent only a very tiny fraction of your total trip cost, so don't worry about the price).

Similarly, if you want to dress up in Europe, don't buy fancy clothing at home; buy it in Europe when you get there, and then keep it to take home as a souvenir after you've worn it.

"You get hair dryers everywhere from under 10€."

Most decent hair dryers---those with wattage above 1800, cost considerably more than 10 Euros. Some of us with very thick hair need the turbo models which, alas, are uncommon in hotels.

100% argree, thnaks AnthonyGA
Conair/Babyliss are the same company. If you need a hair dryer buy a babyliss S17 (35-45€) in Europe. You can worry about other things. If you can afford Europe, you surely can afford a hair dryer?

For me it's not about affordability for buying my appliances once I get to where I am going, it's more of a convenience of having it already. Last thing I want to do is shop for a hair dryer or curling iron my first day in Spain!

You cannot buy a hairdryer for 10E in Europe.

I travel enough that I invested in one in Italy last year. It is a good quality and cost 29Euro at a local hardware store.

>Last thing I want to do is shop for a hair dryer

But thats the best thing you could do. The first day for shopping and adjusting your internal clock. A slow start plus not that much luggage while checking it in/out at the airport. Spain will still be there tomorrow ;-)