SMALLRT Extension Cord with Multiple Outlets, Surge Protector Power Strip Tower, 12 AC 4 USB，Surge Protector Tower 6.5FT Overload Protection for Home Office

I’ve been consolidating power and charging around my desk and entertainment area for years, and few products have freed up as much space with as little fuss as this SMALLRT tower. It’s a compact vertical strip with 12 AC outlets and four USB ports that trades the sprawl of a traditional bar-style power strip for a tidy, upright footprint. After several weeks of daily use across a home office and living room, here’s how it fared.

Design and build

The tower format makes immediate sense the moment you drop it onto a crowded surface. Instead of a long bar that hogs floor or desk space, the SMALLRT stands up and spreads outlets across multiple faces. The base has an anti‑slip pad that keeps it planted; even with several stiff power bricks and thick power cords tugging from different sides, I never had it tip or skate across the floor.

The 6.5‑foot power cord is pure copper and feels appropriately heavy for the job. The strain relief where the cord meets the tower is reinforced, which matters more than it gets credit for—this is where cheaper strips often fail first. The housing is a fire‑resistant PC rated to 1382°F, a reassuring spec for a device designed to live under a desk or behind a cabinet.

A single rocker switch at the top controls power to the whole tower and doubles as a reset for the integrated circuit breaker. There are no per‑bank or per‑face switches; this is either all on or all off, which keeps operation simple but may matter depending on how you plan to use it.

Outlets and layout

With 12 AC outlets, the tower has handled everything I’ve reasonably wanted to throw at it: monitor, desktop charger, printer, router, modem, streaming box, small speakers, and two lamps, with capacity to spare. The vertical arrangement does a good job accommodating bulky wall warts that would otherwise block adjacent sockets on a flat strip. Because the outlets are split across multiple faces, you can rotate bricks to a different side to avoid collisions.

That said, you can still run into interference if you load it up with a half‑dozen oversized power adapters on the same face. A little planning goes a long way—mix slim plugs with bulky ones, and rotate devices around the tower until everything sits cleanly.

USB charging

The SMALLRT includes three USB‑A ports (up to 2.4 A per port) and one USB‑C port (up to 3 A), with a shared maximum output of 3.4 A across all USB ports. In practice, that means it’s excellent for phones, earbuds, e‑readers, and low‑draw tablets, but it won’t fast‑charge USB‑C laptops or higher‑speed phones that require USB Power Delivery or proprietary fast‑charge protocols.

In my testing:
- A single phone on the USB‑A port charged at the expected 5 V/2 A to 5 V/2.4 A range.
- Moving the same phone to the USB‑C port nudged speeds slightly higher (up to 5 V/3 A when the device allowed).
- Two phones plus a small tablet shared the 3.4 A budget without issue, though charge times stretched, as expected, when all were plugged in together.

It’s a straightforward, reliable hub for everyday device charging, but if you need 20–65 W USB‑C PD for laptops or rapid phone charging, you’ll still want a dedicated PD charger.

Safety and protection

Surge protection is rated at 1200 joules, paired with an integrated circuit breaker for overload protection. That joule rating positions it as a solid everyday guard against routine surges from the grid or nearby appliances switching on and off. For areas with frequent lightning or unreliable power, I’d pair this with a whole‑home surge protector or look for a higher‑joule device for your most critical electronics. Still, for typical home office and entertainment setups, 1200 J hits a reasonable balance between protection and cost.

The tower handled power interruptions gracefully in my use. Cutting and restoring power via the main switch and at the wall didn’t confuse or lock up the unit. It quietly resumed service and kept running cool to the touch, even when loaded with a dozen devices.

Day‑to‑day use

What stood out most is how effectively the tower reduces visual clutter. By going vertical, cables naturally spread around the base instead of piling in one direction. It’s easier to route cords along the perimeter of a desk or cabinet and keep them from tangling. The single master switch is handy at the end of the day: one tap, and the entire setup powers down. If you prefer to keep certain devices on (for example, a router or a smart home hub), consider placing them on a different circuit or using separate, always‑on outlet(s), because there’s no per‑side control here.

Stability has been excellent. The base’s weight and the anti‑slip pad keep it firmly in place, and the vertical stack doesn’t wobble when you insert or pull a plug. I appreciate that the cord is long enough for most under‑desk or TV console placements without resorting to an extension. If your outlet is particularly far from where you need the tower, you may wish for a 10‑foot option, but 6.5 feet covered the majority of my scenarios.

I also appreciate that the tower stays quiet. Some cheaper surge protectors emit a faint buzz under load; this one has been silent in my environment, which matters in a workspace.

Performance and load considerations

As with any power strip, think about what you’re connecting. High‑draw appliances (space heaters, microwaves, kettles) shouldn’t share a power strip with sensitive electronics, and certainly not all at once. In everyday use with typical office and AV gear, the SMALLRT tower had headroom to spare and never tripped the breaker. If you do push it too hard, the resettable breaker is there to shut things down safely and bring them back with a tap once you’ve reduced the load.

Thermally, the housing remained cool, and the cord didn’t show any signs of warming. The build feels up to daily plugging and unplugging, with firm socket tension that’s neither too tight nor sloppy.

What could be better

• USB power is 5 V only. The lack of USB‑C Power Delivery or Quick Charge means phones and tablets charge at standard rates and laptops are off the table for USB‑C charging.
• The USB ports share a total of 3.4 A. It’s enough for a few small devices, but don’t expect four devices to pull their individual maxima simultaneously.
• A higher joule rating would make it more compelling for premium AV stacks in surge‑prone regions, though 1200 J is fine for everyday use.
• Per‑bank power switches would add flexibility for people who want to turn off a subset of devices without cutting power to everything.

None of these are deal‑breakers for the intended use, but they’re worth knowing so you can set expectations and plan your setup accordingly.

Who it’s for

• Home offices and desks where horizontal space is scarce.
• Entertainment centers with a mix of slim plugs and chunky wall warts.
• Family charging stations for phones, tablets, and wearables.
• Light studio or hobby setups that benefit from centralized, switchable power.

If you need high‑wattage USB‑C charging, outdoor/weatherproof protection, or individual switches per bank, you’ll want a different product category.

The bottom line

The SMALLRT tower gets the fundamentals right: lots of outlets in a compact footprint, a thoughtful vertical layout that reduces adapter conflicts, dependable build quality, and basic surge/overload protection. The USB ports are genuinely useful for everyday devices, and the single master switch simplifies shutting down a workspace at night. It’s not a fast‑charging hub and it’s not a heavy‑duty surge suppressor, but it doesn’t pretend to be either.

Recommendation: I recommend the SMALLRT tower for anyone who needs to power many low‑to‑medium draw devices in a tidy, space‑saving way, with sensible safety features and convenient USB charging built in. It’s a practical, stable, and well‑made solution for home offices and entertainment areas. If your priorities include USB‑C Power Delivery or a higher surge‑protection rating, pair it with a dedicated PD charger or consider a higher‑joule strip for your most sensitive gear; otherwise, this tower is an easy pick.