CheckMag | A barrel plug with a PD charging trigger is an elegant way to retire that old laptop charger

Those of us who still use laptops released in the first or the second decade of the XXI century know what having to keep both an old charger for their laptop and a new, much more portable USB-C charger for their tablet and phone in their travel bag feels like. It's not a sensible use of space, to say the least.

The fact is, most laptops can be charged with a modern PD-enabled USB-C charger. All one needs is the right adapter, one that has a USB-C input on one of its two ends and a barrel plug connector of an appropriate inner as well as outer diameter on the other.

This set of adapters is currently $17 on Amazon.com; 7 adapters of popular sizes are included. All one needs to do is pick the option that's set to accept the right voltage. Acer laptops typically ship with 19 V chargers, to give you an example. Make sure to check your existing charger's voltage prior to making an order.

Adapters from the set above may not work well for gaming laptops, since these tend to have really powerful power bricks (such as 90 W or 180 W; it can actually be as high as 330 W). Some of the other adapters, such as this one here which is supposed to be compatible with many Dell laptops, claim to be capable of charging the laptop at up to 100 W but if you want a figure higher than this, chances are you'll have to keep using your trusted old power brick after all.

It's also worth noting that adapters of this kind are a lot cheaper on Aliexpress but will probably take much longer to arrive.