What is the loudest alarm wrist watch for backpacking?

[Franco Darioli]

Reading the OP's question I thought (like Scott) that maybe putting the alarm inside a pot/mug would help. ( I was a bit annoyed that someone else came up with the same idea)
Then I discovered that my Optio also has an alarm, I have only had this camera for 3 years.
So I did a test with my Casio Pro Trek and the Pentax WPi. To my ears the Casio is louder (higher pitch) and putting either inside a Ti pot did not sound any louder.
Three tests later..
With the pot on its side the sound is a bit more directional , so if you are in the right spot it could help. However because I move around a lot and usually check the time and temperature a couple of times per night, I would provably end up with the pot on top or pointing away. The Casio does wake me up anyway so I don't need to "improve it".
Franco

[Greg Mihalik]

Roleigh,
Just FYI – the Invisible Clock is wide open to all types of precipatation. Keep it in a ziplock or it will die and then have to be dried out.

Vibrate works well under any inflated pillow – one big drum.

[Roleigh Martin]

I do use a aloksack for it for that reason.

[victoria maki]

benjamin. does the armitrom wrist watches have more than 3 alarm settings?

[EndoftheTrail]

That's Benjamin with a "B".

Oh yeah, right, your question… The watch's alarm is pretty loud — but it's also basic: one alarm, stopwatch, and a countdown alarm.

[Mike Clelland]

I second the very simple solution – Just put it in your hat!

[Franco Darioli]

I don't get that Mike. Can we have a drawing ?
Franco
( after a "free" cartoon)

[Mary D]

Another vote here for the Casio. Never rely on a Timex or on any women's watch. The worst possible is any Timex women's watch, which can't be heard if your ear is more than 6 inches from the watch. Even with the Casio, I have to put it outside my sleeping bag, because if it's on my wrist down inside, the sound is smothered by Western Mountaineering down. I've found that it's best to tie the hood drawcord around it.

Unfortunately the model I have is rather persnickity to set. There was the morning I really wanted to get up at 5 am, and woke up at 7 am. I found that I had set the watch for 5 pm. Aargh!

Cell phone? Most places in the Cascades I lose reception before I even get to the trailhead. If it's left on, the battery is gone by the next morning, from trying to pick up a signal. That's the only item I have (other than maybe a pair of grungy sneakers) that I leave in my car.

[Roger Caffin]

Funny – we never have this problem at all. But we go to sleep as soon as we have finished dinner and washed up and cleared up – usually within half an hour or so of it getting dark. So by (say) 8 pm we are going to sleep. We rarely wake up other than to turn over during the night – no midnight toilet wanders.

By the time the sun starts to lighten the sky we have had enough sleep for the night – say by 5:30 am, and Sue gives me a nudge and says one word: 'breakfast'. That's over 9 hours sleep. In winter it is a bit longer – no worries.

Which is just as well as I can't hear any of the electronic wrist watch alarms when my head is under my quilt. Sue reckons I can't hear them anytime … she may be right.

Cheers

[Kris Kisatsky]

I recently purchased Casio's "G-Shock", looked pretty rugged, shock resistant, atomic clock sync, and is solar powered rechargeable battery equipped. The thing is going back today. $90 USD watch with an alarm you can't hear unless it is held inches away from your ear. And then barely. I, like Roleigh, have high freq hearing loss. Would have been a nice watch if not for the fatal alarm flaw. I agree about the crappy alarms on the Timex watches, especially the women's sizes, I returned an Ironman woman's watch I had bought for my wife for the same reason. Funny how nobody at the watch counter in most discount stores has any idea how to demonstrate an alarm while you are there.

[Jim Ford]

Has anyone tried the Highgear ATF8 yet? With a cellphone always with me in my daily life, I gave up wearing watches years ago, and wearing a watch on my wrist would be distracting to me.

The ATF8 looks good (carabiner clip which folds into the back of the unit, so it can be clipped on, or just slipped into a pocket), but I'm wondering about the loudness of the alarm (my main reason for considering it). I've tried some other watches such as Nike, with the thought of removing the wristband, but invariably all of the alarms are just too quiet.

[Robert Matson]

Following up on my earlier post, having recently completed a 5-week trip reliant on the alarm issue. Many of the days had crucial pre-dawn wakings. In short, the little LW shortwave radio with alarm proved unhelpful and I left it in camp. It was loud, but heavy and the design imperfect. I used the Polar heart rate monitor watch, which I already owned. It worked perfectly, is waterproof, plenty loud, has a little illumination, is lightweight, has a useful timer built in, etc. I can recommend it.

[Nick Gatel]

I have a Nike Triax watch my kids got me a couple years for Christmas. I don't take it hiking, because the alarm is too loud and I can't figure out how to turn it off (:

It is just a basic watch for runners and weighs 1.8 oz. The Nike Triax ID watches are even lighter.

Cell phone? That would be the last thing I would take, next to my old Eureka Timberline tent :) – plus usually I can't even get cell coverage at the trailheads, let alone where I am going. But just a personal idocincracy. My kids will tell you I am a wack job anyway.

[Christopher Kayler]

Can the Invisible Clock both vibrate and beep at the same time?

Also, one thing to keep in mind for others wanting to purchase the ADC Pro. I did, and I like it … but I found out the hard way the first use that the alarm only lasts for 30 seconds.

[Christopher Kayler]

Hi Benjamin,

Do you know how much the Armitron Digital Sport Watch weighs?

[Christopher Kayler]

Does the Invisible Clock II continue to beep and/or vibrate until it's turned off, or will it stop after a certain amount of time? If so, does anyone know how long that time is?

I really need something that will wake me up in time for sunrise during photo trips. I stuck a 20 second alarm watch in my hat last trip, and it failed to wake me up. Luckily I got up on my own in time.

If the Invisible Clock doesn't continue for a long span of time, what are the lightest alarm clocks you guys have found that will continue to beep until turned off manually?

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