Beep! Beep! Snooze.

January 4, 2019 3:37 PM

I'm looking for a pretty basic digital alarm clock. No fancy bonus features, just telling me the time and letting me set a single alarm. What's the best one still out there?

What I want in my clock:
-Plug-in with a battery backup.
-That the alarm will still go off if it's running off the battery.
-That it has a large snooze button that will work repeatedly for at least an hour (don't judge me!)
-That the display is dimmable/that it's not glowing bright in the dark
-The beep is loud but not terrifyingly so?

What I do not want in my clock:
-radio
-temperature or other displays
-"smart"/phone integration

What might be nice:
-an LED display in something other than red
-that it's somewhat attractive

posted by TwoStride to Shopping (4 answers total)

Here are a couple of basic ones for you. I used to use one like this, and it worked for years. The beep is loud, but not bring you straight up clawing at the ceiling loud. Battery only, but IIRC the batteries last a good long while.

Now I use this one. Very basic. Loud alarm, but again, not miserably so. Battery only, but I've had mine for about five years, and I can't recall having changed the batteries yet. Both clocks' displays are invisible in the dark; you have to use the snooze/light bar to see the time. There's a nice blue backlight for about five seconds.
posted by bryon at 9:50 PM on January 4, 2019 [1 favorite]

When I wanted something like this I looked at travel alarm clocks. Would something like this suit you? Does not have plug in option but it is no frills and seems to tick all the other requirements.
posted by like_neon at 3:29 AM on January 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: The Wirecutter is my go-to for questions like this. They recommend this one.
posted by Happy Dave at 3:46 AM on January 5, 2019 [1 favorite]

Braun makes clocks.
posted by oceanjesse at 10:57 AM on January 5, 2019