Kind of a silly question for us who enjoy canoe waters, but there are times when I need an alarm clock. Sometimes I like/need to get up in the middle of the night to go paddling and it is crucial that I have a reliable alarm.

In the past, I have had bad luck with alarms failing while doing adventures or adventure races. I then resort to sleeping on rocks or exposed to bad weather conditions so I have to wake up often because of pain or discomfort- if it's not time to get up I try to fall back to sleep. I would like a better solution.

Looking for suggestions on an alarm clock that is:
-rugged
-compact
-can be a watch or not
-waterproof or resistant
-fairly loud to wake up an exhausted paddler (me)
-it's main function is an alarm (something easy to set/change alarm time)
-it could have other features but doesn't need to
-price is not important

Oh, and if you are doing the Border Route Challenge next month, keep your opinion to yourself:)

I like the waterproof smart phones. I take mine primarily for photos but it has an alarm and note pad function as well. You can take a solar charger or power pack.

Casio Pathfinder is what I use. It's a few years old. Solar powered, atomic clock update, tides, barometer along with an alarm. It also has temp, altimeter and compass, but I don't use those features.

the alarm on a cheap digital wristwatch wakes me up if needed.

Garmin Fenix 5X...if price is no object....

I love my Casio Mudman

Why not a kitchen timer. Many will count down a specified period up to 100 hours, and can also display the time. It's probably not waterproof but can be kept with you sleeping bag and such which should stay dry. Cheep, small, and reliable for what they are.

butthead

I just use a Casio g-shock. Usually works. If I was worried then I’d probably put it next to my head instead of on my wrist.

Of course, birds work too but maybe they go off too late for the likes of you.

I got strangely interested in this problem and did a google search for loud watch alarm. There are a few threads on backpacking forums and I think the most believable advice is that watch alarms aren’t loud because the batteries are too small. Maybe the some of the big gps watches that expect frequent recharging are different.

But if you are trying to wake up despite being sleep deprived then I think you need loud. Really loud. So I would take buttheads advice about a kitchen timer. Put it in a ziplock to make it waterproof. Wrap it up in your sleeping bag to make it durable.

I got into the kitchen timer thing when I bowhunted. Did not care much about what time it was, but wanted to get up after a specific amount of time. Beat setting and resetting an alarm clock.

Now when it came to waking the rest of the guys sharing the hunting shack, I sloved that problem with an automatic bread machine set to finish 20 minutes before the earliest wake up time. Smell of fresh baked bread worked wonderfully!

butthead

cheap waterproof watch from Target. it has the basics - alarm it has a back light and it has a stop watch. I think it was like $7 or $8 and has been going strong for about 10 years. I only really wear this watch for camping and hunting though so not everyday but it does hold up and always wakes me up when needed.

I'd think a Casio g-shock, such as the model DW5600E-1V would have everything you need. you can get some pretty elaborate functions/complications on the higher end g-shocks but if time and alarm is all you need I think you look no further. Although the solar powered one could be a consideration, no batteries to ever fail you.....

I like the C Crane pocket radio. small, lightweight, durable but not waterproof. Alarm is loud and easy to set. Plus it's a weather radio

Instead of springing for the G-shock, save some green and get most of the features on the cheap .

Compass, alarm, stop watch, thermometer- all for under fifty.

I went with the cheap watch from target, I still bring it on trips but the alarm proved useless. Too quiet, I set it in the woods and slept through the alarm, then forgot about it after the trip. I happened to wake up early one morning as it was sounding off at home, it had been going off for months without me hearing it.

What about, instead of noise, if vibrations could wake you up? Many of the smart watches & fitness trackers have vibration only alarms.

Caveat for Fitbit brand devices - they require an Internet connection in order to sync the device to your phone.

I recently replaced my Fitbit with a tracker made by Amazfit. Like the Fitbit it replaced, it has a silent alarm. What really sets it apart, IMO, though is that it doesn't require an active cellular data or WiFi connection in order to sync. I could modify/add/unset alarms on the watch as needed during the day via the app on my phone. From the watch itself I can enable/disable alarms that have been already defined in the app.
Battery life was decent, lasted me a little over a week in the BWCA but that includes some pretty heavy sleep & snoozing where I forced the watch to re-trigger alarms several times. Depending on which watch face and what features you turn on the maker says you can get up to 45 days per charge.
Amazfit also has a tracker which looks a little more like a Fitbit and less like a watch which is waterproof to 5M. The watch that I have is splashproof - survived me jumping into Alpine to go swimming before realizing that I still had it on.
Bonus - the watch also has an electronic compass that once calibrated seemed to be decently accurate when outdoors.

Uncomfortable and/or painful doesn't sound like it's very restful rest, but I know why you're doing it.

Thanks everyone for the ideas. I ended up ordering a Timex Expedition watch and a kitchen timer.

I looked at everyone's suggestions, but some of them just have way too many gadgets than I want to deal with. Especially when I'm in a sleep-deprived state during a long distance paddle race. That countdown timer clock will fit the bill when my mind becomes fuzzy.

I've always used a Suunto altimiter/barometer/watch. It works well. I got it for backpacking to guesstimate my elevation, but the barometer is useful too in the BWCA, it can tell me when the pressure starts dropping, letting me know a storm could be on the way. The alarm always woke me up, but whether I GOT up or not... well, that's another matter but certainly not the watch's fault.

It wasn't as expensive as their current offerings, but this was also probably about 15 years ago. Now they have smart watches that will show you the weather report and GPS data. I assume it has to be bluetoothed to a smartphone, though... and if you're going to have that, might as well just use the alarm on the phone.