Side by Side Comparison of: Marathon vs Westclox vs Seiko Watches

After my old travel clock died I bought a new one, which was worthless because the buttons were on the outside when folded and got pressed by contact with my luggage. It seems that nearly all the travel clocks have that inexcusable design flaw!But this Marathon Atomic Travel Alarm Clock has the buttons on the front, making it much easier to reach them if needed, and when folded the display is still visible but the buttons are covered.When I first got it I pressed the button to get it to set itself, and nothing happened. So I read the instructions (I needed powerful magnifying glasses as the little leaflet is printed in teeny tiny print) and it said the automatic set can take a day, so I put it on a windowsill overnight, as suggested, and this morning it's got the right time and date! Apparently the auto-set feature, which uses a radio signal, will not work outside the U.S. & Canada, but it can be set manually. The backlight can be turned on or off, and it uses two AAA batteries (included) so there's no searching for just the right button battery.I think it's silly to call it an "Atomic" clock. There's nothing atomic about it. But as Juliette said, "What's in a name?"

This may very well be the best travel alarm clock available. It's small (but not too small to see and operate easily), compact and loaded with features. The auto illuminate should be required in all alarm clocks. Just two caveats: 1. The DST indicator does not show unless the clock is auto synced with the "RC" beacon. This is true even after manually setting the clock for the time of year that would include Daylight Savings Time. The instructions do not mention this. Secondly, even when auto-synced with RC, it is necessary to set the time zone manually. Once this is done, however, you're all set until you next change the batteries or press the reset button. Not exactly clear in the instructions either. Note that both of these criticisms/caveats have more to do with the instructions than the product itself.

I normally like to spend a little time with a product before posting a review but, upon opening the box, I am so impressed with this little jewel that I can't wait. If time proves me wrong, I will come back and update.I do a lot of travelling. Hotel clocks are a source of frustration for me that goes something like this:1) Figure out how to set the time.2) Set the time.3) Figure out how to set the alarm time.4) Set the alarm time.5) Figure out how to set the alarm mode (buzzer, radio, volume, etc)6) Set the alarm mode.7) Figure out how to arm the alarm.8) Arm the alarm.9) Reattach power cord which came loose while setting up the clock. Clock now flashing "12:00".10) Repeat steps 1 - 8. (should go faster this time).11) Choose between clock and lamp since I need to charge my phone.12) Accidentally unplug clock.13) Repeat steps 1 - 8.14) Unplug lamp and realize clock time display is unlit. Live without it.15) Wake up to my watch alarm only. Reason: clock's lack of AM/PM indication meant the opposite assumed.Thinking there might be a better way, I started looking around for a small, light, simple, battery powered clock with, and this is the tough part, a display that can stay lit at night.In addition to meeting my requirements, I like that the CL030036 syncs to atomic time. This makes the clock a little more expensive but it's worth it to me.Two minor criticisms:1) The location of the display OFF/AUTO light switch. It's in the battery compartment. Since I don't want the light wasting the batteries while the clock rides around in the darkness of my overnight bag, I'll be switching it from AUTO to OFF whenever it's not sitting on a hotel nightstand. Having to open the battery compartment for such a frequently changed setting just doesn't make sense. Incorporating it into the foldout stand, switching the light off whenever closed, would have been the slickest way to do it. At the very least the switch should be easily accessible somewhere on the outside of the clock.2) I agree with what others have said about the hole in the stand/cover. I really don't need to see the display through the cover and would rather have it fully protected. That said, if it's really a concern, a piece of tape over the hole should easily solve that problem.Other than that, it should be perfect for my needs and I couldn't see withholding a star for such small items.Now when I get to my room, I'll unplug the room clock and set it aside. I'll then plug my phone charger into the now-vacant 110 receptacle. Last, I'll pull out my CL030036, quickly and confidently set/arm the alarm, and place it on the nightstand. Ahhhh, life just got a little easier. Good night :)

It's the perfect clock for travel. Time is always correct, doesn't have any buttons sticking out to be activated in your luggage, gives ambient room temp, day and date with and easy to read display. Alarm is easy to set also. I wish I had had one of these when I was flying 75K to 5K air miles a year.

Perfect size and lightweight. The stand flips forward to cover the function buttons below the clock display and make the clock flat for packing. I like the "atomic" feature - that I know the time is always accurate. I had no trouble at all setting it. Read the directions. Follow the directions. The backlight can be set to always on or only on when you press the snooze button. The alarm is effective but not annoying. Great purchase!

I have used many alarm clocks in the past and in my opinion this is the best of them all. Right size for travel, easy to setup and use. Specifically I like the auto night light feature. I have seen this feature in many table clocks that are plugged in but this is my first battery operated alarm clock that has the auto night feature. I am very happy with the purchase and it's worth every penny I spent.

Seems to be exceptionally good quality for this type of product, but I'd like it better with: higher contrast, a wider viewing angle, more of the surface given to the face so the numerals would be bigger, the option to set the auto-backlight a bit brighter, and easier setup. While the atomic clock feature means it is supposed to auto-setup, I waited hours before I gave up on that working. I set it manually, and then the next morning, it must have done the atomic thing because it was off by an hour. I fixed that and it seems okay now. I am willing to believe this reflects error on my part, but that just brings me back to saying setup should be easier.

This is a good clock for my purposes (setting a wake-up time for my afternoon naps); however, the display's contrast is poor unless you look at it at a specific angle...then it's great. Same with the snooze light. The ideal angle seems to be about 30 degrees above the display; looking at it head on is difficult, and from 30 degrees below, it's pretty terrible. I do like the snooze light, though, partly because of its amber color and partly because of its brightness...and also because it only stays on for 5 seconds unlike many other clocks where it stays on 20 seconds. The one annoying thing is that the stand folds down from the back and up over the face, covering the snooze light. Also, the stand is some sort of plastic that I don't think will hold up to lots of folding/unfolding; however, since I've had it less than a week, I could be totally wrong about that.

I bought two of these for use on a long road trip. One for us and one for the couple that we were traveling with. They seemed to work well except the automatic time updates from the Navy Atomic clock didn't seem to work. Otherwise I would have rated this with 5 stars. I like the nice glow in the dark feature and I also like the ability to easily change the time zone, e.g. PST to MST, etc. It is pretty rugged and the batteries seem to last a long time. For me the alarm was loud enough to be effective but for some it might not be enough to wake you. Given the small size though, this is understandable. The glow in the dark feature is nice but not too bright.

Great little travel clock. The numbers are clearly readable, although as is the case with a lot of LCD displays of this type, it is at its clearest when viewed from a higher point (so looking down at it).It has a light you can bring up by pressing the snooze button but it also has a light that can turn on automatically whenever the room is dark (this option can be turned off to conserve battery life). I got the atomic signal quickly and the clock set the correct time with no issues.Make sure you read the manual though because if you set the time zone manually it can cause the automatic sync to be disabled. If you already did that just push the button on the back to reinitialize the sync process.The ringer starts off slowly and then builds up. It is not super loud but it works. The only thing that I would say appears to be pretty flimsy is the cover, which must be flipped and becomes the stand. That is my reason for the 4 stars for what is otherwise an excellent clock. As long as you are very careful with it, I can see it lasting but I would prefer a more sturdier material or design. The good parts about the cover is that when it is closed, you can see the clock display but not press any buttons by accident. This is great if the clock is in your luggage.

I was looking for an digital clock that meets two criteria: It had to be "atomic" and it had to be readable at night without the need to push any light button. Turns out that there actually aren't many available that meet both of these criteria. So I was happy to find this one.Pros:- "Atomic" feature works great- Night light feature works great- Small and slim- Reasonably pricedCon:My main issue with this clock is that if you look at the display from below it becomes unreadable. If your nightstand is at the same level or above the level of your eyes, you will need to raise your head in order to decipher the display at night.Other minor cons:- No holes for wall mounting- Overall design and materials leave a bit to be desired. Particularly, the big and rather ugly company logo is a bummer.- Setup and instructions can be a bit confusingThe pros clearly outweigh the cons as far as my expectations are concerned, so overall this was a good purchase.

I like this clock. It has all the features that you would expect from a portable atomic alarm clock. The two bad sides are that this does not take rechargeable batteries, and that the screen is difficult to see from some angles.The alarm is progressive so that it doe snot wake you with an annoying blasting blaring sound. I will be using this on my cross country backpacking trip next year, so the weight of it is perfect for what I need.

This is the same shape and product description as my trusty, but old, Radio Shack travel alarm so I purchased it as a replacement. It took days before connecting with the atomic clock, using it isn't intuitive (I'm still travelling with the directions), and the display saying which time zone you've selected is really tiny. As a result, I've spent the last couple of months carrying both alarms because I still don't trust this one.

I wanted a clock with a night light for the bathroom counter which actually gives enough light to read the time and light up the bathroom. This one has it but it isn't bright enough to easily read the time. I think the manufacturer is trying to preserve the battery life. If you pick it up and press the top bar the light will brighten for a moment but resume to normal when you let go. The size is good and would be perfect for traveling. Today's shopper

Mostly functional, but I really hate the design (unless I'm missing something) that the only way to turn off the alarm is to shut the switch off and then you have to remember to switch back on. In just a few weeks of owning it had several days of no alarm because I didn't switch it back on. I'm used to an alarm where you can just hit a button to turn off the alarm for the day, but the alarm is still functional, so I find this alarm design strange. Maybe it's nitpicking but when I'm half asleep, the last thing I'm good at is turning a hard switch button off and back on. Otherwise, it's functional, backlight works well, no huge issues getting the radio sync to work, but having an alarm that I have trouble consistently getting to work means I'll likely be looking elsewhere soon for a different alarm.

Although the clock works fine, the frame that holds the clock in a upright position broke within 2 weeks. It is flimsy. Additionally, the temperature display is not even close to accurate so that feature is totally worthless. It does what I need it to, which is keep time to the second but I am irritated that the flimsy frame to hold up the clock broke so quickly.

This is a very nice clock ... I liked the first one that I bought so much that I bought two more, so I now have one for each of two home locations and one that resides permanently in my travel kit. HOWEVER I rated it only "okay" because radio-synchronization has stopped working on all of three clocks. I suspect the receiver is of a marginal design that uses a short-lived component, or maybe there has been a small change in the transmitted signal coding that proved big enough to confuse the receiver's decoder. Also there is an undocumented feature: a settable number of offset hours, which can be very useful when on-the-move, but unfortunately there is no display icon to indicate that an offset has been set; its absence is a design oversight that I can imagine could be dangerous.

This may be, in part, my fault for not doing better research but this alarm clock has one huge fault. It is the alarm OFF switch. Every previous travel alarm I have owned, and they were virtually all from Radio Shack, allowed you to press the top of the clock to silence the alarm. This clock has a slider switch. In the light of day and fully awake it is a no brainer. Sound asleep, waking up in the dark without all your cognitive functions it is a pain in the neck. I have struggled with this since I purchased the clock, and I get up during the work week at 4:20 am. That is my only knock on this clock, otherwise I have been reasonably pleased.

Big problem with this clock is the display. In the dark with illumination on, you can only read it standing over the clock, looking down on it. As you start looking at the display directly at eye level, it becomes very dim, and if you look at the display even slightly from the below the clock, the display vanishes and becomes blank. NOT clear and sharp in the dark in its own illumination as the picture suggests. So if you're in bed looking at the clock on your nightstand (where it is close to eye level) it will be close to illegible unless you have 20/20 razor sharp night time vision. It also seems to me that the display area could have been made larger -- notice how much wasted plastic there is in this design, and it's already small to begin with. That being said, clock works well otherwise, in the particular the 'auto-set' feature using the radio -- although in my area the signal is only strong enough after dark to use it. I may return the clock, I've ordered another from a different manufacturer to see if anyone makes a better display on a small self-setting alarm clock.

Real pain to set the time manually; not intuitive at all. Sub-par instructions. Had it in a tropical climate for 3 months, batteries started leaking in the compartment; fortunately saved it on time. Disappointed. It's ok if you use it in the Western hemisphere, in temperate climates, and where there is always access to WiFi so it can automatically set the time. Not applicable to my situation.

I am on my second one. The first one never could receive the radio signal no matter where I placed it. I took it to several cities on the east coast and Cabo in western Mexico. Nada. However it keeps time reasonably well and I needed a travel clock. I recently purchased another one for my office. This one can't receive a radio signal either. On top of that, DST can't be set. The choices are "off" or some unintelligible word. Bottom line if you want an atomic clock don't waste your money. If you want a travel clock, there are cheaper alternatives.

Returned it because lighted numbers can be seen at eye level or from above but not from below and my bed is lower than the nightstand on which I have my clock. The clock itself seemed to be a satisfactory product in other respects although setting it up was cumbersome and a bit of a bother.

Really wanted to like it, given all the research I did before making the purchase. However, the temperature was off by more than 10 degrees and the clock was not able to connect to the signal. I took these as signs that these tiny micro buttons were destined to fail as well. I will go for something with fewer features.

For seven months this clock was great. Easy to set, alarm loud enough, lightweight, glowed in the dark when button pressed, accurate, folded up flat, etc. While it was in my travel kit between trips, the batteries went dead. Replaced the batteries but now when folded for travel the back light stays on thus running the batteries down. When sitting upright on the bureau sometime the light is on and sometimes it's not. Weird. I could just remove the batteries and put them in at night on my trips, but I'd need to take a mini Phillips screwdriver with me because screws keep the batteries in place. I thought this product would last longer than it did.

This was returned product that end up with me. I was going to send back, I don't want somebody else to suffer. I will use it for target.

ONLY WORKS NEAR A WINDOW NOT WORTH THE MONEY.

Haven't even put batteries in yet-plastic case is still outgassing a perfumy smell after a week-smell still on its enclosed papers, too. Odor was not on other items in shipping box, so can't claim anything spilled on it. Cheap enough to keep as a backup, but will be used across the room instead of next to me on nightstand.

It doesn't work. I took it on a 3 week trip & it never worked. I would return it, but I must have thrown away the box. I was in a hurry to pack and just assumed it would work. Will still try to return.

the clock would not stay on the hour. it would gain or loose an hour over night. would not stay connected to the radio wave to reset at 2am. It was a piece of junk..

Did not work. I returned it