I have have one of these for about 16 year . the same one . in daily use as a alarm clock at home , as well as go with I when I travel . it be durable enough I often put it in check luggage . some of the write around the button be start to rub off finally . about a decade ago I drop it in a parking lot -lrb- with the case open -rrb- and one of the two little plastic ratchet tab that hold it open or closed break . the other one have hold it open or closed fine ever since . the alarm sound be quite nice , pleasant to wake up to but -lrb- importantly -rrb- loud enough to wake up to . it keep very accurate time , much better than a far more expensive one I win about 5 year ago . the backlight start to get dim and the alarm sound weak when the battery get low , but that be not often . I replace the battery every 5 year or so , fairly common watch battery and easy to find . you 'll get plenty of warn before it wind up run so low it will not alarm , so it be very trustworthy to rely on when you need to be up . if mine ever do die I be glad to see they be still available .