Lavatools KT3 Kitchen Timer & Stopwatch, Large Digits, Loud Alarm, Mute Function, Quick-Set Buttons, Hang Hole, Magnetic Stand for Cooking and Classroom

Review Update: After SIX years of use, my Lavatools KT3 is still my go-to kitchen timer! A few things I've experienced along the way: 1.) On rare occasion, after starting the timer, we would discover that it had mysteriously stopped. We haven't been able to recreate the issue but suspect our cat of mischief. 2.) Admire this timer enough that we bought two more and stacked them three high on the front of our refrigerator. The top two are for our double oven and the lower one for anything else. 3.) When we bought the first one I noticed a lot of people complaining about the always-on digital display consuming unnecessary battery life - so the manufacturer changed the design so that the display remains off until you press any button. Now that we own both versions I prefer the always-on version over the newer version which one has to wake-up every time to use it. I know it sounds petty. Mostly just a personal preference. I still maintain my five-star rating on this product for use, purpose, function, price-point and durability. *********************************** After exhaustive research, including other reviews such as on ATK, I've settled on this timer as my go-to, easy-to-set timer. The alarm is super loud and annoying - perfect for when I am upstairs working, but it can be set to silent mode if needed. The only negative, or wish-list item, would be the ability to increment the timer count from where one last pressed STOP instead of having to reset and start over. Lastly, the magnetic attachment point is less than perfect. When you have it stuck to a vertical metal surface and begin pressing buttons it wants to tip and slide around. Annoying but I solved that with a small piece of double-sided tape which keeps the unit in place.

I'm very impressed with this unit. The large size is easy to see. It is simple to use and the countdown beeb and flashing light are excellent. Really a nice unit that can be stuck on any metal surface, or stand alone, or it even had an eyehook to hang on a nail. It will also count upwards but you can't set it - meaning it will just keep counting until you stop it - no beeb or flashing light. Delighted with this product. It will work nicely in gym and the kitchen.

This is a _great_ kitchen timer. Factual "how it works": * The screen usually "stays off" (does not stay at 0:00:00), and is only "on" when the timer is actively running. * It takes a normal battery, so in case it has died it's easy to fix. * When it beeps, it beeps _very_ loud, like 20-30 seconds at an insistent "beep-beep-beep", and then switches to a _very_ insistent / faster "beepbeepbeep...". * There's an option to make it a visual "blinky-timer" only, which is pretty cool if you're doing like studying or something where the timer is right in front of your face * When the timer ends, it immediately starts a count-up which is nice to be able to know how much you've missed it by (ie: if you've got something on the stove, hear the beep, but check it later on, you know if you're 5-10-20-30 minutes past when it beeped) * It's _great_ for kitchen / cooking. Usually it's "Reset => 10,10,10 => Start..." and that'll get you a 30 minute timer, much quicker and much more accurate. * The button funkiness is around the "5min" button. It's flips back/forth between "yes-it-has-five" or "no-it-doesn't-have-five". So doing: "Reset => 10,5,5,5" ...you'll surprisingly end up with "15" minutes on the timer instead of "25". It ends up going "10 => 15 => 10 => 15". The "5min" is not "additive" which is kindof surprising. This isn't that big of a deal, it's just a surprising choice. ...I don't have more to say about it, it's a great timer and only the "5-min" button prevents me from giving it "5-stars". I'm very happy with it, and love the consistency with being able to quickly set a 1hr timer compared to other "minute-by-minute" timers.

Strong magnets, quality lcd display that can be viewed from off angle, very large and very dark digits are super easy to see even in dim light, auto-shutoff preserves battery, substantial feel, clean positive button press without false triggers, very reasonable price. I have accumulated a lot of cheap kitchen timer carcasses over the years, they usually last a year or less but I get the feeling this one is going to last much longer. The quality of construction is obvious as it is with their folding cooking thermometer. Lavatools has never let me down.

The only reason I want this timer is so that it can do 10 sec increment...here are the problems. 1. Once It beeps and you put a stop on it, you can NOT add 10 more seconds to make it 20 seconds. Instead, you have to press reset THEN click 20 seconds twice. If you find this annoying, don't get it. I have literally 6 different other timers and all of them can add more time. 2. Terrible battery cap - This is THE worst design I have ever seen. It's hard to open, and hard to close. You will need a tool such as coin to open/close it...again, no other timers design this way. In fact, mine won't even stay close. I put a tape on it to make it work. Not a big deal but not sure how this unit get so many good reviews. Overall, I think you have to make extra efforts to purposely design a timer THIS bad..so bad to the point that I am confused. Oh yes it's loud but I am not sure what timers nowadays are not loud..so it's irrelevant.

It is quick and easy to set the count-down timer. SOUNDS: - The beeping sound when the alarm goes is loud but not deafening. - It is completely silent while it is counting up/down. - There is no sound/beep when you press any of its 6 buttons (i.e. when you press "RESET", "START/STOP", or any of the 4 numeric buttons: 4 numerical buttons: "10 M", "5 M", "1 M", "10 s"). - There is a switch on the side that lets you turn on/off all sounds. Ways to start the count-up timer (i.e. stopwatch): OPTION 1 - on purpose: To count up from 0 on purpose, "RESET" the timer to 0:00 and then press "START/STOP". OPTION 2 - automatically after count-down finishes: If you start a count-down timer then as soon as it reaches 0:00, it starts counting up (in addition to the alarm beeping). "START/STOP" and "RESET" buttons: - AFTER the count-down timer has reached 0/gone off, pressing any of the 6 button (including ) will reset the timer to the original time you entered. - If it is counting down to 0 but has not yet reached 0 (i.e. while it is counting down) then: a) pressing "START/STOP" will pause/un-pause the timer. b) pressing "RESET" will stop the count-down and set the timer to 0:00 (not to the previous time you set). - Holding down "START/STOP" doesn't seem to do anything different pressing it down. That is, holding down the "START/STOP" button does the same thing as pressing it down. For example: Suppose you set it to count down from 1 minute and 10 second. If you press "RESET" after the alarm goes off then the timer will be reset to 1 minute and 10 second. But if you press "RESET" before the alarm goes off then it will be reset to instead. Numeric Buttons: "10 M", "5 M", "1 M", "10 s" - Pressing any number button after the count-down timer has reached 0 (so it is counting up) resets it to the original time you entered. - Pressing any number button while it is counting down does nothing. - If you started the count-up timer on purpose (i.e. if you reset it to 0 and then pressed "START/STOP" - as opposed to OPTION 2 above) then pressing any number button does nothing (regardless of whether or not you have paused the count-up timer). - Pressing any number button after resetting it to 0 adds that amount of time to the timer e.g. pressing "1 M" and "10 s" adds 70 seconds to the timer.

First, this is the best electronic timer I have found to date for cooking. I love the time setting buttons, the timer is big, it has magnetic backing, and it also has a kickstand and mute. The sound is great and it chimes at intervals before the final alarm. After the alarm sounds, there is a count up timer. Now my gripes: it could use a second button. This is not a deal breaker but it would be nice to have. Next, the kickstand holds the timer near vertical so if you put it on the counter, you either have to handle the timer to see the time or have to squat down to see it. Hey, exercise while cooking! Burn calories for a second serving! When the timer sleeps and you push a button it wakes up. But to change the timer after waking, you still have to push reset. Actually, to change any time, you have to hit reset before changing. That is somewhat bothersome. While the magnets are a great touch and they are strong enough to hold the timer in place, using the timer while it is held by them is awkward. When you push a button, the timer releases from the surface. My solution was to put some shaved down rubber feet on the lower corners so the timer sits flush and stable so that when buttons are pushed, the timer stays in place. Some plastic molding changes from the manufacturer should address this though. Overall, this is a good kitchen timer but it could use some improvements. I thought the light was useless but for a deaf person, the light might be beneficial. An electroluminescent backlight, along with my other suggestions, would make this the ultimate kitchen timer.

Got a couple of these for my kids, who, like me, have no concept of time. I really like the convenience of hitting two buttons to set it for 15 minutes, the large size, and the option to stick on a magnetic surface, or use the stand. It's thick enough to grab easily and not lose, and easy to read, even from across the room. It also has a feature that I don't remember seeing in any of the reviews or the description - it beeps at the 5 minute mark, briefly, to let you know that there is only 5 minutes left. I'm surprised and pleased with this little feature, as it's very handy when setting it for longer time periods. The beeper is VERY loud, and painfully so, but that is easily fixable with a little piece of foam taped to the opening on the back. It also beeps and beeps and beeps when it goes off. There is no ignoring it until it stops, which means children actually get up and turn it off! (Granted, that's annoying if I'm stuck on the couch and can't get it and the child went outside, but if I get a timer, I want one I'm not going to dismiss when time is up.) We haven't had these long, so I can't speak to the longevity of them yet, but so far they've been tossed all over the place and used multiple times a day, and seem fine. I also can't say much about the light feature, for when you turn the sound off, but it seems bright enough to be a great visual on a desk. So far very pleased with them and appreciate the design!