I love my Hatch Restore 2 smart alarm clock, especially its white noise machine feature. While it looks great on my nightstand, it doesn’t quite fit in my carry-on or personal belongings. As someone who both loves to travel and has trouble falling asleep, I’ve been looking for a better solution than using an app for my sound equipment.
Hatch Restore 2 didn’t improve my mornings, but it changed the nighttime game
It may be pricey, but the viral Hatch Alarm Clock completes my nightstand trip, morning and evening routine, and combats my midday slump.
It’s eerie that Amazon knows so much about my sleep patterns (or lack thereof) because it keeps recommending me the Babelio white noise machine. After too many sleepless nights, being woken by every little sound, and seeing this pocket-sized device advertised in my feed multiple times, I finally gave in—and I’m glad I did.
barberio mini speaker
The Babelio Mini Speaker is pocket-friendly, powerful and packed with tons of sound options, making it the perfect travel essential to soothe restless sleepers.
- Number of sound options
- 15
- Highly portable
- aesthetic
- Premium sound quality
- Simple touch controls and 15 sound options
- Hopefully the battery life will last 7 days
- Sound can be compressed
Portable yet powerful
This mini speaker fits in the palm of my hand, weighs only 2.40 ounces, and can be carried in my backpack, but it can also sit on my nightstand. My favorite color is purple and I chose a lovely lilac. If you’re interested in achieving a certain aesthetic with your audio gear, there are eight other color options available, including more neutral black or white gear.
This mini speaker fits in the palm of my hand, weighs only 2.40 ounces, and can be carried in my backpack, but it can also sit on my nightstand.
This app is my travel tip for booking cheapest flights online
Thanks to this travel tip, I flew from London to New York for under $300, without using any credit cards or loyalty points.
Even though it’s only pocket-sized, I was impressed with its sound output, producing just as loud, albeit more compressed, sound than my Hatch siren.
Like Hatch and other sound machines, Babelio has a library of customizable options, including natural sounds like rain, birdsong, as well as white noise, pink noise, and my favorite, brown noise. Although I prefer fan noise, I also tested natural sounds and found that the superposition of white noise in ocean waves and thunderstorm tracks resulted in a more dynamic sound, but the thunder and raindrops were more obviously slightly diluted.
For the most part, I found all of the sound loops to be very calming, and the white noise was perfect for stimulating certain parts of my brain. I usually avoid sounds containing thunder because I find them disruptive, but I was impressed by how loud the thunder was on Babelio. It startled me as I tried to fall asleep.
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When I want to switch between sounds I just Press and hold the volume increase symbol “+” for two seconds The next track will play seamlessly with virtually no lag.Back to the sound I like, I too Press and hold the volume to decrease “-“ Buttons allow for easy track switching.
Timer sets tone
My favorite feature, besides the powerful noise itself, is the speaker’s timer function. By pressing and holding the power button, I can set a continuous all-night cycle (which I always choose while sleeping) or a playback time of 30 or 60 minutes. For ease of viewing, a green light indicates continuous play, a sky blue/white light indicates a 30-minute timer, and a blue light indicates 60 minutes of gameplay.
I find the shorter playback time is ideal for when I want to focus on work but don’t necessarily want to play music, making this machine a suitable desk companion as well.
A battery built for travelers
Overall, I’m impressed with the strong battery life. The machine lasted me four nights on a continuous loop while I was visiting family in Texas, traveling with me for three hours between San Antonio and Houston, only needing to be recharged when I got back to New York City.
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Sonos’ in-app alarm clock feature turned my Sonos Roam into a simple but satisfying alarm clock that might just become a must-have for my nightstand.
USB-C charging
The speaker charges easily via the USB-C port, and now that I mainly use an iPhone 15 or Galaxy Z Flip 4, I just keep a charger near my bedside table. As part of my travel bedtime ritual, I make a habit of charging my speakers while I’m relaxing in bed (yes, scrolling through TikTok), then plug in my phone and turn the speakers on.
Conclusion: Pocket fuzz or pocket pit?
As a light sleeper and frequent traveler, I’ve compromised on both sleep products and minis, but the size and promise just didn’t live up to my expectations. The Babelio Mini Speaker is the perfect solution for my busy lifestyle, without compromise. Pocketable, functional, and versatile, I expect this to be a staple in my carry-on bag or tech organizer for the foreseeable future.