The Hangman Alarm is a motion-sensitive alarm that you hang on any doorknob so that you can be alerted if anyone tries to come in the door. They say it’s the easiest and fastest way to feel more secure, but how well does this really work when put into a real situation?
Overview
Alarm systems can costs a ton to have installed and then keep running each month. If nothing happens to your home you might even feel like you’re throwing money away each month just for some peace of mind. But there aren’t too many ways to secure your home without putting in place some sort of alarm that will alert you or a monitoring company that something isn’t right.
The Claim
The claim by the makers of the Hangman Alarm is that you you’ll be able to protect yourself from intruders by hanging their battery-operated device on your door. They say that the siren is so loud you’ll definitely know that it’s been tripped if it should occur. 130 decibels no wires, no phone lines, uses batteries, impossible to disarm,
The Hype
This has a TV infomercial behind it to show how it works, and also show the different ways you can use it. It does use a bit of fear to make the sale, showing a burglar prowling a residence, but it does so in a way that makes it almost comical.
The Cost
For $24 you get two Hangman Alarms delivered to your door. At this price it’s not bad to pay $12 each, considering that they’re also throwing in a $15 credit towards another As Seen on TV product so it helps to justify the expense. Compared to getting a home alarm system it’s far less expensive and has no ongoing costs except replacing the batteries.
The Commitment
All that you need to do is set the alarm and put it in place. Compared to using a different alarm service you don’t have to worry about paying monthly maintenance fees or being in any sort of contract.
Evaluation
The Hangman Alarm is a pretty simple idea but many times a simple idea only helps a product actually work well in the real world. They say that it’s super sensitive, which may or may not be a good thing. You might get a lot of “false alarms” literally, it might be set off by someone simply knocking on your door. These problems sometimes occur with any alarm system, and it’s very normal for pets to trip them and you have to call them up and let them know everything’s OK.
There is one thing about the way they show this being used that might present a bit of a problem. They show people putting the alarm in place when they are leaving the home. This means that when they get back they’re going to have to set off the alarm at least for a few seconds as they open the door, grab it and turn it off. Unless you want to hear an ear piercing alarm every time you come home or enter the room this wouldn’t be a very viable way to go.
But there are plenty more instances where this would make great sense. If you want to prevent kids from entering a pool area, this would tip you off to the doorway being opened. If you want to be alerted to anyone entering your home or room, this would do the job. At the same time it would be just as easy for an intruder to turn the alarm off, because it doesn’t have a code or anything that needs to be entered in order to turn it off. Also, they say that because it’s battery powered it can’t be disarmed by cutting wires or phone lines. At the same time it can run out of batteries and not do its job.
Final Hangman Alarm Review
Overall, the Hangman Alarm can work quite well in certain situations. If you want to feel more secure in your own room, or home and apartment this should do the trick, as long as you understand its limitations. At the same time you might want to pass on this offer because it may not be very practical, and might drive you nuts in the process. You might be the one startled off by a 130 decibel blast when you least expect it, and left fumbling for a way to turn it off.
Our Recommendation
In this instance they guarantee that this will be the best alarm or you get your money back, but because of the way it’s set up they’ll only refund you $10 on a $24 purchase and require you to send back the product at your expense. So there’s really not much being guaranteed here, since you’ll be out far more than what you’ll get reimbursed.
If I am going to make myself feel safer and more secure in my own home, I will go ahead and purchase a real alarm system that will keep my entire house safe. This seems like something that a teenage girl would want to put on her door in order to keep “intruders” out because she wants privacy from her siblings. It does not seem practical at all. And even if it does go off, it does not offer you any real level of protection because, unlike real security systems, it does not alert the authorities of the break-in.
I actually looked into this product for my daughter. She’s in college and she rents a room in a home that is occupied by other college students as well. They share a common living room, kitchen and two bathrooms. Each person has their own bedroom which locks. Although I think the concept of the Hangman Alarm is a really good idea, we opted not to purchase one. We were concerned that if someone accidentally grabbed her doorknob and set off the alarm, it would annoy the other students if my daughter wasn’t there to turn it off. We actually installed a hook onto the door frame and each night she wraps a cable from the doorknob to the hook and locks it.
The Hangman Alarm really does work. My husband travels a lot for work and I get scared when my daughter works late so my husband purchased this for me. When we got the Hangman alarm we hung it on the bedroom door and tried it out to see if would be loud enough to hear. The alarm is so loud and annoying that it would scare someone. This is great for a cheaper alarm system or even traveling. I would recommend this to anyone. You can find this at discount stores for under ten dollars too. That is where we got ours.
Nowadays you can’t be too cautious, and I sometimes get a little jumpy when I’m home alone. I love this idea, and it’s very affordable, too! Good thought, though, about the sensitivity being a downside – nothing like thinking someone is breaking in and discovering it was just the neighborhood cat. And setting it off upon deactivating it when you come home isn’t appealing, either. On the other hand, while i probably wouldn’t set it every day, it would be nice to have if you ever need it – or maybe for a babysitter to feel more secure. I’m actually going to look into this one.
This little thing is such a comfort in my home. My husband used to travel a lot for work and I would find myself alone at home for weeks on end. We live in a safe neighborhood but the fact that you “just never know” would always keep me up at night. We couldn’t afford the installation and monthly fees that come with a home alarm system and weren’t ready to make the pet commitment. This solution was the perfect one for us! It’s battery operated so I don’t have to worry about any fancy setup problem. I definitely recommend this product.
I think this sounds like a great idea but I take that with a grain of salt. If it goes off on every little instance, it really would only be good to have on when you are away and are sure no one (including pets) will activate it, otherwise it will be more painful than useful.
I’m the type of person who always has to lock the door when I get home. I’m always a bit cautious of the potential of a burglar breaking in but not so much that I would it to go off every time someone came to the door. But if you’re on a budget and need an alarm I’m sure this isn’t a bad option. But I agree with you, it’s definitely a cheaper way of scaring off potential burglars while making you feel safe at the same time.
This seems like a reasonably priced alternative to a full on alarm system for people who just want a little more peace of mind. I do wonder if, considering how sensitive they say it is, it will go off when someone simply knocks on the door. And that’s true that if you want to leave it on while you go out, when you come back home it will go off for a little until you disarm it. Overall, however, it does seem like a cost effective way to feel secure, and in the event of an intrusion, have a way to scare off potential burglars.
This seems like it would just set off all the time by accident and make you alarmed (once again, pun intended! I’m so funny…) and end up hating it. Especially because you lose money if you want to return this, it doesn’t seem like it’s worth it. If you’re feeling like you need a better alarm system, that’s probably something that you should consider really investing in a really good alarm system. If you’re concerned about your safety, it’s not something to try to save money on, but just invest in something that will actually give you peace of mind, and not randomly set off.