Thermoworks Super Fast Water-Resistant Digital Pocket Thermometer

I still like my Splash-Proof Thermapen better but this is from the same company and it is actually pretty fast. The Thermapen is more accurate and faster but this one is much cheaper. And, it is still better than the CDN or Mavericks that I have tried. I'll use this in my tailgating kit so I won't risk losing my thermapen. I see Cook's Illustrated rated this as recommended.

I now have three of these thermometers. Let's explore the fate of each of these:

#1 The first one I purchased came out of the package malfunctioning. It had some kind of short in it that made it flip between an accurate reading an a totally inaccurate one (at room temp, for instance, it would flip between 75 F and 50 F, and for hot water it would flip between 170 F and 120 F). Tapping the unit would sometimes fix it temporarily. I called Thermoworks and their customer service is excellent. They sent me a replacement at no charge.

Thermometer #1: broken

#2 The second one came, as above, at no charge from Thermoworks to replace the malfunctioning one. This one still functions.

Thermometer #2: good so far

#3 Since the customer service was exemplary and the thermometer has all the features I want, I decided that the broken one was a one-off. I needed a second thermometer so I could keep one at work and use one at home, so I bought another. This one worked for about 2 months and then the "change battery" light came on. It seemed strange for the battery to run out so quickly, but hey, batteries go dead. So today I changed the battery and now the display reads LLL.L. The user manual tells me that this means that it needs to be sent back for repair.

Thermometer #3: broken

Maybe I should call Thermoworks and send the third one back for repair as instructed, but this is a 2 out of 3 failure rate in less than 5 months. At this point I'm just waiting for the third one to conk out on me, too. It's time for me to cut my losses, I think, and go with another company.

So. Thermoworks. Great customer service, lousy product. Really, really lousy product.

EDITED: The battery on Thermometer #2 eventually gave out and I replaced it without it giving up the ghost. However, it was extremely difficult to re-calibrate and I never got it to read 0 C in ice water and 100 C in boiling water again. I recognize that water not at sea level is not going to boil at precisely 100 C, but I used distilled water and the deviation should not be 6 degrees (C!). I don't live on Mt. Everest. ??? What gives? I never did figure it out. I eventually calibrated it to 100 C at boiling since I measure hot things more often than cold things, and I just live with the variance in the cold range.

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My previous meat thermometer was a two-prong combination meat fork and thermometer. It took at least 30 seconds to check the meat's temperature, so to save time, I usually pre-heated it by holding the prongs against the outside of the grill to get them close to the ideal temperature. This worked... but it wasn't ideal.

Eventually, the prongs kinda melted a little. That tends to happen when you leave the thermometer too close to the side of your grill. Who knew? At any rate, I found myself in need of a new thermometer. The ultra-fast pocket thermometer looked like an awesome product, but I couldn't justify spending that much for casual grilling. I could, however, drop $35 on a fast thermometer that had the kind of reviews that this one had received. So I did.

As many of the other reviews have stated, this thermometer's very fast. It also appears to be very accurate. It might take a smidgen longer than the 5-6 seconds claimed, but not by too much. You can probably get a good final temperature within 10-12 seconds. Sometimes less.

For the price, this one's tough to beat.

EDIT: I originally deducted one star because the thermometer, while fast, was not as quick as advertised. I had to take away another star because the battery died about 4 months after I received it. This might have been understandable if I was using the thermometer on a daily basis; but since grilling season was just about over, the thermometer was turned off and kept in a drawer for most of this time. I guess I'll track down a new battery for it, but I'm pretty disappointed that it ran out so quickly.

EDIT (1/14/13): I've had to replace the batteries far too often in this thermometer. Given that I turn it off before putting it away for storage (and I think it's even got an "auto-off" feature), the batteries should last at least a couple of years (based on previous electronic thermometers I've used) seeing as how I only use it about once a week during the warmer months. The thermometer itself works fairly well... WHEN it works! But for those times when you press the power button and nothing happens, that's just a little too frustrating for me to recommend this product to anyone. Especially since it uses batteries that you won't find just lying around the house.

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Edit nearly a year later 10/16/12:

This thermometer has a major flaw. It consumes power even when off. This means batteries last only a few months. It seems like whenever I want to use this thermometer it's dead.

Edit on 11/30/11:

The manufacturer quickly responded by FedEx'ing me a replacement. Their service is top notch!! Hope the new one lasts.

EDIT on 11/28/11:

I was initially impressed with this thermometer but it just died after a mere 5 weeks. (used maybe half a dozen times). The display is totally blank. For a premium price I expected something reliable. We'll see if the manufacturer responds to my complaint.

I'm a home vintner and brewer and needed a very accurate thermometer. I settled on the RT301WA and am happy with it. I quickly ruled out the Thermapen due to cost and no compelling need for the 3 second readout.

Here are some considerations when considering either RT301 or RT600:

RT301 can be calibrated. My unit was off by 5 degrees upon receipt but I was able to calibrate is spot on at both freezing and boiling. (don't forget boiling points vary by elevation and barometric pressure). I think the ability to calibrate it is a major benefit!!

RT301 has the display at a right angle to the probe which makes it much easier to read as you insert it. In addition is has a decent size LCD display. (no need for those reading glasses)

RT301 has auto shutoff which will preserve battery life.

I also read about a design flaw with the RT600 where it would turn itself on in certain electrical fields without user input. I don't think RT301 suffers from this issue.

In summary I'm very happy with my RT301.

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I received this therometer as promised. It is a MUST HAVE for every kitchen as our meat is ALWAYS perfect now no more guessing. The display is easy to read and QUICK. I made a PERFECT standing rib roast and our steaks on the grill are to everyones likeness! I have used many different thermometers in the past but none were as fast, slim and accurate as this one. Great on chicken, potatoes and your other fine foods. This would also make a great gift for new cooks and old!

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