Instant thermometers

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Folks JUST missed the 25% off deal on the Lavatools Thermowand.  I checked and Amazon doesn't seem to be taking the code anymore.  At $18.75 it was a super deal.  

I have both the Lavatools Thermowand and the ThermoWorks ThermoPop (bought openbox from manuf).  While I like both, I actually like the Thermowand a little bit better mostly because I feel that turning on the ThermoPop is a little awkward.  
 
wow! Didn't know a post about the fastest thermo out being 20% off was gonna bring out the blue light crowd in force! Glad your happy with the wand fellas, I never knocked it as I have no idea what it is. I have a thermapop and at 4-5 seconds it wasn't fast enough for me so I bought the pen. Works great, and it's fast. End of review.
 
I still have the Palermo that someone posted here in the early summer.  It's doing the job fine.  Definitely not instant read.  Takes a couple of seconds, but for the price, it's help up. 
 
I was one Lavatool's website just to see if they were running anymore sales but then I stumbled upon this.

This looks to be a helluva game changer. They seem to be matching Thermapen's performance with more features (backlight, magnet, some sort of stabilization alert). If it promises to do all that at $58, consider me sold. Who wants to be a guinea pig???

http://lavatools.co/products/javelin-pro

 
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That's the word right there "guinea pig". For $20 more you could have bought a thermapen on sale and it's proven. maybe in a year or so when you can read dozens of reviews from users who've used the thermapen and this knockoff it'll be worth the buy. But when you don't know $20 more to get the best thermo on the market seems like the smart play.
 
At least compare apples to apples...  The backlit Thermopen is $85 when a refurb/openbox is available, no returns/exchanges, you hope they have a color you like, you pay another $4 in shipping, and you lose the magnet and loop to hang it on. 

Basically, you pay a bit over 50% more for the Thermopen and lose a couple features.  So not entirely clear cut.  Whether it's worth it or not depends on one's sense of adventure / risk adversity.  Lavatools does allow 14 day return so your risk is five bucks or so to ship it back.

Moot though as I'm happy with my $25 Thermowand.  :D
 
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Apples to apples??? That's insane! Color, and backlit are options.

It's like taking a ford and a Chevy and putting them against each other. What's most important? The towing and how it drives. Not the color, not if one has a multi disc changer and MP3 vs the others single disc player. All options.

Bottom line is thermos need to read fast and accurate. EVERYTHING else is an option. I'm not a high school girl I don't need it to match my outfit. Backlit isn't an issue as I can read mine just fine. And again that's an option as far as I'm concerned.

Blue, teal, and tan thermapens are all on sale for $79. They all read fast and accurate. They are time tested and proven and they'll cost you $20 more than something nobody knows anything about. Sure the lava could be great but I'd rather have a few people I trust try them before I buy one.

And no I don't work for thermapen. If there is a cheaper option that's just as good or better you should absolutely buy it. It's your money not mine. I'm just saying $79 for a thermapen is a great deal.
 
Wow, didn't intend to step on a nerve.  No need to get so defensive.  I was pointing out that there's more to the difference than you listed.  Whether those other things are important to someone or not is their call, not yours or mine.  Is it not better that people be able to make informed decisions?  

BTW, the blue/teal/tan closeouts were all sold out when I checked this morning (curious about shipping cost).  Not much point to mention them when they can't be ordered.  

As noted by vwaldoguy they just sent out an openbox sale announcement.  Previous openbox had no Thermapens.  Definitely jump on these if in the market for one.
 
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My point exactly! You need as much info as possible before you buy. Impossible to make an informed decision until your able to read this new lava pens reviews over a long enough time period. As of right now nobody knows if they are as good as the thermapen, better, or complete garbage.

No nerves stepped on just pointing out that a thermo needs to be fast and accurate and doesn't need to give you a massage, or read you a book on tape.
 
 
I was one Lavatool's website just to see if they were running anymore sales but then I stumbled upon this.

This looks to be a helluva game changer. They seem to be matching Thermapen's performance with more features (backlight, magnet, some sort of stabilization alert). If it promises to do all that at $58, consider me sold. Who wants to be a guinea pig???

http://lavatools.co/products/javelin-pro

I still like the $25 option. Honestly with a 3-4 second read time (that's what mine averages) I'm quite fine with that. As for reviews there are quite a few members on this forum that have the $25 dollar Thermowand, and there's only been one negative review and it was because he had been shipped a defective unit which was replaced by the company. His new one works perfectly as advertised. Amazon has 1,159 reviews (to date) of the Thermowand has it rated at 4 1/2 stars out of 5.

So for 1 second slower and .2° of accuracy and $50 less, I'll stand behind my Thermowand.

Thermowand:

- Response Time: 4-5 seconds to within 1°F of final temperature in moving boiling water (212°F)
- Accuracy: ±0.9°F @ -4 ~ 302°F (±0.5°C @ -20 ~ 150°C)
- Range: -40 ~ 482°F (-40 ~ 250°C)
- Battery: 1x CR2032
- Battery Life: 4,000+ hours
- Auto-Off: 60 min
- °F/°C Configurable: Yes Limited lifetime warranty against all technical and firmware defects. Lavatools is a proud Californian company and our products are certified by NSF, CE, and RoHS.

Thermapen:
  • True 3-second readings, World's fastest cooking thermometer, Rated #1 by leading Cook's Magazine
  • 4.5 inch probe reaches center of roasts, turkeys, etc. Safely measure BBQ, boiling sugars, fryers
  • Range -58 to 572 degrees F covers all cooking and chilling temperatures including deep frying
  • Accuracy better than 0.7 degrees F Traceable to National Standards, calibration certificate with test data
 
I have a $30 thermapop that works well to. It takes longer but it's accurate and fast for the money.
 
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