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Thermapen worth it?

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Macho_comacho
Macho_comacho Posts: 6
in EggHead Forum
Im looking into getting a thermapen and wondering if anybody has any buyers remorse after spending the money. 
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  • DoubleEgger
    DoubleEgger Posts: 17,174
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    You won't find anyone on here that regrets it. Buying quality only stings once. 
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  • Acn
    Acn Posts: 4,424
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    Also, if you're concerned with price just buy a thermopop.  Only difference is a few seconds longer to take a reading.  

    LBGE

    Pikesville, MD

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  • fergi
    fergi Posts: 138
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    None whatsoever. My Thermapen is an essential tool for my style of cooking. There are cheaper options from Thermoworks but the performance of the Thermapen is worth it in my opinion.

    Fort Worth Texas

    Large & XL Green Egg

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  • Macho_comacho
    Macho_comacho Posts: 6
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    Sounds good, thanks for the info 
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  • Battleborn
    Battleborn Posts: 3,356
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    Instant read thermometers are essential. I bought a Javelin for $25 on Amazon and love it. Takes about 3-4 seconds to get the temp. 
    Las Vegas, NV


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  • shtgunal3
    shtgunal3 Posts: 5,647
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    Thermapens are definitely worth the money. 

    And by the way , the orange ones are the fastest.

    ___________________________________

     

     LBGE,SBGE, and a Mini makes three......Sweet home Alabama........ Stay thirsty my friends .

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  • Hokiejacket
    Hokiejacket Posts: 154
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    You bought an Egg. What's another $100. Great investment.
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  • HeavyG
    HeavyG Posts: 10,346
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    Just make sure you buy one when they are on sale. Thermoworks has sales every week on various items.

    Also might want to look at the Lavatools Javelin lineup. Just as good, better warranty, significantly cheaper.

    I prefer my Javelin Pro to my Thermapen but some folks just have to have a Thermapen. 
    “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.” ― Philip K. Diçk




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  • smokeyj
    smokeyj Posts: 340
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    I had one a few yrs back. Now I have a thermopop and love it also. For my use the thermapen isn't worth tbe extra money, it is a great tool. I got my pop $20 or something on sale. 
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  • Golfguy77
    Golfguy77 Posts: 93
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    Definitely worth it.  Hard to cook great food without a good thermometer. 
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  • vb4677
    vb4677 Posts: 686
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    +1 for the Javelin, here.  I got it for my homebrewing hobby, and it states the Javelin is merely water resistant, not water proof. So, when I lost my grip on it and it fell into 7 gals of 150F sparge water, I thought it was a goner.  But the Javelin is STILL going today!  I use it on the BGE now as a confirmation of my remote meat therm.  I am sure the Thermapen is another fantastic tool, but for me and my two hobbies - the Javelin is working great for me.  Either one, get ya a quick read digital therm!
    Kansas City: Too Much City for One State - Missouri side
    2 Large BGE's, Instant Pot, Anova Sous Vide, and a gas smoker...
    Barbeque, Homebrew and Blues...
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  • ryantt
    ryantt Posts: 2,532
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    I've got the Mk4 and it's a nice thermoneter, but i think I would have been just as happy with the older model thermopen or the thermopop.  

    Now with that said my wife uses the thing all the time to check temps of candy or what ever else she is making.  She thinks it's the best money we've spent minus her USA pans.

     
    XL BGE, KJ classic, Joe Jr, UDS x2 


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  • damnedhooligan
    damnedhooligan Posts: 213
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    No regrets whatsoever I take it with me when someone else is bbqing at their place. Make sure you get the color British Racing Green ;)

    XL BGE with adj rig & woo2

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  • Fred19Flintstone
    Fred19Flintstone Posts: 8,168
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    The Thermapen is like your egg.  It's top of the line.  Sure, there's other kamodo cookers out there, but the egg is the best (IMHO).  So it is with the Thermapen. 
    Flint, Michigan
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  • HeavyG
    HeavyG Posts: 10,346
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    Tis interesting to see that so many of the folks telling us the Thermapen is "the best" also tell us that Yeti is "the best" and worth the extra dollar$$$.

    But, as always, this is just like arguing over which is "the best" lump charcoal.
    “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.” ― Philip K. Diçk




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  • nth78
    nth78 Posts: 154
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    I have a javelin pro.  It is great
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  • Fred19Flintstone
    Fred19Flintstone Posts: 8,168
    edited August 2016
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    HeavyG said:
    Tis interesting to see that so many of the folks telling us the Thermapen is "the best" also tell us that Yeti is "the best" and worth the extra dollar$$$.

    But, as always, this is just like arguing over which is "the best" lump charcoal.
    I never said YETI was the best.  Wilma bought the YETI for me as a gift last year.  I can do well without it.  I do think the Thermapen is the best on the market though.
    Edit:  I'm not stuck on having "the best" on all things.  I do demand good performance and accuracy in my tools and the Thermapen delivers that consistently. 
    Flint, Michigan
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  • THEBuckeye
    THEBuckeye Posts: 4,231
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    Most will say yes. 

    I have a Pop. There is nothing I've cooked on the Egg that the Pop did not perform just fine. 
    New Albany, Ohio 

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  • Killit_and_Grillit
    Killit_and_Grillit Posts: 4,326
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    I love the fact I can fold it up and stick it in my pocket. I never did with the straight pens and I left them outside in the rain and once found my toddler took it off my table and was poking the dog with it. 

    Now on I can take it anywhere. Just watch out for the washing machine!

    "Brought to you by bourbon, bacon, and a series of questionable life decisions."

    South of Nashville, TN

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  • lousubcap
    lousubcap Posts: 32,341
    edited August 2016
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    As above, an instant read thermo is a must for hot&fast cooks when your end-result is temperature driven in a brief amount of time. If all you ever cooked was low&slow then any accurate thermo that could give you a reading within a reasonable amount of time would do the trick.  
    So, given the hot&fast cook requirement, then any of the above mentioned thermos is a requirement to get the results you want.  (Don't want to miss the target temp on a pricy steak.)  I have a thermapen and acquired it long before the others were on the market.  Buying today, I would likely look at the others mentioned here.  FWIW-
    Louisville; Rolling smoke in the neighbourhood. # 38 for the win.  Life is too short for light/lite beer!  Seems I'm livin in a transitional period.
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  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
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    HeavyG said:
     Just as good, better warranty, significantly cheaper.

    Dood, how can you say that!? They're maybe 1 second slower, and .2F less correct.

    Joking.
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  • tarheelmatt
    tarheelmatt Posts: 9,867
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    Nahh.. Every cook here pretty much has one for some reason.  
    ------------------------------
    Thomasville, NC
    My YouTube Channel - The Hungry Hussey
    Instagram
    Facebook
    My Photography Site
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  • jtcBoynton
    jtcBoynton Posts: 2,814
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    shtgunal3 said:
    Thermapens are definitely worth the money. 

    And by the way , the orange ones are the fastest.
    No - the blue ones are faster!!!   =)

    I have had my Thermapen for 7 (or is it 8) years now.  No regrets. Fast, accurate, reliable.  I use it everyday, usually multiple times each day.  Sometimes I wish it would break so I could justify getting the new model.
    Southeast Florida - LBGE
    In cooking, often we implement steps for which we have no explanations other than ‘that’s what everybody else does’ or ‘that’s what I have been told.’  Dare to think for yourself.
     
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  • GATraveller
    GATraveller Posts: 8,207
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    I love mine. Got it as a gift and have never looked into others but never felt the need to. 

    "Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community [...] but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots."
                                                                                  -Umberto Eco

    2 Large
    Peachtree Corners, GA
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  • RedSkip
    RedSkip Posts: 1,400
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    I even use mine for non egg cooks.
    Large BGE - McDonald, PA
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  • GATraveller
    GATraveller Posts: 8,207
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    gdenby said:
    HeavyG said:
     Just as good, better warranty, significantly cheaper.

    Dood, how can you say that!? They're maybe 1 second slower, and .2F less correct.

    Joking.
    One second is an eternity when you're holding your arm over a 650 degree grid. 

    "Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community [...] but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots."
                                                                                  -Umberto Eco

    2 Large
    Peachtree Corners, GA
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  • Gulfcoastguy
    Gulfcoastguy Posts: 6,296
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    I'm not going to say that my red one is faster but it is quicker to find when I lay it down!
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  • HeavyG
    HeavyG Posts: 10,346
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    Fred19Flintstone said:
    HeavyG said:
    Tis interesting to see that so many of the folks telling us the Thermapen is "the best" also tell us that Yeti is "the best" and worth the extra dollar$$$.

    But, as always, this is just like arguing over which is "the best" lump charcoal.
    I never said YETI was the best.  Wilma bought the YETI for me as a gift last year.  I can do well without it.  I do think the Thermapen is the best on the market though.
    Edit:  I'm not stuck on having "the best" on all things.  I do demand good performance and accuracy in my tools and the Thermapen delivers that consistently. 
    Wasn't referring to you specifically. It is just a commonality whenever these discussions pop up - a large percentage of the folks that swear by Yeti also swear by Thermapens and consider any other choice to be inferior. For some folks perception creates their own reality.

    Now worries tho, we're all free to spend our money however we like.
    “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.” ― Philip K. Diçk




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  • Gulfcoastguy
    Gulfcoastguy Posts: 6,296
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    Don't need a $400 cooler but a $80 instant read thermometer is okay.
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  • SGH
    SGH Posts: 28,791
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    @Macho_comacho
    Above you asked, "is it worth it?". Like most things, it's value is determined by how bad you or someone wants it. I will use Yeti as a example here. There is less than $10.00 dollars of polyethylene material in a Yeti cooler. And yet folks still pay in excess of $500.00 dollars for one. Why? To satisfy a want, not so much a need. My point is this, you can justify the price of anything if you want it bad enough. 
    Above I only use Yeti as an example because they are indeed the perfect example. Few people actually "need" a Yeti. However most folks want one. As such, they command a premium price. However with the RTIC machine getting bigger and bigger everyday, this may change soon. But that's a story for another day. 
    As to the Thermopen it's self, it's a fine thermometer. I have used one on and off for a few years now. It's fast, accurate and very reliable. No complaints on my part. So yeah, it was worth the price for me. 

    Location- Just "this side" of Biloxi, Ms.

    Status- Standing by.

    The greatest barrier against all wisdom, the stronghold against knowledge itself, is the single thought, in ones mind, that they already have it all figured out. 

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