I love my TP and don't regret it one bit.  That being said, if it dies and I have to replace it I will probably give the javelin a try for $25.  I have heard enough good things about them. 

Thermopop! Paid $22 takes a couple seconds longer. 

I rarely cook anything where I don't use my Thermopen. 

No more guessing and regretting.

I say, "Go for it!"

I love mine!

I love my thermapen, but recently it will randomly not display the temp even seconds after opening.  Kind of like a combination of dead battery and/or bad contact.  But I have replaced the battery, so I know that is not it. 75% of the time it works - it is that other 25% that kills me. ... But not enough to send it back and be without it a few days. 

Got the same email on the thermapops.  I am thinking of getting several thermapops as gifts for my team here at work and 1 or two for myself.  They are always asking how to cook different things (none of them cook even "okay") but are trying and learning. They are all really young.  That are not getting it when I say cook to temp, not time!   "But the recipe says 60 mins at 350F".....  Ugh.....
Oldest is 26. 

HeavyG said:

I guess I'm in the minority - I hate my Thermopop and never use it.

I'm thinking about buying one so I am curious to know why you hate yours. Thanks

CtTOPGUN said:

 I use a thermopop at my Dad's place. It is a nice piece for low cost. But the Thermopen I use is definately faster by a good margin.(limited edition burning lump graphic for fastest!) When I am reaching over a real hot fire that response seems worth it to me.

@CtTOPGUN ,
I always wear my glove when taking temperatures so it gives me a little longer to get internal temperature without burning my hand.  I do use a thermapen but also have a thermopop and like both of them.

NonaScott said:

HeavyG said:

I guess I'm in the minority - I hate my Thermopop and never use it.

I'm thinking about buying one so I am curious to know why you hate yours. Thanks

I've had a couple Thermapens for a decade. When the Thermopop came out I bought one mainly out of curiosity.

Perhaps it was because I was just too used to my Thermapens but I found the Thermopop annoying to use:

-display too tiny for my senior citizen eyes without my reading glasses (probably not a problem for the young snots in the crowd)

- backlit display is too weak and not very useful to me. That may just be a problem for us older folks whose pupils don't dilate like they use to.

- rotating display annoys me. The way the LCD is set up the digits are not centered in the display face. The button to rotate the display is on the back side near the top of the head. I found it tricky to rotate the display with just one hand. Then you have to click it a few times to get it to rotate thru the various position to get to the one you need. To be fair the rotating display was of zero importance to me and with more use/practice perhaps it wouldn't have been so annoying to me.

- much prefer a folding probe type. Didn't like having to keep track of the little plastic sheath that slides over the probe so you don't impale yourself.

- not as comfortable to hold but then I guess the way most people would use this is to just stick in the meat and let it stand on its own. That's fine for big cuts of meat. Not so fine for a steak. Much prefer the shape of a Thermapen to hold onto.

- the button to switch between °F/°C is on the back side of the head not far from the display rotate button. I will concede that it is likely due to my not using the Thermopop much but I found myself hitting that button when I intended to rotate the display. On the other hand I disliked the rotating display so much that I quit trying to do that and it therefore became a non-problem.


When I use my instant read thermos I generally am using tongs to pick the steak/chop/breast/whatever up from the grill and then getting it away from the heat/smoke so I can probe it and read it in comfort. For large cuts of meat I just use the type of thermo where the probe is is the meat the whole time. I can see where the Thermopop would be useful for big cuts where it could stand on its own say to check the temps of multiple butts or the like.

As I said, I'm in the minority when it comes to opinions on the Thermopop. However, it does seem sturdy and since the latest models are a few seconds quicker it might be more appealing (tho for me the response time of the older units was not really a big deal).

In the $25 price range I really like the Lavatools Javelin. It's a folder and much smaller and more pocketable than a Thermapen or Thermapop. I've got a couple of those and like them much more than the Thermopop (did I mention I hate the Thermopop?).  

HeavyG said:

NonaScott said:

HeavyG said:

I guess I'm in the minority - I hate my Thermopop and never use it.

I'm thinking about buying one so I am curious to know why you hate yours. Thanks

I've had a couple Thermapens for a decade. When the Thermopop came out I bought one mainly out of curiosity.

Perhaps it was because I was just too used to my Thermapens but I found the Thermopop annoying to use:

-display too tiny for my senior citizen eyes without my reading glasses (probably not a problem for the young snots in the crowd)

- backlit display is too weak and not very useful to me. That may just be a problem for us older folks whose pupils don't dilate like they use to.

- rotating display annoys me. The way the LCD is set up the digits are not centered in the display face. The button to rotate the display is on the back side near the top of the head. I found it tricky to rotate the display with just one hand. Then you have to click it a few times to get it to rotate thru the various position to get to the one you need. To be fair the rotating display was of zero importance to me and with more use/practice perhaps it wouldn't have been so annoying to me.

- much prefer a folding probe type. Didn't like having to keep track of the little plastic sheath that slides over the probe so you don't impale yourself.

- not as comfortable to hold but then I guess the way most people would use this is to just stick in the meat and let it stand on its own. That's fine for big cuts of meat. Not so fine for a steak. Much prefer the shape of a Thermapen to hold onto.

- the button to switch between °F/°C is on the back side of the head not far from the display rotate button. I will concede that it is likely due to my not using the Thermopop much but I found myself hitting that button when I intended to rotate the display. On the other hand I disliked the rotating display so much that I quit trying to do that and it therefore became a non-problem.


When I use my instant read thermos I generally am using tongs to pick the steak/chop/breast/whatever up from the grill and then getting it away from the heat/smoke so I can probe it and read it in comfort. For large cuts of meat I just use the type of thermo where the probe is is the meat the whole time. I can see where the Thermopop would be useful for big cuts where it could stand on its own say to check the temps of multiple butts or the like.

As I said, I'm in the minority when it comes to opinions on the Thermopop. However, it does seem sturdy and since the latest models are a few seconds quicker it might be more appealing (tho for me the response time of the older units was not really a big deal).

In the $25 price range I really like the Lavatools Javelin. It's a folder and much smaller and more pocketable than a Thermapen or Thermapop. I've got a couple of those and like them much more than the Thermopop (did I mention I hate the Thermopop?).  

Thank you for the details. Most of your issues will probably be issues for me too. I appreciate your response and will probably give the javelin a go to start with.

I love mine and use it anytime I cook (inside or out)