Thermoworks Meat Thermometers (Thermapen and Thermopop)


 

Bruce

TVWBB 2-Star Olympian
I own the Thermoworks Smoke and reaallly love it. However, I like to use a rotisserie which doesn't allow the use of the meat probe due to the meat rotating. I also don't want to set it all up for testing temps on a couple steaks or chicken breasts. It will work fine for periodic temp readings, but just isn't real convenient for that. I have thought about getting a Thermoworks Thermapen or Thermopop. It seems like the Thermapen is the cream of the crop and the thermopop is the next rung down. I am sure both work great but am torn between the two. ONe of the real advantages of the thermapen that I like is the foldable aspect.

I see the Thermapen is on sale again right now for $59. The Thermopop is $34. Is the Thermapen worth the extra or will the Thermopop going to fit my limited needs? I am hoping Thermoworks jumps on the Black Friday bandwagon and puts out some really good deals this coming week.

If anyone has any experience with the Thermapen and Thermopop, let me know what you think about them.
 
I have an original ThermaPen (better part of 20 years old!) and love it to death. I've never used a ThermoPop. One of the local butcher shop chains carries ThermoPops right on top of the refrigerator cases. I'm not sure that you can go wrong with either one, it'd be more of a personal preference than anything for the precision that we generally ask for. I'd have no problem dropping the extra for a ThermaPen, though.
 
The Classic Thermapen is a great deal at $59. The high-end Thermapen Mk4 adds auto-backlit display, rotating display so no matter how you hold it the numbers are readable, it's more waterproof than the Classic, it's got twice the battery life than the Classic, and its sleep/wake mode is motion-sensitive. It's $99 but sometimes drops to $79.20.

The ThermoPop is a really solid value at $34. It's just slightly slower at reading temp than the Classic, but it has the rotating display, the backlit display by push button, and really long battery life at 5000 hours. It's also lighter in your shirt pocket than the Thermapen.

I've used all three units for extended periods of time. For me, I'd go with the Mk4 when on sale at $79.20 because I like all the bells and whistles. If not, then I'd go Classic Thermapen, then finally ThermoPop.
 
I will be looking to see if they drop any can't resist Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals up next week.
 
For nearly 3 years I used the Lavatools PX1 Javlin but purchased the MK4 a few months ago at $79. I LOVE that I can get backlight and wake modes just by motion, rather than touching a button.
 
I was hoping the "POP" would be on the list.

Also, the links don't show the discounts. Will we see the discounts on Friday morning?
 
Went through the link and got a new Mk4. Thanks Chris!

Do you think it's worth getting my other one fixed? It was the previous model but is out of warranty. Basically, it doesn't turn on consistently when you open it up, which can be very frustrating at times. Seems like it would be costly to repair just to have another unit. Maybe I could get it fixed and give it to someone. IDK.
 
Jerry,
I would contact Thermoworks about that. It might be something they deal with a lot and have a quick and easy fix for and shipping back and forth to them should be pretty cheap. I would try before I throw away a $75 therm.
 
I’ll try contacting them but I’m not throwing away $75. I’ve been looking at the Mk4 for awhile. It just so happens that with my other one going “bad”, it’s easy to get DW on board with the new toy :). Her frustration with the old one and the word sale on the new one is a combination too good to pass up. Early Christmas present for me.
 
I got my MK4. Very nice. Haven’t really used it yet, but it has a good solid feel and the back lighting should be nice. I also think the wake feature will be nice.

They also wrote me about the repair of my older unit. They will repair it for a $30 flat fee. They will also give my $30 off a new MK4 but I was not interested because the Black Friday deal was better than that and I keep my old unit. For a repair, it would also cost me postage (I assume only the postage to them) which is about $7 in a flat rate box.

Given that my unit is still working, it just doesn’t come on consistently, I’ll just keep it. I think the one I gave my daughter went bad. Knowing my daughter, I assume it’s her doing, like water. So I may give her mine and see if they’ll fix hers. But for the moment, we have enough thermometers so I’ll just use my MK4 and enjoy it.
 
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