Customer Reviews

Alcohawk Slim Digital Alcohol Breath Tester

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

I actually bought both the Alcohawk Slim Digital and the Alcohawk Pro a year ago for two cars, one for me and my fiancee. Although the Alcohawk Pro is more expensive, over $120.00 vs. $49.00 the difference in the product is enormous.

The Alcohawk pro version works like magic, you really only have to wait about 5 seconds to blow in the tester, and you get your BAC result right away. I have used it many times and haven't had to change the battery so far.

The Alcohawk Slim Digital Tester, on the other hand, takes forever to calibrate once you push the start button. Instead of 60 seconds, you're really waiting over three minutes before you can blow in the mouthpiece. You have to take a very deep breath, and it takes about 10 seconds to see your results. Sometimes you won't even get a result, then you have to wait over two minutes for the device to recalibrate itself, all over again. About three months ago I changed the batteries assuming that it was the reason why it was not turning on properly, but that did not solve the problem. I had to blow in the mouthpiece repeatedly and wait for about 10 minutes, I just gave up.

Bottom Line: If you can afford the Alcohawk Pro which is 3 times more expensive, you will not be disappointed. The cheap price of the Slim tester version makes up for the delayed time and inferior quality of the product.

I mainly bought this for peace of mind when I have a party at my place and want to make sure people who've been drinking and think they're ok to drive really are. My family and friends and I have been trying it out at various times (when we don't plan to drive) during small parties/bbqs. The main trick is to make sure you haven't *just* taken a sip of alcohol. This throws off the breathalyser because it senses the alcohol in your mouth and not in your system. You'll get an above average reading in this case. To make sure the reading is accurate, you can rinse out your mouth and wait fifteen minutes or so (no drinks) and test again. At that point, I've always found it to be believable. This unit has a countdown after you turn it on and tells you when it's ready. It also beeps after you've breathed in it long enough to get a good reading (about 5 seconds). It comes with a few plastic mouthpiece covers. This seems to be plenty because they can be washed and reused. So, I didn't purchase any additional mouthpiece covers.

The device is great. It calibrates automatically once you turn it on, and gives you a quick and accurate reading. This product is great ESPECIALLY when considering the cost. I was hesitant to buy it because of the other review, but am glad I did because its much cheaper than the other devices and works flawlessly so far.

Easy to use. Works as described. I bought it as a lark - just to see exactly how "drunk" I was. It's been fun at parties & drinking w/friends. However, having a measuring stick for alcohol has really slowed down my consumption - which no doubt is a good thing. I'd compare this benefit to counting calories. When counting calories, one tends to eat less & eat healthier. This breathylizer has the same effect. I'd love to find a breath tester for calories! By the way, one of this products greatest advantages is that it is SLIM & you can easily slip it into a pocket, or purse, and carry it with you anywhere. You don't have to leave it in your car! (keeping in mind that most of us with a blood alcohol level over .08 would find it difficult to go back into the party & call for a cab, after we've already ventured out & warmed-up the car. THIS IS A TOOL THAT YOU WANT TO BE ABLE TO CARRY WITH YOU AT ALL TIMES).

While I have not been able to compare the results of this affordable device with more precise breathalyzers, the results seem to be reasonable. I am satisfied with its performance. Its a lot of fun to bring to parties. But also its valuable to gain an understanding of how alcohol consumption affects blood alcohol level - especially since its different for every individual.

It's a good product that is more useful for laughs on a night out than it is for accurately predicting your BAC.

I bought it for my brother for his 21st birthday and we had everyone from my grandparents to my 21 year old brother using blowing into the breathilyzer to test their alchohol level.

The major drawback of using this is you have to wait a good 15-20 minutes after your last beer or 20-30 minutes after your last shot before testing yourself to get an accurate reading. Though it is fun to chug a beer and see how high high of a reading you can get.

Just as a heads up, this thing burns through batteries.

This device is consistant as long as you follow the instructions. Make sure you use good batteries or you will get a "low battery" warning. Only drawback it is easy to lose the mouthpieces.

We've owned several AlcoHawk testers, and can honestly say they're junk. The big "SN" message appears often when it's trying to calibrate, meaning you have to start over and wait... and wait... and wait. Often it never successfully calibrates. We sent one back for repair, and AlcoHawk's response was: "We can't repair it, but can offer you 10% off on the purchase of a new one." This company either needs to get their technology together, or give up making breath testers. Avoid at all costs!!

I accidently ordered 2 at the the same time, I feel I should have been warned that I might be making a mistake during the order, but I guess that was my fault. I compared them to see how accurate they were and the one read anywhere from .03 to .07 different from the other one. I also got charged for shipping for one but not the other. I sent them back to the manufactor and they supposedly checked them out and said they were only off by .01 now. I had to pay shipping for that also. I also didn't realize that they have to be re-calibrated as often as once a month, which takes a week and cost 19.99 plus shipping. So all and all I'm not very happy. Thank you. Robert McCarthy

It was fun while it worked, so I bought a second one for the other vehicle. We got about 3 months use out of both before they quit working. All they do now is count down over and over and over, never taking a reading. They are now completely useless.

By the way, when they did work, they seemed pretty inaccurate. Nothing more than a novelty. Don't waste your money.