Customer Reviews

Polder 371 Quick Tip Instant Read Thermometer, Black

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have been using this instant read thermometer for the past couple of months and am impressed by the speed at which this tool registers the temperature of the different items that I am cooking. It seems to be accurate as each meal that I have used this for has been cooked correctly. (I have used this for chicken, beef, pork, and other assorted dishes.) The thermometer appears to be extremely sensitive as moving the tip to different parts of the meat can give significantly different readings -- so a word of caution about making sure that you are inserting the probe into the proper location. In the past few years I have used several instant read thermometers (both digital and non-digital) and this is the best one (of the four or five) I have tried.

I bought the similarly priced Taylor model and was very disappointed, so I bought this one. This product is absolutely hands down better than the Taylor model, especially the large high contrast display. The Taylor model came with a dead battery and the display is small and faint with very little contrast. Do not waste your money with Taylor, buy this thermometer and you will be pleased that you did.

I have nothing bad to say about the accuracy of this thermometer. I did an ice-water calibration straight out of the package, and it was dead on accurate. The only negative comment I have so far is that it takes a long time for the final temperature reading to display (depending on how many degrees of difference it started with). Whether it was the roast or an oatmeal cookie that I tried it on, I'd estimate that it took close to three seconds per five degrees of change. Thirty seconds out of a hot oven is long enough to seriously impact your cooking time with smaller items, because by the time you get it back in the oven, the recovery time to get it back to where it left off significantly increases. Leaving it in a resting piece of meat to check for any carry-over temperature increase would be fine, though. If you're looking for something closer to "instant", you might want to try a different thermometer.

Update: After a couple months of occasional use, the display suddenly stopped working properly. I found that I had to turn the thermometer slightly off-angle to be able to read it. However, the time it took to get a temperature reading shortened dramatically. I'd say that it was getting up to temp within 5-8 seconds, tops.
After about two more weeks, the thermometer would not turn on. I now believe that it was an issue with the battery. I'm going to try to replace the battery, and see if I can get the display to function correctly, and with a little luck, the reaction time will still be good.

It is used often, works well and would buy the same product again.

I work in a professional kitchen with a large banquet facility. I bought this item from Amazon July 07 and was very happy with it. After only a month it fell into the fryer and warped the outer case, but it kept working well! I got six or seven months of really great use out of this item, even after rescuing it from the fryer, before the coating on the tip finally cracked off and the thermo stopped working correctly. Granted, I am in a VERY busy kitchen and it gets a lot of heavy use. For a home Chef I can't imagine having a similar issue. A great and hearty item! I'd give it five stars if I didn't need more than 2 a year...

Arrived with a dead battery which should have been a tip-off that it eats through batteries--batteries which cost 20% of the thermometer's price. I've replaced the battery twice after using it only once each time, and now I will be replacing the thermometer. Really disappointing.

1. Almost instant read - Reach the right temperature in a few seconds. No complaints.
2. Accurate - Some recipes require accurate temperature and this product helps a lot!
3. Easy to clean - Just wash the tip.

The cover can be used to add length to the handle. The conversion from C to F (and vice versa) is another great feature. Buttons are easy to press. The only thing is I don't know how long it will last (and I hope it will last forever).

My experience with Progressive Silicone Thermometer went not so well so I got this instead. No regrets!

I have researched ad infinitum on digital thermometers before buying this (sooner or late you actually NEED the thing.. haha). It is "just another China import* but seems to be an improvement. This one seems fairly sturdy and has some very good points:

*reads VERY quickly (thanks for new "thin probe" design) 8 seconds max (no thermometer is truly INSTANT even expensive thermocouple or IR units)
*The digits are clear even to my old eyes
*decent range -40 to 350 F (-40 to 175 C)
*It is accurate +/- 0.2 degrees C (<.5 degrees F)
*will re-calibrate itself if needed (anyone who needs accuracy should check now and then)
*remembers high temperature.. handy if you can't easily press the "hold" button (assuming you aren't in an area so hot that it pushed the tip temp past the food (possible but unlikely)
*readily available LR44 battery

The CON's list is pretty short
*the probe could be longer (this is true of most of this type)
*the buttons are hard to trip.. you have to REALLY PRESS HARD (Edit: This has become much more reasonable as I've used it.. I'd say its fine now)
*it doesn't seem to turn itself off if you leave it on (this will run down the battery.. could be the reason some folk have battery problems)

Not sure whether its a plus or minus, but the probe cover (which functions as an extender which might be handy in a hot area or deep pot, etc) is hard to get off and on.. it MAY wear with age and fall off easily. For now its quite firm .. I'd like it to have a "squeeze release" of some sort so the wear and tear would be reduced and the grip might be more "solid" over time.

I am pretty supportive of this unit as the best currently available. There are two units that MAY be better, but are not yet available. They are also on amazon and are
CDN ProAccurate Quick-Read Pocket Thermometer
CDN ProAccurate Quick-Read Waterproof Pocket Thermometer
If they are available you might check them out. Otherwise I think this unit is the one to get.

If you don't need built in timers or alarms or remote probes, this is a very functional unit.

[Update 5/13/2011: After about a year of light use (less than 50 uses probably), one of the display segments failed making accurate reading of the unit rather difficult.]

Final update Aug 1, 2011.. the battery died.. it is officially consigned to the scrap heap! This has caused me to eye Polder products with suspicion.. This product was used VERY LIGHTLY.. quite infrequently and never washed (only the probe tip) or treated roughly.. 2 years and totally dead having both product failure and battery failure. I have downgraded it's rating as well.

This thermometer takes only a few seconds to show an accurate temperature. By a few, I mean 2 or 3 seconds, so if you are a perfectionist and are looking for a fraction of a second to produce an "instant" read, I would say you might want to look for a much more expensive item. But this one does the trick for me, it works for gauging the water temp to proof yeast or the meat temperature for poultry and beef on the grill. My barbecues have been much more consistent since I started using this unit. It does not offer the fold-out probe like some units do, but it does have a nice sturdy cap that fits securely over the probe when not in use. A very good product for a reasonable price.

I don't usually write reviews, but Handy House is great. I bought the Polder thermometer for my boyfriend (who is a chef) for christmas. He was tired of using the manual ones that you need to calibrate in ice water. The one button calibration is very convenient. The meat temp guide that comes with it doesn't match the temp he uses, but he still loved how it worked. I was happy it got here on time. I will definantly buy this product again, if needed, and probably from Handy House.