Puna Instant-Read Digital Meat Thermometer #meatthermometer

My husband does a lot of grilling and BBQ, and for those that know the difference, they also know that the proper tools can sometimes make all the difference. So this Puna Instant-Read Digital Meat Thermometer seemed like a shoo-in for or product favorites rating. Sadly, it fell far short, and I’ll go over just how and why here.

For starters, I was initially told this thermometer was waterproof. It’s not, far from it. In fact, it’s very shoddily assembled and not only lets in water, but dust, oil, grease, or almost anything, really. It isn’t even meant to hold together well, so be careful putting it down, lest the top pop off. Next, it’s not very accurate. Temperature swings from 2-5 degrees (or more) at a time are not uncommon, and that can be frustrating. Incredibly so. It also takes a while to actually get a read of the temperature, far in excess of the 6-8 seconds advertised by Puna. When you have your face in a hot smoker, that’s not any kind of fun, as hubby has attested to on frequent occasion.

It takes a LR44 button cell battery, which are now, thankfully, fairly common and cheap, but might not always be readily on hand to replace. Unfortunately, you can’t get the battery out to replace it without causing damage to the unit, so it’s a one-and-done unit. Puna’s Digital Meat Thermometer thankfully has an auto-shutoff, which should negate any quick battery drain. It also comes with a full-sized plastic sheath. That’s about the extent of the positives for this Puna Digital Meat Thermometer.

 

Lastly. I must touch on the construction. It is very, very poorly constructed. I’ve never had cause to disassemble any thermometer I ever owned, yet when I was seeing how to replace the battery on this Puna thermometer, it completely came apart. As the pictures will show, every expense was clearly spared in it’s construction, and it is clearly not built to last at all. At almost $13 apiece (at the time of this writing), you’re better off spending your money on a better built, more accurate product that might last you more than a few uses. Puna offers a lifetime replacement guarantee, according to their Amazon.com listing, and comes with a free digital e-book entitled “BBQ Mastery Guide”, but it is still grossly overpriced for what you’re getting. The listing is also all over the place, with pictures that aren’t relevant to the listing, and descriptors that defy explanation, like calling a 9 & 1/2″ thermometer “pocket-sized”. I simply can’t recommend this product, and while I hate to be so down on a product I got for free to test and review, I also can’t in good conscience recommend it at all.

I received the above product(s) free of charge from Puna, Inc. and Giveaway Service.  I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion.  My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours.

Reference ID: pm8d749ea54f6657b0396c204d3148da60

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Puna Inc.: Pico Digital Thermometer #Review

It should be no secret now that cooking and baking are passions of mine. I do them both almost daily, for myself, my husband, my friends, my family, my dog, even the adopted squirrels that call our yard home. One thing that is an absolute necessity is a good thermometer. Puna, Inc. offered me a thermometer to test, one they boasted read in just 4 seconds! Count me in!

This foldable pen thermometer has a wide temperature range, from -58° all the way up to 572°. I didn’t test to see if those extremes were possible, but it’s nice to see a thermometer safe to use at such high temperatures. It has a good form factor for holding and keeping a good grip on it, and it folds up for easy storage. It has a nice slim probe so you’re not poking huge, gaping holes in your food, which I appreciate. And it runs on a single AAA battery, so you know you’ve always got one on hand. It has an auto-shutoff that is either 10 minutes or 60 depending on which version of the instructions you use, but it’s still a nice feature.

Now, there are some major issues with this item. One is a takeaway from one of the major pluses, and that’s the folding probe. It locks into place and shuts the thermometer off, but it snaps into place and locks there, and I nearly chipped the paint off my nails trying to get it open. Hubby had to pry it open for me. Another minor quibble is that it defaults back to Celsius readings every time. Here in the U.S. we use Fahrenheit readings. So it has to be reset every time. Next up in the point deduction department is it’s time to read and temperature reading. The time to read varies greatly, and was mostly not inside the 4 seconds advertised. Sometimes upwards of ten seconds. No bueno. Then, it wasn’t as accurate. It tended to be off by a few degrees or so from my other thermometers. While that usually won’t make a world of difference in the majority of cooking and baking, it’s still worth noting.

Overall, if your home is lacking in a thermometer, you could do much worse for the money. I don’t know how long it will last with the difficulty I have opening it, but I think there’s probably better made thermometers out there for the discerning shopper.

 

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I received the above product(s) free of charge from . I am not obligated to provide a positive or favorable review, just my honest opinion. My review is based on my experience with the product and/or brand, which may differ from yours. Reference ID: pmfa3060edb66e6ff4507886f9912e1ab9