This review covers the original Alpha Grillers Instant Read Meat Thermometer I purchased in February of 2017--and the new upgraded model you see here (June 2020 anyway). The original thermometer was purchased for $15 based on users reviews on Amazon. You can't find images of it here anymore (although you can see it in my picture comparing the 2017 model to the 2020 model), but it worked well enough and I've been mostly happy with it for the last three years. Recently it went from unreliably turning on, to not turning without removing the AAA battery and futzing with it (no corrosion) for 10 minutes. I was disappointed but $15 for three years of service and left out in the elements, I can't complain too much. I started to browse for a replacement and see that Alpha Grillers' has a "lifetime warranty" so I email them pictures of the unit, invoice info, etc. I kid you not: two days later, a replacement arrives from Amazon, and it's the latest version. So none of that "pay for shipping" the dead unit back to them, and we'll see what we can do run around. This alone, should convince you that it's worth buying this thermometer since we all know most of the hardware on Amazon is sourced from a giant factory making and selling units to other resellers. It's probably not a question of the difference in the label--it's a difference in the customer support and there, Alpha Grillers gets 5-stars. Accuracy and response Since I have the new unit, I wanted to see how accurate it was so I compared it to my Fluke 52 thermocouple thermometer with a Fluke 80PK-2A immersion probe that I had calibrated with a GE Druck DPI-822. I then filled a narrow mouth Pyrex 1,000ml flask with water from our hot water pot that had been set to 208 F and tried to hold both probe tips near each other in the hot water while trying to take a picture with the hand on a phone. The Fluke 52 and 80PK-2A read out at 184.4 while the Alpha Grillers displayed 184.1. As you know, water cools off fast and it's you don't uniform temperature in the container so the 0.3 degree difference could be the actual temperature difference from the probe positions in the hot water or even the probe shaft differences. Basically, the accuracy is excellent for a $20 meat thermometer. I also wanted to see how fast the Alpha Grillers unit responds so I filled a second small glass container with ice and water and recorded the display as it was dunked from the ice water back into the hot water (which had now cooled off further). You can watch the video above (it goes from removal from ice bath to hot water, and then back to ice bath and again back to the hot water) but it does respond extremely fast but not necessarily "instant." To be fair, "instant" is more of a marketing term and open to interpretation anyway. "Instant" coffee still takes time to add to water and stir for example. I'd say it takes about 3.5 seconds to respond to the ice bath to hot water--which is "instant" for most of us. For example, the Fluke 80PK-2A is far slower by design because it's a non-tapered, thicker, stainless immersion probe that absorbs a lot of the heat and can take a lot more abuse. The more slender tapered Alpha Grillers tapered tip is designed to pierce meat and also responds far quicker since you don't have to heat up a lot of metal. As far as the design of the unit, like the previous model, it features a hidden magnet to let you stick it to side of your grill which is a great feature, and the hole lets you hang it from a hook as well if your grill's hooks are large enough. The package also comes with four small hook and loop (Velcro) with adhesive on the back if you want to Velcro it to something. The new model's rubber buttons are also far easier to press than the previous design's plastic bubble-type. New to this model is very even white LED backlighting. Yes, it looks blue in the official marketing pictures but that's the digital camera color temperature at work--it's actually white. Hold function Also new is a hold, and min max function. The function is unlike most typical thermometers which typically cycle from room temperature to max temp and min temp. It's pretty thought out here for a meat thermometer. On the older model which doesn't have the old function, I would stick the thermometer in to the meat on the grill and twist my head over to see the current temp. On meat on the rear of the grill this means getting your head into odd angles and also pretty close to the grill. With the new model, you insert the probe, press the Hold button to activate the hold (it will display HOLD) and read the temp without all the head craning and heat on your face. Press Hold to release the hold function. One thing I want to point out: the UI for the hold function might be a little confusing because the hold function first requires that you turn on the hold function before you can use it. This occurs from off state to on. So like most, if you have it folded shut, and open to use, you will have to press the Hold button to turn on the mode. That means the first time you want to use it, you'll have to press it twice: Once to activate the hold mode, and once again to do the first hold. After its in its hold mode, it operates the way you expect it to: Into meat, Hold button to read, and Hold button to release. It doesn't turn off until the thermometer is switched off. Max Min Function The same Hold button also activates a max and min temp. This again is unlike the typical user interface of a temperature gauge with room temp / max / min cycle with a single click. To read the maximum temperature, you press and hold the Hold button for 3 seconds and it will display the maximum temperature with MAX in the display. Press again and will see the minimum recorded temperature since the unit was on and MIN in the display. One more press and you exit back into the standard mode. Note: you CANNOT the Max/Min function if it is currently in HOLD. You have to do this from the normal operations. Undocumented feature: Alpha Grillers' documentation say to clear the recorded max/min by turning the unit off (folding the thermometer shut) but if you are in the MAX or MIN mode, you can simply press and hold the Hold button for three seconds and it will reset both recorded max and min memories. Calibration Mode Unlike the 2017 mode, the 2020 version features a calibrate feature. On the button that lets you switch from Fahrenheit to Celsius, pressing the button for 5 seconds will let you calibrate the unit. The instructions say to put the probe into a container of ice and water by using the Cal (f/c) button or the Hold button to set the calibration point to 32 degrees F or 0 degrees C. Obviously out of the box accuracy is excellent and for meat grilling do you really need this kind of accuracy or to even calibrate? I dunno. I was more afraid of accidentally pressing the calibrate button and throwing it out of whack so I went ahead and pressed the Cal button for 5 seconds which causes the display to show "CALL" (yes there's only one L in calibrate) but rather then letting me accidentally mess up the calibration, the thermometer displayed "ERR" and then went back into normal operation. My guess is the unit won't even let you calibrate it unless it's in an ice bath first so my worries about screwing up the calibration are pretty unlikely since you'd have to accidentally dunk it into an ice bath first. Build quality and battery Unlike the original Alpha Grillers I had which runs off of AAA, the new unit uses (which comes pre-installed) a CR2032 coin cell. I think this is an improvement as AAA kinda stink. They seem to be the most prone to leaking of all the cylinder cells I use (looking at you Kirkland). Lithium coin-cells, though more expsnsive, are more reliable, far less likely to leak (and ruin your unit) and operate at lower temperatures. The higher voltage also means more power for the the advanced functions in the unit too. I can't say anything about battery life as I haven't had the unit long enough, but I'm sure the LED backlight is the largest consumer of power so if you use it sparingly, it'll probably last quite a while. Water resistance Alpha Grillers calls it "water proof" and in the documentation, it's stated that you can "fully submerge" it in water for a short-time so long as the battery compartment is screwed on tightly. I didn't dunk my unit but I have no reason to doubt the water resistance of it. There are no visible screws anywhere on the unit and there is a gasket in the battery compartment (the gasket could be a little larger though to increase the seal as there are no ridges to mate with the gasket on the actual battery cover, just a flat surface). The only ingress of water would likely come through the gasket flattening over time or through the pivot point of the probe. The previous 2017 model used a small nub switch that the temperature probe boom depresses to switch off or on. This switch has moved to the inside of the unit which also adds to its water resistance. The probe boom itself is very stiff to open and close which also adds to water resistance. I have no idea how the probe is connected to actual controller board inside or how water resistant that is. The 2020 unit actually switches off at about a 45 degrees angle too which is an improvement over the 2017 model which required closing it firmly to switch off. I would often not switch off if you didn't close it correctly. I think this is plenty of water and dirt resistance for a meat thermometer unless you're a Navy Seal Griller who needs to scuba up from a sub before grilling on the beach. The main take away is you can probably leave this on your grill during inclement weather without worrying about it being killed. The previous model I had did not have any weather resistance claims and also no gasket in the battery compartment which might be how I killed it. Improvements Coming from the previous model, it's a big improvement but it's not without complaints. I think the Hold feature is great, but the button is too close to the temperature scale and backlight button. This means you have to angle your thumb to hit it straight on. You're also going to almost always hit that button from an angle which will put more stress on it over time. The other complaint is the hold button should be activated from power on without having to press it once. I suppose this is done to prevent someone from reading the wrong temperature but I'd rather have it on. Overall the 2020 model is a big improvement over the 2017 model. Currently it's quite a bit more expensive ($15 for 2017 model vs $20 for 2020 model) but I think the improvements are worth it. And let me again point out the customer service Alpha Grillers provides. My old one let go three and half years later and they stood behind it. For a $15 thermometer. Even if they didn't and they said, "it's been three years bud," I'd buy another one with the improvements, accuracy and speed the new model has over the old one. And yes, I received this unit free, because my old unit died. Alpha Grillers sent it to me as a warranty replacement not to have it reviewed. It did not ask me to write my review, I did it because a company that stands behind its products deserves recognition and is worthy of my time spent.