This is a really useful product. I bought it to easily check the temperature of my lizard terrariums, but this would definitely work for just about any temperature-taking purpose. Compared against other thermometers, it seems very accurate.

This is a really useful product. I bought it to easily check the temperature of my lizard terrariums, but this would definitely work for just about any temperature-taking purpose. Compared against other thermometers, it seems very accurate.

Liked the laser spotting guide (until it stopped working after two months of heavy use). Experimented with cardboard with a small hole in it through which a hot household iron was visible, with the side facing the hot iron shielded with aluminum foil to reflect IR. Near side of cardboard had a grid layout at which to target the laser spot. Tabulating indicated temperature versus grid position showed field of view of IR sensor at various distances, and center of sensor field relative to laser spot.

Works great, and is accurate. That is it is accurate enough for me. I got it to find cold spots in our house and to track the water flow in our boiler plumbing.

Objections first. Battery installation or replacement: Connecting the battery to its connector makes the HOLDPEAK beep but still it is not ready to work. Only on the 4th try did the power-on reset worked correctly. The HOLDPEAK worked properly after that. This could confuse the customer into thinking the thermometer did not function. Laser spot: The laser does not point to the center but slightly outside and to the left of the sensing circle. Memory reading: The memory always reads back in degrees C even when the thermometer is set to degrees F resulting in an extra steps of transcribing and translation reducing the usefulness of the memory function. Amazon for sale information: The product description clearly states that the HOLDPEAK 981C has a D:S ratio of 12:1. It does not. The D:S ration is 8:1, clearly displayed on the side of the thermometer. This is misleading and should be changed to maintain the company's reputation for honesty.

But this non-contact thermometer should be praised for its solid feel, ease of use, clear display, and many features. I consider it a bargain and it will be a handy tool. I hope the manufacturer and sales company correct the minor issues mentioned above.

The Laser Infrared Thermometer is turning out to be a surprisingly useful instrument.

After blowing up a couple of alcohol-based "candy" thermometers in a deep fryer, it was time to think about using something else. Many of the infrared units like this one (probably extremely accurate scientific equipment) are much too expensive to justify monitoring French fries.

Though the Holdpeak has the capacity to read temperatures higher than my old blown-up thermometers could handle, it also is seeing use in ways I never hoped it could work. For example, it will read the temperature of running water out of a faucet, perfect for adjusting Aquarium water for water changes. The standard aquarium thermometer takes about 30 seconds to adjust to water temps, but the Holdpeak has it done in seconds.

You can put the device into "scan" mode and get continuous readings over various points on an object's surface,

Battery included, it's ready to run right out of the box. I'm pleasantly surprised at how well it works and how easy it was to get up to speed with it.