The ThermoWorks ThermaPen NANO is the latest member of the ThermaPen family of instant-read food thermometers. It is virtually identical in appearance and size to its predecessors. Its distinguishing characteristic is unmatched speed.
Overview
ThermaPens have always been considered the Ferrari of the instant-read food thermometer category. The ThermaPen NANO raises the bar by using a different sampling/display algorithm: the sampling rate is sensitive to the rate of change of the temperature.
Techo-Geek Speak
The speed of a thermometer is dependent on several factors. The sensor itself has a certain thermal mass that determines how quickly it can change temperature. A cast iron pan has a high mass so it resists rapid changes – an advantage for a pan that you want to hold a steady temperature. We want the opposite behavior in a thermometer – we want it to react as quickly as possible to changing temperatures. By making the sensor itself very small and enclosing it in thermally conductive probe, it will track the temp of the food closely. The output, a voltage in this case, has to be sampled, converted to a digital format, stored, and finally displayed. This is done periodically at the sampling rate. If this rate is once per second, the display will only update at this rate. Faster sampling rates give more contemporaneous readings but consume more power. The ThermoWorks Thermapen NANO uses a variable sampling rate: when the temperature is changing slowly, the sampling rate is slow. When the temp begins to change quickly, the brain of the thermometer raises the sampling rate so that the delay between readings is reduced, yielding a more accurate picture of the food temp. The Thermapen NANO’s sampling rate is on the order of 20 times per second, producing virtually no lag. This means that what you see is what you get; you no longer have to pause when inserting the probe before the temperature reading stabilizes. In fact, the readings are so quick that I can’t really measure any lag, so lag readings will not be found in this review.
Thermoworks Thermapen NANO Features
The NANO has ThermoWorks’ legendary build quality and performance. It’s the fastest instant read I’ve ever tested. Accuracy is excellent. The display rotates for easy reading and the backlight is bright, turning on and off by a motion sensor that saves battery power. You can configure the display to show either a 1° or a 0.1° precision, and the output reflects your choice of the Fahrenheit or Celsius scale. The single AAA battery is rated for 1,000 hours of use. The thermometer comes with a five year warranty. The only thing I would like to see added is a hold button to capture a reading.
If you need customer service, the ThermoWorks website provides multiple ways of contacting the company, including telephone and e-mail support.
Conclusion
The ThermoWorks Thermapen NANO might be the last instant read food thermometer you’ll ever have to buy. It checks all the boxes, albeit at a price. But you only pay once. Splurge!
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