Yeah I know it's something I could leave at home, but after watching my water freeze in front of me I decided I really want an ultralight thermometer. Anyone have any good suggestions?

How about a Suunto Comet Compass?

I don't know the weight, but it is so small you may lose it!

That was also my idea. Any sources in the U.S. where to get a comet??

Suunto makes a "Gizmo" thermometer too, but I've never had much luck with zipper pull thermometers on the accuracy side. I do like the looks of the Comet combo.

You can buy inexpensive digital thermometers designed for use with a wide range of temperatures in commercial kitchen. The one below ranges from -40F to 450F and has some basic min/max functions. It weighs 0.9oz with the cover.



Looking around eBay for prices, I see that they are offering non-contact infrared "pen" thermometers for about $10 with a range of -50F to 350F and a whopping 19g (0.67oz) weight. I'd like to try one of those.

Thanks for posting that Dale!
I've been looking for a light weight thermometer that records low temp. It would be nice to know how cold it actually got at night.

Where can i find the kitchen one you pictured?

Edited by stingray4540 on 01/22/2012 02:26:08 MST.

Read the manual with any thermometer you buy. Some probe thermometers do not stay on but are meant to turn off after a short time.

Here is an interesting thermometer. Good reviews at Walmart, some bad ones at Amazon.

http://p3international.com/products/garden/P0250/P0250.html
http://p3international.com/manuals/p0250_manual.pdf

at radioshack for $15 online.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4030122&retainProdsInSession=1&numProdsPerPage=60

Specifications:
Temperature Range: 14 °F - 140 °F
Humidity Range: 10% to 99% R.H.
Battery: LR44 Button Cell
Color: Black
Weight:: 1 oz.
Dimensions: 2 1/8” X 5/8” X 1 1/2”

Edited by jshann on 01/22/2012 05:54:49 MST.

I have been looking for a lightweight thermometer as well. On www.dealextreme.com I found many cheap lightweight thermometers. I don't want a digital thermometer because I never trust those (especially cheap ones). Many of the small traditional thermometers are not that accurate either (not even the expensive ones), but this one (http://www.dealextreme.com/p/freezer-thermometer-30c-50c-4025) seems to be getting better reviews than most (better than the reviews I've seen from the suunto compass).

Sadly no longer in production. Suunto has stopped producing a number of small button type compasses as of late.

That's bad, but the one on dealextreme looks similar for only 1,65$.

deleted

Edited by rOg_w on 05/28/2012 17:26:49 MDT.

I agree with Dale on the useless nature of zipper pull thermometers and after exhaustive search use the same one in his picture above. It is .7 oz., waterproof and records max and min. $20 from amazon.

I think that extech may turn off automatically.

----------

Hi. Does the waterproof thermometer collect max/min numbers only when
turned on? I am looking for a thermometer that will tell me the low
ambient temperature overnight after I wake up in the morning while on
a backpacking trip. Thanks.

John

http://www.extech.com/instrument/products/310_399/39240.html

----------

Hi John,

Thank you for your most recent email inquiry. The Waterproof Thermometer
model 39240 will only collect min/max readings when turned on. Our
Recording Indoor/Outdoor Thermometer Clock (Model 40102F) will fulfill
your application need.

The meter is always on and will record Min/Max readings with date and
time stamp. Please find attached the operation manual for this model for
your review. I hope that you find this information helpful. Thank you
for your interest in Extech products.

Best Regards,

Brian J. McAuley - Technical Support - Team Leader

Brian.McAuley@Extech.com
www.Extech.com
Phone: (781) 890-7440 X147
Fax: (781) 890-2987

Edited by jshann on 01/22/2012 09:42:10 MST.

Another interesting mini thermometer.

http://www.amazon.com/Digital-Thermometer-Hygrometer-Temperature-Humidity/dp/B00153KVYG

Forgot to mention the Coghlan's Digital Dangler as another cheaper option.

Nick wrote, "Thanks for posting that Dale!
I've been looking for a light weight thermometer that records low temp. It would be nice to know how cold it actually got at night.

Where can i find the kitchen one you pictured?"

It shuts off after a while, so you won't get continuous readings. The high/low temp recorded is the extreme of whatever was sampled after the last time it was cleared. I'm sure you can find some sort of data logging thermometer, but at greater weight, expense I would expect more battery costs.

eBay has many auctions for this type and you can buy them in most professional restaurant supplies. This is similar to mine and I searched on "digital pocket thermometer": http://www.ebay.com/itm/TPI-Digital-Pocket-Thermometer-315-/270895577343

I noticed that some have magnets, which I avoid because of possible issues with my compass.

>"I've never had much luck with zipper pull thermometers on the accuracy side."

That's been my experience as well. My way around it:

When in the store, I look for the one that reads 70F. So at least that data point is accurate. Others can differ by 5 or 10 degrees F.

Then take it home, toss it in ice water and note where it reads. Dry it off and mark that with permanent marker.

You could create a lower reference mark as well, if you have a good reference thermometer or research the freezing point of some other liquid.

This is sort of what planes do with their "whiskey compass" - the liquid-filled one on the center support. There's a little correction card next to it for the four cardinal points, to adjust for the plane's magnetic properties, etc.

I'm using the Coghlan's one myself right now. It seems to match up so far with an indoor/outdoor digital thermometer that I have. Weighs one ounce and I think that it was $10 when I bought it

I have an Oregon Scientific digital thermometer that records the high and low temperature. It's made for backpacking/hiking (sorry - I don't have the model number) but is not supposed to get wet (I confirmed that with an email to customer service).

It uses a CR2032 battery and weighs, with the battery, about 2.9 ounces. I thought it was heavy for what it does and I usually only take it when I'm evaluating either how new gear performs in known conditions or how existing gear performs in new conditions.

Here is another little combo that looks nice.

http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/View_Catalog_Page.asp?mi=7888

Dale has a good "Multiple Use Gear" piece. His doubles as a tent stake.

You could also tie it to the end of a stick for a spear or make an arrow head out of it.