Recommend: An outdoorsmans thermometer

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DrivebyTrucker

Joined
Nov 8, 2005
Messages
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I'm looking for a really good thermometer for going out in the bush. Not digital. Something that's accurate and very rugged. Most that I've seen or more like a novelty. Any suggestions?
 
Are you just going to measure ambient air temp, or are you going to use it to measure bodies of water temperature, food you cook, etc...?
 
I looked around for a thermometer with similar qualities, but i couldnt find anything other than those mini or keychain thermometers,m which didnt look very precise. I decided to stick with the thermometer in my Casio Pathfinder, which is very precise, as long as you give it 10-15 minutes after its taken off. Sometimes i strap it to my backpack shoulderstrap, and keep it there. That way it'll always show the precise temp.
 
Orvis Rugged Stream Thermometer sounds like what you are looking for. Haven't seen one in a few years, but they look like a pretty solid package within limits.

Hope this helps.
 
Thanks swonut. I checked out that compass just now. Though it looks more designed for water temp. Still, we're off to a good start as that's the best I've seen so far. I'm hoping for something better. You know, something Cammenga designed for the military with tritium nights sights or something. :)
 
You're probably going to buy a scientific thermometer with a metal cage to protect it. They're immensely accurate, and around $40 each with a metal cage. Check out the brand NOVATECH INTERNATIONAL. They supply my lab.
 
Thanks Bishop. I noticed that since some of those precision thermometers contain mercury, they want to tag on an additional $50 for domestic shipping. :eek:]
This is the manufacturers website if anyone is interested. Lots of choices. Hard to choose.
www.novatech-usa.com
I take it the orvis one does not use mercury, and is likely made in China. Though I can confirm neither. I'm wondering to if the non mercury versions lose their accuracy over time or are just inaccurate compared to mercury.
It may be prudent of me to find to pick one up locally in California.
 
DrivebyTrucker said:
Thanks Bishop. I noticed that since some of those precision thermometers contain mercury, they want to tag on an additional $50 for domestic shipping. :eek:]
This is the manufacturers website if anyone is interested. Lots of choices. Hard to choose.
www.novatech-usa.com
I take it the orvis one does not use mercury, and is likely made in China. Though I can confirm neither. I'm wondering to if the non mercury versions lose their accuracy over time or are just inaccurate compared to mercury.
It may be prudent of me to find to pick one up locally in California.
Click to expand...

I would never ever use mercury outside a lab setting just because the risk of breaking the thermometer is way too high. Mercury is immensely toxic and I would refrain from using it other than a scientific means. Even during field work, we use a digital thermometer.

Mercury is much more accurate and will last a very long time as a thermometer. It rises more steadily than alcohol, and is easier to read. I've seen alcohol thermometers go bad after 5 years. Any sealed system is never truly sealed, so air enough eventually gets inside to cause aeration of the fluid which gives you the dreaded gaps in the fluid inside the thermometer. Mercury, being very non polar, even more so than alcohol, will resist aeration indefinably. I still use mercury thermometers from WWII.

If you a a thermometer with a red fluid, its alcohol based. If you see a silver like liquid inside, more than likely its mercury. I do not recommend a mercury thermometer. The risk is too great.
 
DrivebyTrucker said:
Thanks Bishop. I noticed that since some of those precision thermometers contain mercury, they want to tag on an additional $50 for domestic shipping. :eek:]
This is the manufacturers website if anyone is interested. Lots of choices. Hard to choose.
www.novatech-usa.com
I take it the orvis one does not use mercury, and is likely made in China. Though I can confirm neither. I'm wondering to if the non mercury versions lose their accuracy over time or are just inaccurate compared to mercury.
It may be prudent of me to find to pick one up locally in California.
Click to expand...

The analog field thermometers that I've used for recording both air and water temperature in ecological field research are basically the same as the Orvis one. You can get them for $10-$20 unless you buy from a scientific instrument supplier (it's hard to get decent pricing as a single private citizen). As far as the non-mercury types, in my experience over time they either maintain their accuracy or they break (crack, snap, etc.). I've not had one separate in the 8 years I've been using them and paying attention. One thing you might want to double check is that the range of the thermometer you buy actually covers the range that you want to measure. (For example the pic below only goes down to -5 deg C or 23 deg F). Ours look like this:
T-6312.jpg


I have not used the dial type metal thermometers, but I don't see why they wouldn't work provided they cover an appropriate temperature range.

As a follow up to your question, I'm curious also if anyone knows of a cheap analog thermometer that would record the highest or lowest temperature in a given time period. I know they make temperature indicator sticks for forging that change color once a specific temp is reached, but I don't know if they make anything similar that's reusable and for lower temperatures.

I'd like to be able to answer, for example, what was the coldest it got last night outside my sleeping bag?
 
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