As Halloween weekend approaches it may be a good time to get yourself prepared for office parties, house parties or whatever your plans are. Aside from picking out your costume, hopefully, you did that part already, there are other items that may come in handy. For those who plan driving this weekend, be especially cautious. Halloween is not only spooky but a time of year when people tend to have too much to drink and get behind the wheel. You can avoid being one of those people by purchasing a breathalyzer and checking your BAC before driving.
Although it may feel embarrassing, or you may feel people might judge you for it, carrying a breathalyzer is nothing to be ashamed of. It means you are responsible and care for yourself and others. A breathalyzer can help you determine your impairment level by measuring your BAC, or blood-alcohol concentration. Additionally, it may come in handy for your friends or designated driver. Business Insider, BI, recently published a list of breathalyzer available for purchase, along with the pros and cons of each. The list will be discussed below.
Most Affordable
The most affordable option according to BI is the AlcoHAWK Ultra Slim Digital Breathalyzer. It costs about $25 and runs on AA batteries. It displays only two digits, but the reviews have praised it for accuracy. While being slim, lightweight and inexpensive, it takes about a minute to warm-up before use.
Best Accuracy
If you are hard-pressed for accuracy, BI recommends the S80 Professional Breathalyzer. Now, if you thought $25 for a breathalyzer was expensive, you may want to sit down. At $130, this breathalyzer may seem outrageously expensive, but you get what you pay for. In this case, you get near police level readings according to reviews. Along with extreme accuracy, this breathalyzer is lightweight, displays up to six digits for BAC readings, and comes with interchangeable mouthpieces. Along with the price tag, the only other thing holding this breathalyzer back is the need to recalibrate it every 6-12 months.
Never Needs Recalibration
For some breathalyzers, in order to get accurate readings, you need to recalibrate it. But if you purchase the AlcoMate Premium AL7000 Professional Breathalyzer, you won’t need to send it back to the manufacturer for recalibration. At $118, this device has pieces available for purchase, so you can do the job yourself. It displays four digits, runs on batteries however, it comes with a car adapter just in case the battery runs out. Unfortunately, this device is not as accurate as some others in this list and may result in false-positives for diabetics.
Mobile Friendly
For the tech-savvy crowd, the Mobile Smartphone Breathalyzer may be the right option. Unlike other devices, this one gives you an estimate for when your BAC will reach 0.00%. Additionally, this breathalyzer connects to your phone via an app and allows you to post your reading on social media. It is a lightweight and a bit smaller than others, which reviews liked along with the accuracy. However, many of the top reviewing sites did not appreciate the way the social media aspect, since it has encouraged people to drink competitively.
Best In Show
According to BI, the BACtrack Trace Professional Breathalyzer is the best overall. At $100, this device is a bit cheaper than some of the above options, while being accurate and easy to use. This one uses AAA batteries, produces almost no false-positives, and is highly accurate. Reviewers like it because it is light-weight, accurate, and easy to read and stores previous results. The only negative comments about this device are due to recalibration.