The meat thermometer that ends the guessing.

The Javelin is a folding instant-read at a quarter of the Thermapen's price. The 2.75 inch probe swings out of a slim body, the 1.4 inch display is easy to read over a roasting pan, and magnets on the back let it live on the side of the fridge where it will actually be found.

Lavatools quotes readings in three to four seconds, an IP65 water-resistant body and NSF certification. The battery is rated for 4,000 or more hours, helped by an auto-sleep after 60 minutes, so it is not a tool you will be feeding batteries every holiday.

The short probe is the limit. It reaches the center of a chop, a chicken breast or a pork tenderloin easily, but in a large turkey or a standing rib roast you are working near the end of its reach. Buy the ThermoPop 2 or the Thermapen if big roasts are the point.

The ThermoPop 2 is ThermoWorks' value instant-read: a straight probe in a pocket-sized body with a single button. ThermoWorks gives a two to three second reading and accuracy of plus or minus 1°F in the key cooking ranges, and each unit ships with a NIST-traceable calibration certificate.

The backlit display rotates on its own to read right side up whichever hand you hold it in, which matters more than it sounds when you are reaching into a hot oven. The body is rated IP67, so it can be rinsed under the tap without ceremony.

It does not fold, so the probe needs its sleeve on in a drawer. For a household that checks a roast a few times a year and a steak most weekends, it does everything the pricier models do, a second slower.

The Classic Thermapen is the design everyone else copied: a long folding probe that switches the unit on as it opens and off as it closes, with no other buttons to trap food. ThermoWorks quotes one to three seconds to a full reading, accuracy of plus or minus 0.7°F, a range of -58 to 572°F and 1,500 hours from a battery.

It ships with a NIST-traceable calibration certificate and an IP65 splash-resistant body, and ThermoWorks backs it with a two-year warranty and its own service. The long probe reaches the center of a turkey breast or a rib roast with room to spare, which is what separates it from the cheaper folders.

ThermoWorks also sells the Thermapen ONE, about $20 more, which reads in about a second and has an auto-rotating backlit screen; it appears in our guide to gifts for people who cook. For a roast checked once or twice at the end, the Classic's extra second costs nothing.

The MEATER Pro is a single wireless probe. It goes into the thickest part of the roast before it goes in the oven, with nothing trailing out through the door, and sends the internal temperature to the MEATER app over long-range Bluetooth. The app sets the target, warns you as it approaches and estimates the time remaining.

MEATER lists the probe as dishwasher safe and rates it for grilling, smoking, roasting, deep frying and sous vide, and its listing gives a heat rating of 1,000°F. For an oven roast the practical benefit is simple: you watch the bird from the table, not by opening the oven.

It depends on a phone and an app, and one probe watches one spot. Cooks who want a display on the counter and nothing to charge should buy a cabled alarm like the ThermoWorks DOT instead.

Signals is ThermoWorks' four-channel alarm thermometer. It ships with Pro-Series high temperature cooking probes and an air probe, and each channel takes its own high and low alarm, so one unit can watch the turkey breast, the thigh, a ham in the second oven and the oven air itself.

It works on its own as a counter display, and over Wi-Fi and Bluetooth it streams every channel to the ThermoWorks app with graphs and alerts. ThermoWorks lists probe accuracy of plus or minus 1.8°F, an IP66 splash-resistant housing, magnets and up to 16 hours on its rechargeable battery, with an adapter for longer cooks.

It is built with the smoker in mind, and most kitchens do not need four channels. For one roast in one oven, the DOT or the MEATER Pro does the job for a fraction of the price.