I bought this a few months ago and it is very handy and accurate. At a recent tailgate, 4 of us compared the results to a Sheriff's field tester. It was equal or within .01 on each test.
I really like the portability and ease of use but I question the accuracy at times. Despite several attempts from a friend who was clearly intoxicated the readings were too low to be realistic.
Written by a customer while visiting bactrack.com
Customer Rating
1
Quality control problems
on May 8, 2018
Posted by: Bob
from Baltimore, MD
Verified Purchase:No
New product, new batteries, doesn't work (simply beeps when power button pressed, then shuts off -- it's supposed to countdown per the instruction manual).
For the first month it appeared to work very well. I may have used it once per weekend and it seemed to be accurate, though I did not have any other device to compare it with. Then it stopped reading anything over .02%. I've used it during roughly 5 different settings where I was well over .02%, as well as others that tested it, and it read either .01% or .02%. Unfortunately, this moderately nicer model doesn't appear to be any better than the cheap ones.
Since buying my BACtrack I've experimented at home to see how my BAC rises and falls based on the number of drinks, time elapsed, and having a full or empty stomach. I have found that I need to wait a quarter hour after drinking to avoid an overly high BAC or at least to rinse my mouth out before taking the test. It seems residual alcohol in the mouth immediately after taking a drink gives an unrealistically high BAC. But the breathalyzer provides good basic information for making decisions when I'm out and about.