- BACtrack Keychain Breathalyzer (Black) | Ultra-Portable Pocket Keyring Alcohol Tester for Personal Use

This is an update to my original review from over five years ago. My unit lasted for over 5.5 years before it would display only '0.0' during a test. Everything else worked so I assume the sensor finally wore out and/or it needed a factory calibration. (Note: BACtrack recommends periodic factory calibrations, but at $19.99/each it's simply not worth it for a $25 unit.) The BACtrack Keychain was definitely a cost-effective, reasonably-accurate solution for me at the time. But in the interest of greater accuracy and lifecycle costs, I decided to replace it with a more expensive, more accurate self-calibrating unit with a user-replaceable sensor. That said, I still give it a five star rating based on my overall five year experience. I first saw this device in a comparison test of breathalyzers in the April 2014 issue of 'Car and Driver' magazine. It tested as well as - in some cases better than - a unit costing 5x more. The device feels well-made for the price - not especially rugged but not cheap either. It operated as-described. It comes with a Duracell AAA battery as pictured. The instruction manual is clearly written and the table describing effects of increasing levels of alcohol was informative. I have no way of verifying the unit's accuracy but it seems to work properly, displaying roughly proportionate increases in BAC when consuming alcohol. After 15 hours with no alcohol it registered a BAC of 0.00. After one shot and a fifteen minute wait it indicated 0.03. After an additional 3/4 bottle of beer and fifteen minute wait I tested at 0.04. In the FAQs, when queried where the unit was made, BACTRack customer service responded, "We do all our design, testing, calibration and quality assurance here in California" but for whatever reason omitted that it is also "Assembled in China" as printed on the packaging. Overall I recommend this device: it feel adequately constructed for the price, seems to work as advertised. I can see it being fun at parties and could save your license!

The BACTrack is a great product for what it is- a small device that gives you an idea, or perhaps a means to gauge your level of intoxication. I find that it's best case usage scenario is to follow the instructions to the letter - i.e. don't eat/drink, consume alcohol, or smoke for 20 minutes or more before testing yourself. Wait an additional 20 minutes and test again. The second test is to determine if alcohol is still metabolizing in your body, due to the way it is absorbed by the body. Using the BACTrack in this manner allows me to gauge whether my blood-alcohol-concentration is rising or falling. As far as accuracy goes, it's no fuel cell-based breathalyzer employed by law enforcement, but it also wasn't $150 or more and doesn't require weekly calibration. Sensors and technology have come a long way in the last 20 years and there has been a market for these types of devices. I seem to recall multiple DUI offenders having breathalyzers installed in their vehicles as part of their sentence, in which a sensor similar to the one in this BACTrack would gauge their BAC and allow/deny operation of the vehicle. While the BACTrack explicitly says the device cannot be used as evidence in court, I believe what the device is really great for is to serve as a reminder of one's civil etiquette. Your responsibility to operate a motor vehicle safely, and discourage you from getting behind the wheel of your tank because now you're aware that you're a bit plowed. This is my second BACTrack and it works just as well as the previous one I owned, which was stolen by a friend during a long day of inebriation. He still uses it and hasn't had to calibrate it yet. I'm curious to have mine calibrated, but the instructions state it only needs to be calibrated every 6 months with light use. Perhaps I need to step up my game..

Worked for about 2 days and then it stopped working. I changed the barriers and it still didn’t work. I’ll have a few drinks and it will say 00 or it will say Failed so not very accurate.