AlcoSense Lite Breathalyzer & Alcohol Tester (English/Welsh/Northern Irish Limit) What Car?

Whenever I am driving - I don't drink - it really is that simple - but on occasions where I may have a drink on an evening and then need to drive the next day, I wanted to be extra sure that I would never be in a situation where I could jeopardise myself or others by having alcohol in my system - so this offered the peace of mind to check for myself. Great price and delivery was quicker than expected - and it's so easy to use. After trying the unit when it arrived (it was the afternoon so there was no danger of there being any positive readings) it reported zero BAC as expected - and then on the evening at around 8pm I had a whisky and coke - and checked the unit at 9.30pm and I had a 0.2% BAC - below the legal drink drive limit but clearly registering a presence. Since then I have had great fun in trying the unit after various evenings out on the run up to Christmas (purely in the interests of science and research you understand!) and it is surprising just how few drinks can put you in the borderline safe / unsafe to drive category. This is a great unit - wholly portable (it reminds me of the old Nokia phones in terms of size and shape although much lighter in weight) so there really is no excuse - and it's a great gift that could potentially save someone's life. Dramatic but true! 10/10 Highly recommended!

Bought this product out of interest as it would be a useful and safe product to keep in the car just in case - if not for me, but for anyone else that might be driving. The AlcoSense Lite is incredibly simple to use with on-screen instructions as well an ample number of replacement tubes. The company appears to be a rarity as in it ensures that the readings are accurate by providing a good quality, affordable product to boast its reliability, while other similar products are arguably not as accurate and cheaper (going by the reviews on Amazon as well as other websites). Very happy with the product so far, although it has only had a few test uses.

There is a bit of faff getting it set up but once you have it working it's OK. I wouldn't trust it though and I consider it to be a bit of a gimmick. This breathalyser scores in the range 0.01 to 0.09 BAC (which displays as 0.1 and 0.9 on the readout) and thereafter it just reads "HI". This is to prevent you drinking yourself stupid and trying to record high scores. I tested it out after having 10 vodka shots over a 2 hour period and I registered at 0.8 which is the legal limit in England. That's 10 units of alcohol I had drank and I was flabbergasted by how low the reading was. It was telling me that I was on the legal drink-drive limit but there was no way I would have driven given how bladdered I was. Heed caution with the veracity of the results and basically do not drink and drive.

Quick overview: product looks well made. It’s a bit fiddly to prime or set up, you have to expose the sensor to a bit of alcohol using the parts provided in the box. Once this is done the unit is easy to use and way more accurate than my previous device, which is what I wanted. I trust this unit more than my previous cheaper one. I bought my first tester in a filling station in Austria whilst I was skiing for a couple of months and using the car to get to and from the slopes, it was an impulse buy, not very expensive but I thought I’d get one as I like a beer at lunchtime but had to drive after skiing in the afternoon. It was ok as a guide for that but I was never convinced of its morning after accuracy, but as I say it was only a cheap thing where you blow through a hole in the case onto a sensor. I lost it, and so have been thinking of getting a new one, I’m just about to take the car skiing again, and I drive a motorhome and sail, so morning after testing is also important. I bought thins unit because of the what car ‘best under 40 quid’ review, and it turns out to be British which is a bonus in these times of trying to reduce transport miles. Out of the box the unit looks more complex and detailed than my previous tester, but not unduly complicated. I was a bit surprised by the need to set up or ‘activate’ the sesor, and this is a bit fiddly but straightforward, you pop a drop of alcohol in a little cap provided and cover the sensor with it and wait for the unit to do its thing. Using the device is easy, and you blow through a tube that you pop onto the sensor, which has to be more accurate than blowing through a hole, and sure enough it’s moring after readings are higher, and I assume more accurate. All you need is in the box except for an AAA battery, but it would have been nice if there was a cloth bag to keep all the bits in to avoid losing the small parts (that cap and a pipette with which to fill it), I’m going to order the separate case which I might have done anyway even if a temporary thin bag had been supplied in the box. Overall I am happy that I have a tester that I can reasonably rely on, small enough to fit in my pocket or back pack, but accurate enough to do its job. I like a beer or two, but I don’t want to ulose my driving or yachtmaster license, skiing sailing and motorhoming do attract quite a lot of social activity!

Highly recommended for anyone who drives the morning after. -Light, compact, and transportable -Easy to use -Information and instruction manual very useful and written in plain English The company customer service team are on hand to answer any questions and are knowledgeable about common errors that new users make (for example not pressing the blow button when blowing into it!) and also able to have a joke about it. I would recommend either purchasing the recommended carrying case with it, or getting something that it fits into as there are a couple of - for me at least - losable small replaceables (cleaning cap, pipette for calibration) which would be annoying to have to replace before even needing them. Thankfully for someone who thought they drank too much my readings have always registered as below the sensor's detection limit the morning after. I have tested the device several hours after drinking and it does register my Blood Alcohol Content accurately according to a calculation of estimated Blood Alcohol Content based on my weight, amount of alcohol consumed, and basal metabolism [sounds complicated but it was the only way short of buying a different device to try and test it]. It has been preprogrammed with my country's legal limit for driving (a limit not an aim!). Remember to keep an eye on the legal limits for Blood Alcohol Content in your own country as these do change from time to time. Thanks for making such a cool product!

AlcoSense Lite Breathalyzer & alcohol tester - "What Car" Best Breathalyser under £40 - 0.50 LIMIT This was a purchase I had been putting off for a long time. I would never consider going into a car directly after drinking alcohol, but the next day, you are never quite sure. Living in Scotland, the limit is 0.5 as opposed to the 0.8 for the rest of the UK. **Tip - make sure you order the right one. So, i finally took the decision to purchase this and what an eye opener it has been. Over the XMAS break where we tend to over-indulge a little, I used the device on a few occasions the next day and was surprised to discover when i was actually legal to drive. I also used after a wedding reception and again was shocked, My wife drinks less than I do and we used it with her also the next day but her results were always LO or 0.2 to 0.3. The device will alarm if you are within 0.2 off the legal limit which allows for a slight margin of error - another plus point in my book. It comes with five straws but i purchased refills and a case to protect it since i was so impressed with it's functionality. Whether it is 100% accurate, i don't know, but gives a good indication as to whether you may be risking lives as well as your licence. **IMPORTANT - Never use this directly after drinking alcohol as it can break the sensor and hopefully you wouldn't be getting into a car straight after drinking anyway, this should be used for morning/day after purposes only.

This accurate, simple unit is dirt simple to use, and really gives you a very real perspective on your alcohol content.... Powered by two small AAA batteries, in seconds it reads your intake disposition...and in a nutshell (that's one simple icon on the screen) it informs you of your real time situation.....Drive or Not drive....I am not a drinker, and get scared after a half glass of wine. My own motto is :- Do NOT drink and drive...But if you have drank something the previous evening, and simply wish for 'Peace of mind' then this little 'angel' is your 'following morning Redemption' this device will give you a totally accurate reading on your current alcohol content at any point of your drinking! ......and shoot out the warning signs if any! Its shaped like an old style mobile phone, and a hundred times as easy to use! To be honest...this unit should be 'Mandatory' and accessible to anyone who takes to the road in a vehicle.......

I got a nice email from the MD of the company asking if I would leave a review for this. I seem to have been better behaved over the festive period than I expected, as I didn't need to use this in anger. However, I did check my situation on a couple of occasions - once I was barely over the limit in Scotland, and would have been able to drive in England (even after having about 5 pints over the course of a fairly long evening).... this was a real surprise to me. On another occasion, I was definitely over the limit after a bottle of wine and a few beers (dinner with friends). The breathalyzer still detected alcohol on my breath in the morning, but I would have been safe to drive. A few hours later, I blew clear. All in all, the device is extremely easy to use, and seems to be responding with accurate tests. I'm very pleased with my purchase - I tend to err on the cautious side, so It's great to have confirmation that you have little or no alcohol in your system so can drive earlier than I might have.