Is the Etekcity Lasergrip 774 Infrared Thermometer Worth It?
Worth it, for surfaces
around $20price at time of review — check Amazon for current
- Worth it ifYou want instant surface temps for oil, griddles, or pizza stones
- Skip it ifYou need internal meat temperature for food safety
Amazon shoppers rate it 4.6 out of 5 across 48,243 ratings. That is their number, not ours.
By Errol Whitfield, tools & DIY · updated 2026-07-29
As an Amazon Associate, Is It Worth It Reviews earns from qualifying purchases. It costs you nothing extra, and it has never changed a verdict.
Picture your hand hovering over a pan of oil, waiting for that shimmer that means it's ready, and you're guessing every time. Too cool and your food soaks up grease instead of crisping. Too hot and it's smoking before you've even started. That's the exact moment the Etekcity Lasergrip 774 is built for, though only if you understand what it's actually measuring.
Here's the bit the listing buries: the red dot is just an aim point, not a measurement. The lens behind it collects infrared radiation coming off a surface and converts that into a number, and the sensor doesn't read a single pixel, it averages everything inside a circle that grows the farther back you stand. At the recommended 14 inches that circle is roughly an inch wide, at 12 feet it's a whole plate, that's what the 12:1 ratio actually describes. Because it only ever sees the surface, glossy metal and matte cast iron give different readings for the same real temperature, which is why the adjustable emissivity setting exists, it corrects for how reflective the material is instead of leaving you to second guess the number. Add that up and you get a tool that's excellent at answering 'is this hot yet' for oil, a griddle, a pizza stone, or an engine block, and useless at answering 'is this cooked yet' for the inside of a chicken breast, because infrared never gets past the surface.
So you're not buying a meat thermometer, you're buying a surface detective, something that tells you the second a pan, a stone, or a radiator hits the number you need, instantly and from a safe distance. That's genuinely useful for anyone who cooks or works by touch and guesswork. It just can't tell you what's happening inside the food, that's a different tool's job entirely.
Worth it if
- You want instant surface temps for oil, griddles, or pizza stones
- You work on engines, HVAC, or equipment and need a quick non-contact check
- You'd rather glance at a number than guess by touch or smoke
Skip it if
- You need internal meat temperature for food safety
- You're measuring shiny or reflective surfaces without adjusting emissivity
- You want one tool to fully replace a probe thermometer
Not for checking whether meat is cooked through, it only ever reads the surface.
If you grill, griddle, fry, or work on engines and HVAC and want instant surface readings without contact, this is a quiet yes at its price. If what you actually need is safe internal meat temperature, skip this one and get a probe thermometer instead, this gun was never built to answer that question.
Check price on Amazon · around $20 or Add it to your Amazon cart to sit on it
Before you go
How to use Etekcity Lasergrip 774?
Point it at the surface from about 14 inches away, pull the trigger, and read the temperature on the LCD in under a second, no contact needed.
Do infrared thermometers actually work?
Yes, for surface temperature, they measure infrared radiation coming off whatever the laser is aimed at, they just can't read what's happening inside a solid object.
What is one of the negatives of the infrared thermometer?
It only measures surface temperature, so it can't replace a probe thermometer for checking whether meat has reached a safe internal temperature.
Full spec sheet
| Additional Features | Auto Off, Backlit, Fast Reading System, High Accuracy, Non-Contact |
|---|---|
| Display Type | Digital |
| Connectivity Technology | Infrared |
| Power Source | Battery Powered |
| Number of Batteries | 2 AAA batteries required. (included) |
| Upper Temperature Range | 842 °F |
| Response Time | 0.5 seconds |
| Reusability | Reusable |