Ca-Caw! The Alco-Hawk Is Watching

Now, those who know me might be a little surprised to see me reviewing a breathalyser. And it's true, I don't have much use for one myself. But a friend of mine recently received one as an Xmas gift, and he thought it was pretty darn cool, so we all gave the ALCO-HAWK a try.

The Alco-Hawk Pro retails for $149.99 online. Here is some information from the website: "The AlcoHAWK PRO has obtained FDA 510K Pre-market Clearance and meets DOT Standards as a Breath Alcohol Screener. It utilizes a state-of-the-art semiconductor oxide sensor to test breath alcohol content quickly and accurately. The simple one-button operation provides a digital reading in seconds. The PRO includes PressureCheck Techology to ensure a sufficient breath sample is obtained. The PRO also now include Sensor Recognition Technology to monitor for certain types of abnormal sensor conditions.

"Kit Includes: Five mouthpieces, hard carrying case, soft zipper cover, 9 volt battery, car power adapter, wrist strap, owner's manual, quick start guide, and a 1 year warranty."

So the breathalyser is a small plastic unit, about the size of a walkie-talkie, but very light to hold. On one side, there's a small nozzle, which you fit one of the five mouthpieces over. Push the button, and a countdown begins; when the countdown reaches zero, blow steadily into the nozzle until it beeps again to tell you to stop. It takes a couple of seconds to calibrate, and then spits out a blood-alcohol reading. The whole kit-n-caboodle fits into a nice-looking, grey plastic case, which then goes into a soft black zip case, which could discreetly be slipped into a glove compartment or a drawer by the door, allowing the conscientious hostess to check her more sloshed guests before they stagger out with keys in their hands.

One caveat is that the Alco-hawk apparently does not work well if you've just had a drink. It recommends that you wait 20 minutes after drinking before using it, which seems like an impractical length of time. I tried using it directly after taking a sip of alcohol, and got an error message; apparently the alcohol fumes are just too much for it and it overwhelms the little system.

Overall, this seems like a handy gadget to have around, especially if you're concerned about guests or you have a difficult time judging your own impairment levels after a few drinks. I think I'd be pretty offended if I received this for a gift, but luckily my friend was just amused and actually says he'll find it useful. And hey, $150 for this gadget is cheaper than posting bail.