Watch this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVzt9pSEpkA
I have a thermapen. When you buy, I think they might offer a second one at a lower price.
It's been one of few areas where I "spent the extra money" but I know other thermometers have really improved as well.
I don't ever find myself testing ice water but ya, thermapen is quicker.
They could have done a test on chicken breasts at 165 I suppose and I assume reaction times would have been similar.
That was kind of the point of the test.
That test is surely not indicative of the performance of a normal Lavatools Thermawand. I'm not sure if it's rigged or if they just came across a bad one. I've had one for 2 years and just tested it - average of 5 tests:
From 212 to 32 in 3.89 seconds
From 32 to 212 in 4.12 seconds
So the Thermapen might be 1 second faster. Thermoworks products certainly have a better build quality, but for pure performance, it's not worth >3X the price for me.