Over the years, I've had three conventional thiefs, each ended its career prematurely by having the tip break. The Plastic 3 Piece Thief is an inexpensive alternative that is virtually unbreakable. It works well and is very easy to sanitize. Great product!

Havent used it yet

So, right. Where the parts come together, it doesn't keep a perfect seal. Sometimes it takes two or even (horrors!) three times to fill up the sampling cylinder. It's cheap. It does the job just fine. So is it worth going out to find some all new, improved thief at a higher price? Mmmmmm……. nope.

Can't get a good seal -- loses most of the sample before I can get it out of the fermenter.

Doesn't seal well -- loses most of the sample before I can get it out of the fermenter.