Pen style multimeters

Have a few Fluke meters I’ve bought over the years and while they are great I would love to have a much smaller, less expensive, with less capability of course; meter that I could just toss in a bag and not worry about possibly forgetting somewhere. If anything requiring more advanced troubleshooting would be required I could always go grab one of my Flukes. Anyone have a favorite pen style or pocket sized meter they use?

I have been using this Craftsman Pocket DMM https://www.sears.com/craftsman-min...SellerId=Sears&prdNo=3&blockNo=3&blockType=G3 for years with good luck. It was cheap and very small.

I am interested in this topic too. Would be nice to have a really small inexpensive pen meter.
I have seen there are plenty of pen style multimeters out there, and they even have DC current measurement which I need to test 4-20mA circuits.
What they do not tell much about on the manufacturers webpages is: How do you safeguard against destroying the meter (or just blowing the fuse) if you have the meter set to current and connect it to a live voltage ?
My worry is that these pen multimeters only have 2 fixed leads. You do not have to move the leads for changing between voltage and current. That is convenient but also a concern. The regular meter I have now not only have to move leads, but even have an audible alarm if the leads are inserted wrongly. That has certainly saved me from having to replace fuses a million times.

TL;DR: Do these pen-style DMMs have some kind of protection when set to current ?

I don't know that what I use fits the description of a pen style meter but it definitely fits the bill for a easy, limited feature, "go to" meter for first checks.

https://www.fluke.com/en-us/product/electrical-testing/basic-testers/fluke-t-plus-pro

I carry an Amprobe PM51A in my smaller toolbag which I use mostly to check 24V but I've used it up to 230V before (cringing while I do it). No current.




Fluke now makes a "palm-sized" DMM. They don't sell it officially in the US but you can get it online.



https://www.fluke.com/en-vn/product/electrical-testing/digital-multimeters/fluke-106

kolyur said:

I carry an Amprobe PM51A in my smaller toolbag which I use mostly to check 24V but I've used it up to 230V before (cringing while I do it). No current.

Fluke now makes a "palm-sized" DMM. They don't sell it officially in the US but you can get it online.

https://www.fluke.com/en-vn/product/electrical-testing/digital-multimeters/fluke-106

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I watched a few YouTube videos of those Flukes, they seem nice but they certainly didn’t seem “palm sized” from the videos that I saw.

Just don’t sacrifice safety for small & inexpensive.

JZerb said:

I watched a few YouTube videos of those Flukes, they seem nice but they certainly didn’t seem “palm sized” from the videos that I saw.

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I think compared to their other 'handheld' meters like the 789/289... better have big hands

JZerb said:

Have a few Fluke meters I’ve bought over the years and while they are great I would love to have a much smaller, less expensive, with less capability of course

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I will still stick with Fluke's I have a 87v that I carry and a 179, the 115 is a great meter for the price

We are going to start selling these next week if you are looking for protection for your meters https://www.plccable.com/hard-prote...c-trainer-electrical-meter-gun-camera-13x8x5/