A volatilizable substance can be sampled from a surface using a hand-held sampler employing a probe that comprises a supply tube in fluid communication with a pressurized gas supply and an outlet proximate to a target surface, a recovery tube having an inlet proximate to the target surface and being in fluid communication with a collector or analyzer and a skirt of varied depth. The probe is brought into contact with the surface, preferably in at least three points, gas flows out through the supply tube onto the surface, the volatilizable substance is volatilized, uptaken in to the gas and a fraction of the gas flows back through the recovery tube to the collector or analyzer, the remainder flowing under the skirt to prevent ingress of contaminants.