I Tested 8 Pairs of Grill Gloves to Find Ones That Could Take the Heat

The first time I baked sourdough in a cast iron combo cooker the potholder slipped and I burned my wrist so badly I have a permanent scar. Later that summer I purchased a charcoal grill and dropped the tongs onto the grates when trying to turn a sausage. I had to run inside and grab a second set of tongs to retrieve the first pair so I wouldn’t burn my fingers. Finally, acknowledging that I’m perhaps too clumsy to be around such high heat unprotected, I was given a pair of grill gloves on my birthday. 

Most heat-resistant grill gloves are made from aramid (a type of fiber used for firefighter suits and ballistic protection, amongst other things) or neoprene rubber. They have heat resistance ratings that start at 932ºF and go up to 1472ºF. To find out which ones could take the heat, I put eight pairs to the test. 

The Winners, at a Glance

The Best Grill Gloves

Grill Armor Gloves Extreme Heat-Resistant Oven Gloves

$30 at Amazon $30 at Walmart View on Grillarmorgloves.com

With the best heat protection of the bunch, the Grill Armor gloves let me grab pans, squeeze tongs, and stick my hands directly into a fire pit without feeling the burn. I loved how comfortable they were, too, and they easily fit hands big and small. 

Another Great Pair of Grill Gloves

Comsmart BBQ Gloves

$20 $12 at Amazon $13 at Walmart

These gloves performed almost as well as my top picks and featured a longer cuff for added protection. They’re a great choice for people with large grills or deep ovens. 

The Best Waterproof Grill Gloves

Grill Armor Gloves BBQ Waterproof Gloves

$30 at Amazon View on Grillarmorgloves.com $32 at Ace Hardware

Made from neoprene rubber, these gloves are waterproof (unlike their aramid competition). They had great heat resistance and extra-long cuffs for added protection. 

The Tests

• Cast Iron Pans Test: I preheated two cast iron pans to 500ºF in the oven and timed how long I could tolerably hold onto each one while wearing the grill gloves. I also noted how well each pair of gloves gripped the pans. 
• Charcoal Grill Test: I held my hands over a charcoal grill to see how long it took before the heat became too much. 
• Flexibility Tests: I lifted a charcoal grill cover and picked up a pair of tongs to see how flexible each set of gloves was.
• Firepit Tests (Winners-Only): I placed a log into a burning firepit to see how well the winning pairs could grasp a large log and how heat-resistant the gloves were. 
• Usability/Cleanup Tests: I noted how comfortable they were to wear and how easy it was to make a fist. I looked for signs of discoloration and ran each set of machine-washable gloves through the washing machine. I also hand-washed the non-machine-washable pairs to check for durability.

What We Learned

Heat-Resistance Ratings Were Inconsistent

Though most grill gloves often have high max heat ratings of 932ºF or 1472ºF, that doesn’t mean they’re heatproof. Those ratings are also based on time—their max heat capacity can only be endured for a few seconds, while lower temperatures might be tolerable for up to a minute. In my testing, however, I found those max heat ratings were inconsistent with my real-world results. 

The Semboh Extreme Heat Resistant BBQ Gloves are rated to 932ºF but performed the worst, allowing us to grasp the 500ºF cast iron pan for only five seconds before it became intolerable. In contrast, the Cuisinart Heat Resistant Grill Gloves are only rated for 572ºF but let us grip the pans for a full 10 seconds. The Grill Armor Gloves were rated for 932ºF and gave us 15 comfortable seconds—the best performance of the lot—but I only lasted nine seconds with the 1472ºF-rated Grill Heat Aid BBQ Gloves. These results were similar when testing the gloves over the charcoal grill. 

So, while all of the gloves provided some heat protection, I wasn't able to tie how much heat protection they gave according to their maximum heat rating.

Silicone and Neoprene Retained Heat

Grill gloves rely on silicone coatings or neoprene rubber for their heat protection, but those materials get hot—real hot. Minutes after removing a pair of gloves from over the grill, every pair of gloves was still hot enough to make us wince. The more silicone on each pair (like the total coverage on the Cuisinart pair), the harder it was to remove them without burning myself.

While the neoprene rubber of the Grill Armor BBQ Waterproof Gloves and Rapicca BBQ Gloves didn’t hold heat as much as their silicone competition, they still became unbearably hot when left in the sun. On-deck pairs waiting for testing absorbed so much heat from sunbathing that I had to move them into shade with a pair of tongs. The takeaway: be wary when removing these gloves—and of where you place or store them.

Stiff Gloves Made It Hard To Grab Grilling Accessories

There was no doubt the Rapicca gloves were fully waterproof, but their molded neoprene rubber fingers were stiff, and I struggled to open and close grilling tongs while wearing them. I also found the slightly shorter fingers on the Comsmart model restricted knuckle movement; it took extra effort to make a closed fist or pick up a grill lid by the handle. While this might not seem like a huge dealbreaker, no one wants to be fumbling to grab the lid of the grill and risking dinner overcooking.

All of the Grilling Gloves Were All Easy To Clean

Most gloves were machine-washable, and after running them through the washing machine on the gentle cycle, they all came out unscathed. Some of the aramid gloves were lightly singed from the extreme heat of the charcoal, however, and that discoloration was permanent (but didn't hinder performance). The two neoprene sets were also easy to clean off in the sink with warm, soapy water. 

Most Aramid Gloves Were Cut-Resistant, Too

Most of the aramid gloves had Level 5 cut resistance, which means that they can deflect a knife’s edge while slicing on a cutting board or protect your fingertips while using a mandoline. Though the cut resistance was an added bonus, all of the gloves were a little too bulky for prep work, and I wouldn’t recommend them for regular kitchen use. Also, pointy objects (like a sharp instant-read thermometer or a splinter on a log) can still poke through these gloves by going between the weave, so it's best to exercise caution when wearing them.

The Criteria: What to Look for in a Pair of Grill Gloves

A great set of grill gloves should protect your hands from high heat for at least 10 seconds and be comfortable to wear while doing so. They ideally have a universal fit that accommodates large and small hands and gives the user a full range of motion. Lastly, they should be easy to clean, since working with cast iron or over a charcoal grill can dirty gloves quickly.

The Top Grill Gloves

The Best Grill Gloves

Grill Armor Gloves Extreme Heat-Resistant Oven Gloves

$30 at Amazon $30 at Walmart View on Grillarmorgloves.com

What we liked: Flexible, comfortable, and with the best heat resistance of the bunch, these gloves immediately stood out. They fit both large and small hands and allow for a full range of motion. When grasping cast iron pans, I had 15 seconds before needing to let go, and I could hold my hands over the 1000ºF charcoal grill for 12 seconds. They made it easy to grab tongs or the grill lid, and I could even grab full-sized logs and nestle them into a burning fire without any discomfort. Even though they had the least amount of silicone, they still had plenty of grip and I felt confident navigating high-temperature environments.

What we didn’t like: I wish the cuff was a little longer for better protection, and they were the only gloves that singed around the fingertips. This didn’t affect their heat resistance at all, it just caused some discoloration.

Key Specs

• Materials: M-Aramid, P-Aramid, silicone, cotton
• Weight: 9.3 ounces
• Total length: 12 inches
• Cuff length: 5 inches
• Palm width: 4 inches
• Heat resistance rating: 932ºF
• Cut resistance rating: Level 5
• Waterproof: No 
• Care instructions: Machine-wash gentle; air dry

Another Great Pair of Grill Gloves

Comsmart BBQ Gloves

$20 $12 at Amazon $13 at Walmart

What we liked: With an extra-long cuff and great heat resistance, this pair is a great choice for people who have wider grills or find themselves reaching deep into ovens. I held cast iron pans for 12 seconds and kept my hands over the charcoal grill for 10 seconds. I also liked the dotted silicone pattern, which seemed to cool down quicker than gloves with thicker silicone.

What we didn’t like: The fingers on these gloves were a little shorter than the competition, which limited flexibility when grasping tongs. They also weren’t quite as heat-resistant as my top pick.

Key Specs

• Materials: Aramid, silicone, cotton
• Weight: 9.8 ounces
• Total length: 13.5 inches 
• Cuff length: 5 inches
• Palm width: 6 inches
• Heat resistance rating: 1472ºF
• Cut resistance rating: Level 5
• Waterproof: No
• Care instructions: Machine-wash gentle; air dry

The Best Waterproof Grill Gloves

Grill Armor Gloves BBQ Waterproof Gloves

$30 at Amazon View on Grillarmorgloves.com $32 at Ace Hardware

What we liked: These waterproof gloves from Grill Armor have an extra-long cuff. Aramid gloves are porous and have a cotton liner, which can absorb hot liquids and put them in direct contact with your skin. The neoprene rubber on this pair is fully waterproof, making them great for things like giant backyard crawfish boil or deep frying a turkey. And to clean, just give them a rinse with a hose or in the sink. They had identical heat resistance to the Comsmart pair—12 seconds on the pan and 10 seconds over the grill—tying for second place. I also really liked how long the cuff was, and how the looser fit made it easy to slip them on and off. 

What we didn’t like: While the looser fit and extra-long cuff were bonuses when working over a grill, they were more cumbersome and not as flexible, making them less ideal for indoor use with an oven. 

Key Specs

• Materials: Neoprene rubber, cotton liner
• Weight: 10.8 ounces
• Total length: 14 inches
• Cuff length: 6 inches
• Palm width: 5.5 inches
• Heat resistance rating: 932ºF
• Cut resistance rating: N/A
• Waterproof: Yes
• Care instructions: Wash outsides with warm, soapy water; air dry

The Competition

• Cuisinart Heat Resistant Grill Gloves: These gloves had narrow fingers and were difficult to pull on. And even though they performed better than other gloves with a higher max heat rating, they were only officially rated for 572ºF—almost half that of the rest of the competition.
• Rapicca BBQ Gloves: The neoprene rubber fingers on these gloves were too rigid to get a good grasp on a set of tongs or a grill lid, and they had some of the lowest heat resistance.
• Semboh Extreme Heat Resistant BBQ Gloves: Despite their high heat resistance rating of 932ºF, the heat of the cast iron pan became unbearable to hold after just five seconds, making these the worst-performing gloves.
• Grill Heat Aid BBQ Gloves: These gloves performed okay, but the outer protective layer and inner cotton layer often separated, making them tricky to pull on and off. 
• Ove Glove Oven Mitt: While this is called an oven mitt, it was similar enough to a grill glove to warrant adding to my tests. However, it performed poorly and my hands heated up quickly.

FAQs

Do grilling gloves work?

Grill gloves are designed to protect your hands and wrists from extreme heat, and yes—they do work. Most grill gloves are made from aramid fiber (which is used in firefighter suits), and have a heat rating of 932ºF or 1472ºF. While these gloves are only resistant to high temperatures for a few seconds, they can allow you to endure lower temperatures for longer periods of time. There are also waterproof grill gloves made from neoprene rubber that are heat resistant up to 932ºF.

How do I choose heat resistant gloves?

The best way to choose heat-resistant gloves is to read comparative reviews—most gloves will have the same heat-resistant ratings, but not every pair of gloves performs to expectations. We found that some gloves that were rated only to 572ºF gave us more comfort in high heat situations than some gloves that were rated to 1472ºF. 

Do you need gloves for a charcoal grill?

While a long set of tongs might make it seem like you don’t need gloves while grilling, a set of heat-resistant grill gloves make it a lot easier to dump a chimney of charcoal out, reset the top grate over burning coals, or reach over a hot grill to move food around. It’s an extra layer of protection, and they’re also great for indoor use when roasting or baking in the oven.

Why We're the Experts

• Jesse Raub is a writer for Serious Eats. He previously worked in the specialty coffee industry for 15 years.
• For this review, we tested eight pairs of grill gloves. We evaluated their heat resistance, comfort, design, and more.