Grab these BBQ gloves for your kickass grill party

Can you really hold an awesome barbecue party without the proper BBQ gloves?

OK, I suck at puns. Sorry for that. What would also suck, however, is trying to get all those BBQ things done with your kitchen mitts.

Best case scenario: you’ll just ruin a pair of oven mitts. Worst case scenario: you’ll burn your hands and that’s far from anyone’s idea of “fun”.

Now, there’s quite a few contestants for the best BBQ gloves, but I’m particularly fond of Artisan Griller’s mitts. Why?

Because of their extra sturdy neoprene coating with some cotton lining for a comfort fit. Also, them being waterproof rocks!

However, their design tends to be a bit…bulky. If you’re not fond of this, try the Beast Armor (they also withstand higher temperatures.)

A lot of people have different preferences. And the amount of silicone grilling gloves, leather & heat resistant mitts for BBQ is huge.

My BBQ gloves reviews aren’t the end all, be all solution. However, I’ll outline what worked for me, and what’s a sensible choice in my humble opinion.

Note: Even with the most heat-resistant of gloves, don’t ever prolong your hands’ stay in hot conditions. BBQ gloves are meant to protect you from intense heat for only short bursts of time!

The 3 best BBQ gloves for quality grilling time [Reviews]

1. Overall best BBQ gloves:
Artisan Griller Neoprene Mitts

This neoprene, man. Flexible, waterproof, quite heat resistant and doesn’t even look half-bad. That’s a functional combination if I’ve ever seen one.

Artisan Griller will make your hands feel right at home and protected from heat that will otherwise send you to painful places. And that’s what matters.

14″ in length, these take care not only of your palms – they extend to the forearms too. I know some of you like to pull pork like champs, or perform crazy stunts around the BBQ.

This set of smoker gloves will keep you safe whatever you do.

Note that these handle up to 400°F or so. A bit lower than other pairs, but still quite good. Keep in mind that this protection is for short bursts of time. Don’t go and test them by leaving your hands in the heat for too long!

What I also like is the anti-grease/staining feature too. Even around coals, while doing the “dirty” jo b of playing with fire, it’ll make an impression if your BBQ mitts stay clean, right?

So why not silicone?

Honestly, neoprene is a bit of an upgrade from any silicone BBQ glove in my opinion. The protection is better, as well as the insulation quality. Not only this, but neoprene feels a bit more mobile, more flexible to me.

With the jersey cotton fiber lined around the neoprene, you also get a good touch of comfort.

Heat resistance + comfort + keeping your hands cool? That’s a no brainer for me.

The only downside is that these might feel bulky to some people. Artisan Griller grill gloves come in a size 10 (XL), but there’s some wiggle room. Still, if you belong to the size 8 or below group, they might be too big for you.

2. Best high quality grilling gloves:
Grill Beast’s Beast Armor

“Armor” is a good word here. This set of BBQ gloves is immaculately heat resistant and even more heavy duty than Artisan Griller.

The reason?

An awesome combination of Aramid 1313 (which is a kevlar fiber) and some high grade silicone for unmatched protection. Seriously, wearing these you can go up to 662°F – a total record among heat resistant gloves for barbecue.

Your hands’ coziness is taken care of by a blend of 45% polyester and the ever soft, comfortable cotton (55%.) A great mix of outer toughness and inner softness.

So, why didn’t I pick these?

Actually, the Beast Armor smoker mitts are probably a better pick indeed. However, I love ultra flexibility and my gloves being waterproof. This set isn’t fully resistant to water, and it feels a bit stiffer than the neoprene material.

That said, if you don’t care about these two things, the Beast Armor should be your pick.

The design is quite nice too, really adds up to the passion of setting up a great BBQ party! The silicone parts allow for a 100% no-slip operation.

Not only this, but you can clean them easily – including spinning them in a quick machine wash cycle if you wish to. Great convenience all around, no doubt.

3. Budget pick best silicone BBQ gloves:
Love This Kitchen’s mitts

Some people like the simplicity of a silicone-only set of barbecue mitts. It makes sense to me, even though I’m not that much of a fun.

LoveThisKitchen’s silicone grill mitts are an inexpensive, sturdy companion to your BBQ activities. They are made of high grade silicone that’s a bit more flexible than the usual one.

Protecting you from heat of up to 442°F, they’re somewhere in the middle ground of heat resistant power. The silicone construction means grease and sauces won’t stay on them. I’d say these are even more anti-grease than the other two pairs.

Another good point here is that you’ve got a few sizes to pick from. There’s a higher chance these will fit you just right.

That said, in the design department these look rather mediocre. I’m not sure how much you care about that, but if I’m doing a kickass BBQ…I’d like my grilling gloves to look fly too. And these don’t.

Otherwise, there’s nothing particularly bad about this set of smoker gloves. They also extend up the forearm for extra protection, which is a neat plus.

I just can’t get over how…mundane they look. That’s it!

Can I use leather gloves for BBQ?

You certainly can – in fact, one very popular pair of grilling mitts is G&F’s leather masterpiece.

These look really great with their grainy color theme, mixed with some suede notes. That said, any leather glove for barbecue’s heat resistance level will be lower than other materials.

In other words, if you’re going for more heated BBQs with lots of passionate pulling pork, moving coals around and whatnot…A set of leather smoker mitts might not fit the bill perfectly.

If you are, however, moderate in your BBQ activities and plan to use them for something cooler, you’ll be alright.

What is the best material for BBQ gloves?

That’s a very tricky question, as all materials have their benefits and drawbacks.

The two most common types of grilling gloves you’ll see are a) sillicone barbecue gloves and b) (woven) fabric mitts.

Silicone BBQ gloves

Silicone is rather cheap and if it’s a higher quality, dense one, can protect against heat pretty well. It’s also waterproof most of the time.

This material does get slippery quite easily, though.

And, because of it’s construction, it can feel a bit too loose for some tastes. In other words, you’re trading a bit of precision and comfort in this case.

(That’s why I recommend neoprene over silicone usually.)

Fabric gloves for grills

As we saw with the Beast Armor gloves, fibers like the aramid are quite good. Especially when paired up with silicone, they can allow for a sturdy, heat-resistant and heavy duty operation.

Woven fabric mitts for smokers fit your hand better and can withstand higher temperatures. They are, however, not waterproof due to the same fiber spots that’ll easily get soaked.

Silicone pairs up with aramid fiber nicely because you get increased protection, some flexibility inherited from the silicone, and a better design than pure silicone gloves.

That said, blends like these might run a little bit pricier.

How to actually pick the best grilling gloves?

That “best” tag varies from person to person. Yet there are a few universal thing you’d want from a good pair of BBQ gloves:

• Comfort. This includes how well they fit you, whether they extend to protect your forearms too, are they soft inside for some cozy, non-irritation operation.

• Degree of heat resistance. Depends on what you plan to use them for – and how intense your BBQs get!

• Cleaning. Nobody likes spending ages to clean their smoker mitts. The easier to clean, the better – some silicone BBQ gloves excel in this regard.

• Design. This is my weak point – I’m a sucker for good-looking gloves for barbecuing. No matter how kickass their features are, if they’re not aesthetic, I’ll skip on them.

• Extra perks. Being water resistant, some fancy cotton lining, getting freebies with your purchase…there’s a lot of bonus points that might make this exact set of BBQ gloves the real winner.