UK’s best BBQ gloves that are leather and heat resistant to keep you safe

I spent a long time thinking about which BBQ gloves to take our best overall spot and it definitely wasn’t an easy decision. Partly because there are just so many good options out there these days, but also because the best overall BBQ glove has to do a lot of things well and not just be a one trick pony and it’s well worth mentioning right off the bat these are made from a combination of the most heat resistant materials known for protective clothing: Kevlar/Aramid/Nomex.

For example, I couldn’t just go on heat resistance as all of the BBQ gloves featured in this article offer that. Nor could it only be based on comfort for similar reasons. So, after a lot of deliberation, I decided that the BlueFire BBQ gloves were the best all-rounders despite my personal preference when compared based on a combination of quality and price being the Dualeco – more on that in the review though – this is about the Blue

Not only do the BlueFire BBQ gloves offer excellent resistance to heat and are very comfortable to wear, you retain a high level of dexterity when wearing them, making fiddly or more delicate tasks easier to handle than with thick, leather gloves.

Most people only think of burning their fingers, thumbs, and palms when they are buying BBQ gloves, but often it is the wrists and forearms that end up with scalds and blisters. The long cuffs on these gloves, as well as the ones found on the MLMNANT and Leaseek gloves when you compare them directly, really do a great job of preventing that happening. I would say that the BlueFire gloves do the best job of remaining soft and flexible while doing so, though.

Other common BBQ injuries have nothing to do with heat at all, and something that can be overlooked is how well a certain pair of gloves will protect you from cuts. Cuts can come from the knives and other utensils you use to prepare food, but also from sharp edges on your BBQ, so for me, the fact that these gloves were made with CE-level 3 cut resistant fibre was another reason to choose them.

The only thing I wouldn’t really use them for is pulling pork as I think the grease would just seep into the material, and these aren’t the cheapest gloves in the world. Then again, if you covered them with a thin nitrile glove it would work just fine.

To sum up, the BlueFire BBQ gloves are very versatile, comfortable, and provide excellent protection from burns and cuts. The higher-than-average price tag probably means that only people who are serious about their BBQs will be interested, but it is hard to pick any other product, except maybe the GEEKHOM silicon gloves, over them for best overall.

Pros

• Great all-round BBQ gloves
• Flexible and comfortable to wear
• High level of protection from heat
• Prevents accidental cuts and scrapes

Cons

• Not a good choice for handling meat like pulled pork

Silicone BBQ gloves have become more and more common over time, with plenty of BBQ aficionados swearing by them. You only have to look on Amazon these days to see that the number of silicone BBQ glove options has increased dramatically since a few years ago. Before we get going here’s a quick demo of the difference you can expect when grabbing hot metal from your usual oven towel vs these gloves:

The reason for their popularity? Well, as a person who owns multiple types of BBQ gloves- leather, synthetic, and silicone; I would have to guess that most people, just like me, love the fact that they are highly resistant to moisture, oil, and all the other stuff that can soak into and ruin other types of gloves. Sounds good right?

In my honest opinion, the best value for money silicone BBQ gloves that you can get your hands on (or in) have to be these from GEEKHOM. For a very reasonable price, you get silicone gloves that don’t just protect your hands from grease and juices, but have heat resistance up to 230 degrees Celsius. That might not be as high as some of our other featured gloves, but it is enough to keep your hands safe while you work the grill. I just needed something with a bit more heat protection as I am often handling my bbq starter which is hotter than hot! 😀

One complaint that I’ve heard about silicone gloves is that they aren’t the most comfortable to wear and that your hands can sweat a lot on them. Well, I was impressed with how well the cotton lining in the GEEKHOM gloves dealt with these problems, and I would never complain about them in that way.

Another common gripe people have with silicone gloves is that they can be a bit stiff, and therefore not the easiest things to grab kebab skewers or other utensils with. Again, the GEEKHOM BBQ gloves proved that not to be necessarily true, giving you a good level of flexion in the fingers, and also excellent grip thanks to the non-slip outer surface.

Although advertised as ‘long sleeves’ these gloves aren’t exactly that. Yes, they do have longer cuffs to protect the wrists, but these cuffs don’t reach as far up the forearm as other gloves like the BlueFire product.

On the plus side, there are three different sizes to choose from, cleaning the gloves is incredibly easy, they are water and oil proof, and they won’t cost you the Earth. I think we can forgive a slightly shorter cuff, don’t you?

Pros

• Provides excellent grip
• Completely waterproof and easy to clean
• comfortable inner lining
• Different sizes to choose from

Cons

• Would have liked the cuffs to be longer

Who doesn’t love pulled pork? Tender, juicy, shredded pieces of meat that melt in the mouth. I can’t remember the last time I visited a steakhouse or burger place and they didn’t have it featured in the menu somewhere – and before we get onto the usability I happen to personally own these and use them frequently. When I’m not leaving myself scarred up! These are the real deal. Here’s a video of me holding the sides of my bbq starter and it’s plain to see these have the protection you need in even the hottest conditions:

vid of me holding the bbq starter here.

I’m sure, like many other BBQ and smoker owners, the thought of slow cooking your very own pork shoulder and then pulling it apart has crossed your mind, and why not? But to tear that meant into shreds without getting your hands soaked in grease, fat, marinade, and juices, means having the right type of BBQ gloves for the task.

If you read the review of the best silicone BBQ gloves above, you’ll already know that that material is hard to beat for resistance to liquids, so it should come as no surprise that I chose these Dualeco silicone gloves as the best for pulling pork and also handling meat in general.

In fact, the Dualeco gloves are very similar to the outstanding GEEKHOM BBQ gloves when you compare materials. They are made from the same combination of silicone outer layer and soft cotton inner layer, they also share a similarly sized cuff to protect the wrists, and even look alike.

The Dualeco BBQ gloves, however, have a claimed higher heat resistance threshold of up to 500 degrees Celsius, although I doubt you could hold on to anything at that temperature for more than a second or two. While testing, I could feel heat coming through at around 300 degrees and while it wasn’t uncomfortable for me, it gave me reason to doubt they could handle 500 degrees.

The rubber grips that cover the gloves come in very handy for keeping hold of large, slippery, pieces of meat, such as racks of ribs and I also found that I could get a good grip of a pork shoulder with one hand while I pulled the shreds away with the other. After I was done, I just rinsed the gloves under the sink and that was that- nice and clean.

I will warn anyone with large hands that these might feel a bit snug and restrictive. I have what I would call average sized hands and the fit was just about right for me, giving me a good amount of movement in my hands.

Pros

• Completely resistant to sauces, grease, and other liquids
• Perfect for pulling pork and handling meat like racks of ribs
• Can be rinsed clean under the tap
• Can handle at least 300 degrees Celsius

Cons

• Could be a little too small if you have large hands

It’s no understatement to say that you can take most of the claims made in product advertising with a pinch of salt. BBQ gloves are no different, and probably the most exaggerated feature is the level of heat resistance.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that BBQ gloves aren’t good for protecting your hands from heat. I’m just saying that when we see advertisers claiming their gloves can resist temperatures up to 1000 degrees Celsius, I think it’s pretty safe to knock a hundred or two off that for the real number.

Even following that rule, MLMNANT’s (yes, yet another silly name) BBQ gloves still have a tolerance for heat that is above the norm, and in our tests proved that it all wasn’t just empty words. I was able to hold onto things straight out of the oven with these gloves for longer than any of the other products in this list, other than the leather Queelink ones that is, before I felt the heat getting a little too much.

I think most of this heat resistance is due to the triple layer design that combines silicone, aramid fibre, and an inner layer of heat resistant polyester cotton. The majority of the glove is made from the aramid though, which in addition to heat resistance, also protects the hands from cuts.

Unfortunately, this design makes them far less resistant to liquids than any pure silicone BBQ gloves, and this can cause problems if you’re not careful. Trying to pick up a hot tray, for example, with damp or wet gloves can create instant steam and burn your hands.

Having said that, as long as you keep these BBQ gloves dry you will have no problems whatsoever, and they have a lot to offer. For example, they have nice, long cuffs to protect your lower forearms, the silicone grip works really well, and they allow you a good level of dexterity for taking lids off pots, handling a burger flipper, etc. What’s more, the price tag won’t give you a heart attack.

Pros

• Very high resistance to heat
• Aramid fibre makes these gloves very flexible
• Long cuffs to protect your wrists and forearms
• Affordable but very good quality

Cons

• Not waterproof

Although silicone, synthetic, and mixed material gloves are all the rage these days, leather BBQ gloves can still hold their own, and even surpass their rivals in many aspects. What’s more, these days there isn’t much of a price difference between a great pair of leather BBQ gloves and gloves of the same quality made from other materials.

Qeelink’s product is excellent quality, very reasonably priced, and has all the traits we look for; and for those reasons, we chose them as our best leather BBQ gloves.

Leather gloves, especially thick, heavy duty ones like these, are well known for their ability to protect your hands from high temperatures, hence the reason they are used in the welding and fabricating trade. Qeelink say their gloves can withstand temperatures over 350 degrees Celsius and, for once, that isn’t just exaggeration.

During our time with this product, we tested them with temperatures well exceeding this, and the gloves handled it all beautifully. Well, I suppose it was to be expected from gloves that are made from UK split leather with Kevlar stitching.

We mentioned welding gloves, and these do resemble something you’d find workers in a fabrication company wearing, but once you slip them on you feel that they are far more flexible than your average welding gauntlet. They’re not as dexterous as the BlueFire gloves, but I’d say they were on par with the GEEKHOM silicone product, maybe a little bit stiffer.

I would definitely say that the Qeelink gloves are comfortable to wear, and even the very long cuffs feel very nice on the skin. I’m sure the cotton inner lining definitely helps this along, on top helping deal with those high temperatures.

The main downside to leather gloves is that they get dirty easily and can be quite hard to clean properly. It’s not like the Dualeco silicone gloves that you can just rinse off, so you shouldn’t use them for handling meat. For all other tasks though, you’ll have no problems.

Pros

• Heavy duty gloves that will last a long time
• Can withstand more than 350 degrees Celsius
• Made from UK split leather and Kevlar stitching
• Good protection for the hands, wrists, and forearms

Cons

• Can get dirty easily and hard to clean

Usually, when I’m looking at the best budget models of certain products, there isn’t really a great deal of choice. Sure, there are plenty of cheap products, but most of them I couldn’t recommend with a clear conscience.

Not so with BBQ gloves. I was pleasantly surprised by how many good options there were for under a tenner. Yes, there were some awful ones too as would be expected, but it wasn’t too hard to find some cracking deals.

The best of the lot, as far as we are concerned, are these silicone gloves from Northlander. Now, that brand name might sound more like a rip off of the Vikings tv show than a company who makes very good, budget, BBQ gloves, but it’s the latter that is true.

Made from non-toxic silicone, you can safely handle food, trays, pots, and anything else up to 230 degrees Celsius. Obviously, that’s not the highest on this list but it’s the same as the GEEKHOM gloves that we chose as our top silicone product.

Just like with other comfortable silicone BBQ gloves, these have a soft inner layer and they do feel nice on the hands. I did get a bit annoyed that this inner lining would pull out with my hands every time I took them off and need me to push it back into place, but when something costs less than a tenner, you can’t grumble too much.

When I first put the Northlander gloves on, I’ll admit that they felt a bit stiff, but after wearing them for a while, they gradually loosened up and gave a bit more flex. I would say they are a good size for people with average to slightly larger than average hands, but wouldn’t recommend them to people with smaller extremities. Unfortunately, there’s only one size available too.

On the plus side, the grip does what it should and you won’t be dropping plates or trays of food on a regular basis. There is a bit of loss, dexterity-wise, due to there being a bit too much space inside the fingers, but for most BBQ based tasks they will do just fine and are a bargain at their current price.

Pros

• Made from non-toxic silicone and safe for handling food
• Soft inner lining makes them very comfortable
• Excellent value for money
• Good level of heat protection considering the price

Cons

• Not a good choice for people with smaller hands