The Best Oven Mitts and Pot Holders

These oven mitts kept our hands comfortably cool and in control when holding hot equipment or reaching into a hot oven. When compressed, they were the thickest of the models with a silicone exterior. The silicone is heavily textured for better grip, and because it flexed with our hands, we could easily pinch thin cookie sheets and small handles or knobs. The fabric lining moved around inside the mitts at times during use, but it stayed put better than the linings of other models. The mitts can be machine-washed, but they have to be laid flat to dry. The silicone became permanently stained.

Our favorite pot holders are fashioned as pockets with a sheet of silicone on one side, a panel of cotton fabric on the back, and soft cotton lining in between. The silicone layer offered excellent protection from the heat. Our hands never became too hot during kitchen tests and we were able to hold a 350-degree cast-iron skillet comfortably for 23 seconds. They were also flexible, which allowed testers to feel like they had control when maneuvering hot pans. Although both the silicone and cotton fabric remained stained after our durability tests, it didn't shrink or warp. We liked that it is machine-washable.

Our runner-up pot holders are simply squares of neoprene, a super grippy rubber that's also used to make wet suits and car tires and is an especially good insulator against heat. The flexible sheets easily conformed to the shapes of our hands and stayed put. After extensive use and a few spins in the dishwasher, the holders still looked like new. Testers with large hands wished they were just a touch bigger, but they still recommended them. (Note: These holders are also available in a 10 by 10-inch square, which our testers deemed too big to handle and maneuver comfortably.)

With exteriors of thick, red fabric striped with silicone, this set performed reliably. Although another fabric model appeared to be as padded as this set, this pair was slightly thicker when compressed. When we flexed our hands while wearing these mitts, the lining stayed put, but testers noted that their thicker design made them a bit bulkier and blunter at the fingertips than our favorite model. And even though these mitts were thicker than our winner when compressed, we couldn't grip a hot cast-iron skillet for quite as long.

These thin and flexible silicone mitts kept our hands comfortable and felt relatively nimble, particularly when we were carrying thin or lightweight bakeware. However, when working with heavier hot items, our hands sometimes felt a bit warmer (but not hot enough to cause alarm) than they did in the top silicone mitt. We also noticed that the fabric lining often moved around and bunched up inside the mitts as we were using them. Because their exteriors are made mostly of silicone, we could wash off debris or grease by hand, but we recommend a thorough machine washing as needed.

The silicone layer on these holders kept our hands comfortably cool, but the material was a little too rigid, which made them difficult to use when trying to pick up bakeware or skillets. The holders also tended to slide off our hands. Although they must be washed by hand, they were one of the few models that didn't stain. They still looked like new at the end of testing.

These were the biggest, widest, bulkiest mitts in our lineup. Testers with small and average-size hands noted that they felt clumsy and imprecise. They fit on larger hands better, though one tester still described these mitts as “cavernous.” Unfortunately, in the more rigorous (though realistic) temperature tests we devised for this review, these mitts didn’t protect our hands from the heat as well as other models did. We had to release the hot cast-iron skillet handle after only 10 seconds, which isn’t enough time to carry a hot item through a kitchen. A magnet sewn into a tab near the top of the oven mitt allowed us to hang the oven mitt on the refrigerator for easy access, but the magnet came loose in the washing machine.

Although they look like the other gloves in our lineup, this model is available in only one size, and testers with smaller hands noted that it was too large. Excess fabric flopped around at our fingertips and impeded what would otherwise have been a precise grip. The gloves were protective when we were handling thin, lightweight equipment but provided insufficient protection when we were handling heavier items that resulted in more compression.

These simple cotton terry pot holders were adequate for lifting hot baking sheets, cake pans, and pie pans, but heat transferred through the fabric quickly when we were carrying hot, heavy Dutch ovens and skillets. They were also a little big and flopped onto our food if we weren't careful. They were machine-washable and, though they stained, they were in otherwise good shape at the end of testing.

We were intrigued by this design—two pocketed pot holders connected by a swath of fabric. We liked that we could push our fingers into the corners of the pockets and get a secure grip on items. However, that swath of fabric was a nuisance: It drooped between our hands and forced us to choose between keeping our hands tethered together or allowing it to dangle from one hand. Worst of all, the mitt’s fabric was thin when compressed and didn’t offer adequate heat protection during real-life applications.

Like the other double mitt we tested, the swath of fabric connecting the two ends was often more annoying than helpful. The mitt’s fabric allowed us to comfortably grip the skillet’s handle for just 6 seconds—nowhere near long enough to ensure safety.

Marketed to professional cooks, these thick and puffy pot holders were not well-liked by our testers. Yes, they kept our hands comfortably cool for 32 seconds, but because they were so bulky, they didn't feel secure and were less maneuverable than other models. The loop meant for our thumb was too big and none of our testers knew how to use it without instruction. These pot holders looked a little worn after repeated washing.

When using these fabric pot holders, our hands got uncomfortably hot almost immediately—even when we were maneuvering lightweight bakeware around a relatively cool, 350-degree oven. We always worried about burning ourselves. Given that, we didn't care that they were flexible and conveniently sized. More shortcomings: They must be hand-washed, they took a long time to dry, and they were permanently stained.