Equipment Expert Reveals Top Pick for the Best Pot Holders 

what i have learned from the many equipment test is that if your going after kitchen ware, for yourself or as a gift you can't seem to go real wrong with oxo stuff. even if they aren't the winner they are the budget winner or 2nd place.

I have a bunch of the old cotton jersey potholders made on a loom. I like them and they work. It's funny that they are testing pot holders when they usually use a doubled over kitchen towel.

Grandma’s crocheted potholders60 years old still work the best

The findings explain why I still love the old fashioned magic fold crocheted potholders; it really is all about the density and flexibility.

Washing potholders in the dishwasher- what a revelation!

Thanks. I’ll stick with my long oven mitts. I’ve had too many wrist/lower arm burns from oven doors and racks.

I use a folded kitchen towel. Works perfectly fine.

I still prefer the Ritz cotton potholders (that green one on the end they didn't like) - because it is thick enough and flexible enough to use on anything. The stiffer ones may give better heat protection, but if you have to use two hands to bend the potholder to shape (as you see them do with the neoprene), it's not worth it. You can double-up on the Ritz cotton potholders to get more heat protection without sacrificing control (e.g., when lifting a heavy cast iron pan). Plus, they go into the washing machine and last forever.

My Mom quilts potholders from extra scraps of material, and she goes out of her way to make them unpretty. Soooo many times, people have potholders that are too pretty to be used for messy pies, or anything that'd mess them up. Quilted cotton fabrics seem to do the job efficiantly, and cheaply. :)

Ikea has (or used to have -- If you shop at Ikea you know what I mean) a charcoal grey tacky silicon hot pad holder that is terrific. The tacky surface means a very firm grip on the pan or pan. Mess wipes off in the sink right away. They can be doubled up for carrying hot things for long distances. I can't find it on Ikea on-line, but if you have an Ikea store nearby, check them out. I have several in my kitchen and I love them.

I love my Oxo Good Grips. They work great! I was at my Moms tonight and used her pot holders and they were terrible. I will be getting her some of her own Good Grips.

Happy to watch. Wishing everyone a happy weekend

Years ago you recommended a thicker terrycloth pot holder that I have four of and I love them. You never really test those anymore it seems. It stains but the heat resistance is wonderful.

The OXO silicone potholders and the oven mitt ARE great.

I got the pocket-style ones as a gift and I really don't like them. The pocket it awkward and I don't feel like I have a good grip. I have the sage green ones like on the right and I love those, and that's what I use.

Grandma's crocheted pot holders are the best. Everyone knows this.

Thank you Adam - always on the look out for good pot holders. Love your hair cut, Julia!

Can you test the mitten style pot holders?

Is there anything OXO can't do well??

I have a pair of Nomex gloves that were off-white when I got them. Now the ends of the fingers are burnt and black, as are the thumbs, but they still protect my hands from heat extremely well. As for washing them... if I happen to spill something on them, I wash them in soapy dishwater in the sink. Other than that, after 10 years or so, while they may look terrible, they are still going strong. I also have a brand-new pair of mitts with silicon texture on them that are hanging from my range hood that look beautiful but have never been used. I find the gloves give me a much better grip than anything else does.

That's so funny that you're doing a segment on the pot holders because lo and behold I am so tired of burning and I'm not feeding right and not being able to grasp really well so this is good let me see show me what you got so I know what I need to go out and buy.

I love the pocket with silicone but I like the wider ones so my hand is free moving the skinny ones you can’t move your hands wide and I find it hard to grab some things

Can you guys please do a "best counter dish rack" for the home? PLEASE!!!

I have one with silicone on the under side. I use them all the time. It helps with grip and heat. I wont use anything else except an ove glove on occasion

What about the silicone OXO if it gets wet? Such as say chicken stock or sauce.Seems like the neoprene would be better suited for gripping when wet and less slippery than silicone.

I've melted the neoprene ones and scorched many of the others. I've tried silicone and it just is clumsy. I have the wells lamont leather one and use them most, but they are not great when I have to hold the cast iron for any length of time and really hurt if they are wet.

Or learn to crochet and make your own! Cotton yarn, any size you want and less expensive. I'm making some now that are double thick, user friendly, and fast to make. 😉

Wow, they are all too expensive for me! I got my pot holders from Rite Aid's dollar bin for $1 each. Not the latest or greatest, but they work okay for me.

Love the oxo but mine had the fabric sewn onto the silicone come loose in a corner after a few months

I was today years old when I realized that people put cloth potholders in the dishwasher and not the clothes washer okay, false alarm... the one they put in the dishwasher looked like cloth but it was the Neoprene one. Carry on... 🙂

Why do you usually use kitchen towels to remove pans from the oven?

I’ll stick with my thick red silicone gloves sold by As Seen on TV. They are easy to wash, and easy to maneuver with the five finger glove style. No heat goes through these unless I hold a cast iron skillet a little to long.

What about the good ol’ fashioned kitchen towel? You’re typically not going that far with your cookware 🙂

As a nerd, I'm curious how they measured the "thickness", since these are soft and squishy materials. If you just measure the thickness on minimal contact, that's not applicable to when you're actually holding something. But if you measure the thickness when pressure is applied, it becomes a question of how much pressure to apply. It's a super nerdy question, but Adam gave a thickness figure with a precision of one tenth of a millimeter*, so I have to assume it's a fair question. Side note: while not everyone is into pockets, they are very nice to have if there's a risk of touching something hot with the back of your hand. This could be accidentally touching a sidewall of your oven while pulling a wide pan out of the oven (of course, if the load isn't too heavy you should always slide the rack out a bit first), or putting a boule into or pulling it out of a pre-heated Dutch oven. Breadmaking oven temps are often rocket-hot. *If he had said "4.5 millimeters," I would have said the precision was on the order of half a millimeter, as "point five" is rarely indicative of a 0.1 precision. But he said "4.4 millimeters", so our precision here might be 0.1 millimeters, but is at most 0.2 millimeters. Which is still a teeny, tiny amount of thickness.

Love heat resistant gloves

Please do fondue pots.

What company makes neoprene potholder (the second place winner)?

What about the gloves with silicone? I love those.

Hello~thanks!💕🙋🏼‍♀️

What does it matter if it stains? Would rather my potholder stain than my hand suffer a burn. That said, I much prefer oven mitts for most uses (and the oxo potholder is practically halfway there already)

Oh my, my 20+ year old cotton terry hot pad came in at the bottom 😟

Its been long!! Miss Adam!!!

I still like terry cloth for tactile feel. Something they should have mentioned - NEVER buy polyester pot holders, they will melt (>300) to your cast iron pan (and your hand) if you preheat pan in a 500 degree oven - as ATK recommends for their steak method. Very surprised the neoprene didn't scorch - it melts at 500, broiler temperature.

You know you live in the first world when you hook up digital testing equipment to potholders.

Many OXO products come in Good Grips versions and SoftWorks versions. A lot of stores, like Target, only seem to sell OXO SoftWorks. I'm not sure what the difference is, if there is any. Have you looked into this? When you specify OXO Good Grips like you did in this review, should I interpret that as meaning OXO SoftWorks is not a good choice?

I don’t know guys... I buy cheap pot holders for $4 a pair at Dollarama... they are flexible enough to get a great grip on even heavy pans, even when you need to double them up to get the heat protection you still done loose your grip... and they both are easy to toss in the wash between uses and cheap enough to have multiples... and when they get too stained or wear out you can just get another $4 pair!

Tip...If your new potholders aren’t flexible enough for you, run them through the washer and dryer.

I’m convinced that they are sponsored by oxo good grip. That company wins everything

The Dollar Tree pot holders work well.

One thing I have noticed is that the average pot holder is not big enough. I’ve made mine 9 inch square about the right size for me. They have insulated batting and four layers of cotton.

San Jamar seems like a clear winner. Ten bucks less and it doesn't stain. A pocket is not worth that trade-off, not remotely.

When I was a small girl my mother would buy me potholder kits and have me make them. Then she would drive me to different neighborhoods and drop me off to sell them door to door. One for 15 cents two for 25 cents. Elderly women would always buy them. I was only 5 years old! Can you imagine a five year old going door to door in todays world! I really don't care for potholders today and use towels instead!

these "good grip" guys seem to make good kitchen ware ive seen them multiple times on amazon labeled with "best seller" and "amazon choice" 🤔

think ill stick with a folded up tea towel

Oxo Good Grips wins again, but what can you say, they are just well-designed products.

Why would I want this instead of oven mitts?

I hate the thin potholders they make these days. They suck. I just don't know how we managed with those thick square potholders we used to have in the old days. Never had any issues getting stuff out of the oven or off the stove or messed up cakes using them. That sounds like operator error to me.

I notice oxy good grips are very often winners in your tests. Do you receive funding or other promotions from this company?

2 for $18?! I can't find them for anything less than $11-25 EACH

1:45

Adam recommends some products that are way out of the price range of many normal cooks, not everyone is a big money chef.

Do we really need “advise” on our pot holders 😝 just use whatever you’re comfortable with and it doesn’t burn your table and your good to go 😉😉😉😉😉

Um, wouldn't you prefer a pair of oven mitts for all that 'oven' work?

I have diminished feeling in my hands so I have a pair of ove gloves. :-)

They should just call it the oxo recommendations

Meh, we use welding gloves. My husband has large hands and I am short. Welding gloves are big enough for him but long enough to protect my forearms when reaching.

Contraband pot... holders 😄

Why no gloves in the mix? I love my ove gloves

Hmm ..i just keep a spare welding glove around for that

Go figure! OXO for the win! I'd like to trust ATK, but somehow mist winning gadgets and such are OXO...I live in Vegas, and I'll tell you the odds of that one product line winning, while gambling, that often would draw some attention by casino security.

Wow, what an important question to answer /s.

We going to watch them eat for 30 minutes?

The problem is if they get wet. You can steam yourself to a huge burn.

Honestly I getting tired of using a dish towel to move things I'm cooking

I just use Mama Mias moppines.

Why buy potholders? I've never seen a professional kitchen use them. Just a lot of kitchen/tea towels. Kitchens don't need a lot of unitaskers outside of a fire extinguisher.

All of those are way too small!!! Oven mitts are the way to go.

Remember the good old days when potholders had asbestos in the middle? You could get them in a set for less than $1.00 and they lasted for years.

Chefs don’t use these. They use tea towels.

Pot holders? Really?

No coincidence that OxO has been a sponsor of the show for years.

Wait you know a lot of cooks who won't use potholders... I don't think so. You only need 2nd and 3rd degree burns once to know it is not macho it is stupid. That was a bad intro. Unless those cooks never handle hot things.

Pot holders? Kitchen towel. Boom. I just saved you $ and drawer space. Go to a professional kitchen. You will not find pot holders.

If pot holders are no necessary, then why aren't they used in restaurant kitchens?...I know the answer...expensive, not efficient and dangerous...side towels all the way

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