Best Grill Tongs of 2026
The best grill tongs of 2026, chosen by CIA-trained chef Nora Whitfield: 10 BBQ tongs compared on length, weight, head shape and what survives open flame.
Updated
The difference between a grill tong and a kitchen tong is four inches and a hole in the handle. That sounds glib and it is what both major test kitchens lead with, because it is the whole thing. Twelve inches is the indoor standard and it puts your knuckles in the radiant heat above a live fire. Sixteen inches keeps your hand out of it. The hanging loop matters because a grill tong lives on a rail next to the machine rather than in a drawer, and a tool you have to go and fetch is a tool you stop using. Everything else in this category, the wood handles, the bottle openers, the tapered stainless, sits downstream of those two facts.
Then there is the specification almost nobody states. Serious Eats and America’s Test Kitchen tested grill tongs separately, with different protocols and different lineups, and they landed on the same number: 8 to 9 oz is the right weight. Heavier feels reassuring in the hand for about ten minutes, and America’s Test Kitchen names 12 oz as the point past which a tong starts to tire the hand holding it. Lighter than about 6 oz and the tong feels flimsy under a heavy raw cut. The best grill tongs on this page, the OXO, weigh a listing-confirmed 8 oz, which is the single strongest fact anywhere in this guide. Almost no other listing publishes a weight at all, which is why the specification is invisible to most people buying BBQ tongs and why it explains so much about which pair ends up abandoned in a garage.
I compared ten options for 2026 across every format that makes sense outdoors: sixteen-inch scalloped steel at three price tiers, three long pairs from nineteen to twenty-two inches, a silicone-tipped pair for griddle work, a two-pack for keeping raw and cooked separate, and an all-steel pellet-grill tong with a hanging loop. This page is deliberately the outdoor one. Nonstick coatings, air fryer baskets and cast iron pan work are covered properly in our kitchen tongs guide and are not re-litigated here. Every ASIN was verified live in a browser before it went on this page, and one product came out of the lineup for a reason worth stating plainly: the Weber Premium grill tongs currently have a single third-party reseller offer at roughly double what the tong normally sells for, with a delivery estimate nine to thirteen days out and no competing new offer behind it. I will not point you at a listing where the only way to buy is that.
| Product | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|
| OXO Good Grips 16-Inch Locking Stainless Steel TongsBest Overall | $20.95 | View on Amazon |
| Cuisinart Locking Grill Tongs, 16 in Stainless Steel BBQ TongsBudget Pick | $10.84 | View on Amazon |
| Rosle Premium Barbecue Grill TongsPremium Pick | $58.72 | View on Amazon |
| Outset QB22 Locking Stainless Steel Grill Tongs Extra Long 22 in, Rosewood HandlesRunner-Up | $21.99 | View on Amazon |
| EDLUND Strong Tongs, 16-Inch Heavy-Duty Grill Tongs, Made in USARunner-Up | $39.99 | View on Amazon |
| RSVP International Endurance BBQ Locking Tongs, 18 inRunner-Up | $21.95 | View on Amazon |
| U-Taste Kitchen Tong for Cooking, 600F Heat-Resistant Silicone, 16 in, BlackRunner-Up | $15.99 | View on Amazon |
| Kona 17-in Stainless Steel Locking Grill Tongs, Heavy-Duty, Set of 2Runner-Up | $19.95 | View on Amazon |
| 19.5 in / 50cm Extra Long Wood-Handled Grill TongsRunner-Up | $15.99 | View on Amazon |
| Traeger Grills BAC790 Stainless Steel BBQ TongsRunner-Up | $27.99 | View on Amazon |
Find the Best Grill Tongs for Your Need
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How We Chose These Grill Tongs
The methodology bar in this category is set by two publications and it is worth naming them honestly. America’s Test Kitchen built a two-level fire and worked through asparagus, chicken and corn, then two racks of ribs, then a butterflied whole chicken, then a precision test that involved retrieving a toothpick from a jar of salsa, then a hundred lock cycles and twenty-five wash cycles on every pair. Serious Eats ran its own field testing and reported, among other things, that the Rosle one-handed mechanism recommended by its design was fiddly in practice. I am not going to claim to have matched either protocol, and you should be suspicious of any page that does.
What this page contributes instead is breadth, live listing verification, and a clear line between the two kinds of statement in it. Ten products rather than six, covering the length band from sixteen inches to nearly twenty-two, both silicone and bare steel, and both single tongs and a two-pack. Where something is a physical fact about a design, it is stated as one: 8 oz, 15.2 oz, 18/10 stainless, scalloped edges named on the listing. Where something is a manufacturer’s claim, it is labelled as their claim, which is why the Edlund grip-strength figure and the DAILY KISN heat rating are both attributed rather than asserted. And where a listing declines to publish a specification at all, this page says so plainly rather than filling the gap with a guess, which is why four products here carry a head type of not published.
Every ASIN was verified as a live, buyable, in-stock listing in a browser rather than trusted from an API, including a check on who actually holds the buy box, which is what removed the Weber pair from the lineup. Ratings and review counts are recorded as they stood at publication. Prices refresh automatically, so the table stays current rather than frozen at the day this was written.
Best Grill Tongs Overall
Ten picks, each reviewed once, in the order I would consider them.
OXO Good Grips 16-Inch Locking Tongs: Best Overall
Two independent test kitchens converged on 8 to 9 oz as the correct weight for a grill tong, and this one weighs 8 oz according to its own listing. That is the sort of coincidence that stops being a coincidence when you use the tool. A tong at this mass has enough substance to feel controlled when you are lifting a bone-in thigh off a hot grate, and little enough that your forearm is not the limiting factor an hour into a cook. The Outset pair further down this page weighs nearly twice as much, and the difference is not subtle after two racks of ribs.
The heads are the other half of the argument. Scalloped edges that close in line along their whole length give multiple contact points rather than a single pinch at the tip, and that is what lets a tong lift a sauced piece cleanly instead of squirting it out sideways onto the coals. This is a design OXO has sold essentially unchanged for two decades, which is why it carries more than fourteen thousand reviews at 4.8 stars, by far the deepest owner record on this page. Depth of record matters more than usual in grill tools, because a listing that has survived twenty summers has already been through the failures that end thinner ones.
Two honest limits. Sixteen inches is the right default for a kettle or a standard gas grill and it is short for a wide offset smoker or a deep charcoal bed, which is what the long section below is for. And the pull-lock needs a second hand in both directions, which is a real irritation when your other hand is holding a lid. The soft grip inserts also hold a barbecue-sauce film that a rinse will not shift, so give them a scrub with the rest of the washing up even though the tong is dishwasher safe.
OXO Good Grips 16-Inch Locking Stainless Steel Tongs
by OXO
The best grill tongs overall: scalloped steel edges, a pull-lock, and a listing-confirmed 8 oz that lands on the exact weight two independent test kitchens named as ideal.
Pros
- The listing confirms a weight of 8 oz, which lands exactly on the 8 to 9 oz window that Serious Eats and America's Test Kitchen arrived at independently as the right mass for a grill tong
- Scalloped edges close in line along their whole length rather than meeting only at the tip, which is what lets a tong lift a sauced thigh instead of pushing it around the grate
- More than fourteen thousand reviews at 4.8 stars is by far the deepest owner record on this page, built up over years rather than in a single launch window
- Sold and shipped by Amazon with one clean row in the buy box, so the default button buys exactly what the page describes
Cons
- Sixteen inches is right for a kettle or a standard gas grill and short for reaching across a wide offset smoker or into a deep charcoal bed
- The pull-lock needs a second hand in both directions, which is awkward when the other hand is holding a lid or a platter
- The soft grip inserts hold a barbecue-sauce film and want a scrub rather than a rinse, even though the tool goes in the dishwasher
Cuisinart Locking Grill Tongs 16 in: Best Budget
At the bottom of this page’s price range, most of what you find is a four-piece gift set with a spatula, a fork and a basting brush that will all be in a bin by the second summer. This is a single tool at the correct length with a working lock, from a brand with a service path, sold and shipped by Amazon. That combination at the lowest price here is the entire argument, and it is a good one for anyone who grills six times a summer and does not want to think about it further.
The silicone grips are the detail worth naming. Grilling involves wet hands more often than kitchen cooking does, because you are handling brined meat, dropping ice into a cooler, and rinsing rubs off your fingers on the way past the tap. A non-slip grip is the difference between a controlled turn and a dropped thigh, and the cheap end of the grill aisle frequently leaves it off entirely. Buying from Amazon directly also matters more at this price than at any other, because cheap grill steel is exactly where reseller buy boxes do their damage.
Be clear about what the listing does not tell you, because two absences are notable. It never states a head type. Not scalloped, not serrated, not tapered, nothing, so the gripping edge is something you judge from the product photograph rather than from a specification. And it never claims dishwasher safety either, despite being steel and silicone throughout, so hand washing is the safe assumption. The rating of 4.4 across 652 reviews is a mid-tier score rather than a strong one, and only the Rosle sits lower on this page.
Cuisinart Locking Grill Tongs, 16 in Stainless Steel BBQ Tongs
by Cuisinart
The best value grill tongs: the right length, a real lock and a real brand at the lowest price here, with two specifications the listing simply declines to state.
Pros
- Sixteen inches of stainless with a working pull-lock at the lowest price on this page, which makes it the cheapest way to buy the correct length rather than a novelty grill set
- Non-slip silicone grips stay usable when your hands are wet from a brine or greasy from a rub, which is the exact moment a tong full of raw chicken gets dropped
- Sold and shipped by Amazon, which matters more at this end of the market than anywhere else, because cheap grill steel is where reseller buy boxes do the most damage
- A named brand with a service path behind it, in a price band otherwise filled by anonymous sellers
Cons
- The listing never states a head type, saying neither scalloped nor serrated anywhere, so the gripping edge is something you have to judge from the photograph
- Dishwasher safety is not published either, so hand washing is the safe assumption despite the all-steel-and-silicone construction
- 4.4 stars across 652 reviews is a mid-tier score, and only the Rosle sits lower on this page
Rosle Premium Barbecue Grill Tongs: Best Upgrade
This is the least conventional tool on the page and it should be bought deliberately rather than by default. The upper head is not a gripping edge at all, it is a broad reversible turning surface that will get underneath a fillet or scoop a portion of grilled vegetables off the grate and onto a plate. The lower head carries grease drain slots so the fat runs off rather than travelling with the food. Nothing else here does either job, and if you cook a lot of side dishes over fire rather than just protein, that surface is a genuine capability rather than a feature bullet.
The build supports the price. 18/10 stainless is stated explicitly on the listing rather than left as a vague stainless adjective, and at 18.5 inches it puts your hand well clear of a live fire without crossing into fire-pit territory. The automatic closing mechanism is designed to work from the hand already holding the tong, so your second hand can stay on a lid.
Now the two things that keep this out of the top spot. Serious Eats tested that one-handed mechanism in the field and called it a nice idea in theory, reporting that it did not work as smoothly as the design promises. That is their finding rather than mine, and it matters because the mechanism is a large part of what the premium buys. And 4.0 stars is the lowest rating on this page by a clear margin, which at this price deserves a pause rather than a shrug. Buy this for the turning surface and the metal. Do not buy it expecting the lock to be the reason.
Rosle Premium Barbecue Grill Tongs
by Rosle
The upgrade pick for someone who wants the turning surface and the 18/10 build, bought with eyes open about a mechanism another test kitchen faulted and the lowest rating here.
Pros
- The upper head is a broad reversible turning surface that will scoop a side dish off the grate, which no scissor-edge tong on this page can do
- The lower head carries grease drain slots, so fat runs off before the food reaches the plate rather than pooling in the tong
- 18/10 stainless is stated explicitly on the listing rather than left as a vague stainless claim, and 18.5 inches keeps your hand well clear of a live fire
- The automatic closing mechanism works from the hand already holding the tong, so your second hand can stay on a lid or a platter
Cons
- Serious Eats tested the one-handed mechanism in the field and called it a nice idea in theory, reporting that it did not work as smoothly as the design promises
- 4.0 stars is the lowest rating on this page by a clear margin, which for a tool at this tier deserves a pause rather than a shrug
- It is the most expensive tong here, and what that buys is the turning surface and the build rather than a better grip on a chicken thigh
Outset QB22 22-Inch Rosewood Grill Tongs: Best Long Reach
Nearly twenty-two inches is a lot of tong, and there are two situations where it is exactly right: a kettle with a deep bed of lit charcoal, and a wide offset smoker where the firebox is at one end and you are reaching across. In both cases the reach is about depth and distance from a heat source rather than about the width of a grate, and a sixteen-inch pair simply will not do it without putting your forearm somewhere unpleasant. The rosewood handles help here too, since wood does not conduct radiant heat back into your palm the way a long steel handle does.
Two thousand reviews at 4.7 stars is a substantial record for a length this specialised, where thin records are much more common, and it is sold and shipped by Amazon, which makes a return straightforward if the wood arrives split. The build is the traditional one: steel arms, rosewood scales, a simple locking mechanism.
The trade is weight and it is the largest on this page. This tong weighs 15.2 oz, which is well past the 12 oz mark America’s Test Kitchen names as where a tong begins to tire the hand holding it. Over three turns that is nothing. Over a five-hour cook it is the reason a tong ends up leaning against the grill instead of in your hand. It is also explicitly hand wash only, because rosewood in a dishwasher dries out, greys and eventually splits at the fixing, and the listing never states a head type so the edge profile is something to judge from the photograph. Buy it as your long tong, not as your only tong.
Outset QB22 Locking Stainless Steel Grill Tongs Extra Long 22 in, Rosewood Handles
by Outset
The longest reach here, and the honest trade is weight: 15.2 oz is past the point where a tong tires your hand, so buy it for a deep firebox rather than as an everyday pair.
Pros
- At 21.75 inches this is the longest reach on the page, which is what a deep charcoal bed or a wide offset firebox actually asks for
- Rosewood handles sit far enough from the head and insulate well enough that radiant heat off a full chimney of coals stays out of your palm
- Two thousand reviews at 4.7 stars is a substantial owner record for a length this specialised, where thin records are the norm
- Sold and shipped by Amazon, so a return on a wood-handled tool that arrives split is a two-click job
Cons
- It weighs 15.2 oz, well past the 12 oz point America's Test Kitchen names as where a tong begins to tire your hand, so the reach costs you something real over a long cook
- Explicitly hand wash only, because rosewood in a dishwasher dries out, greys and eventually splits at the fixing
- The listing never states a head type, so whether those edges are scalloped is left to the photograph
EDLUND Strong Tongs 16-Inch: Best Heavy-Duty
Edlund is a foodservice manufacturer rather than a grill brand, and this tong reads like it. The two claims on the listing are up to 50 percent more grip strength than a standard tong and a reinforced shaft with reduced flex, and both of those are about the same problem: what happens when the load is heavy and sitting a long way from your hand. Flex is what makes a long tong feel vague under a whole packer brisket, because the arms bend before the heads close, and you end up squeezing harder than the food can take. A stiffer shaft transmits your grip to the tips instead of absorbing it.
The rest of the specification is the right shape for open flame. All stainless, gripper tips, a smooth lock, no silicone and no wood anywhere on the tool, so nothing soft is near sustained heat and the whole thing goes in the dishwasher without a caveat. It is made in the USA and sold through Edlund’s own storefront, so the buy box is the manufacturer rather than a reseller, which is a meaningfully cleaner ownership path than most of the mid-tier here.
The honest problem is the review count, and I would rather state it plainly than bury it: 36 reviews. That is the thinnest owner record on this page by half, and it is the only reason this is not the overall pick. Both headline figures are Edlund’s own claims rather than tested results, and no independent test kitchen has published on this tong at all. It is also the second most expensive tool here. If you are lifting heavy cuts regularly and you trust the manufacturer’s foodservice reputation, this is a very strong buy. If you want the recommendation with evidence behind it, buy the OXO.
EDLUND Strong Tongs, 16-Inch Heavy-Duty Grill Tongs, Made in USA
by Edlund
The heavy-duty answer: a reinforced shaft and gripper tips from a foodservice manufacturer, held out of the top spot by an owner record of just 36 reviews.
Pros
- Edlund claims up to 50 percent more grip strength than a standard tong, which is the specification that matters when you are lifting a whole packer brisket off a grate
- The shaft is reinforced to reduce flex, and flex is what makes a tong feel vague when the load is heavy and sitting far from your hand
- Made in the USA and sold through Edlund's own storefront rather than a reseller, so the buy box is the manufacturer itself
- All-stainless construction with no silicone and no wood anywhere on the tool, which is the right answer directly over open flame
Cons
- Just 36 reviews, which is the thinnest owner record on this page by half, and it is the single reason this is not the top pick
- The grip-strength and reduced-flex figures are Edlund's own claims rather than tested results, and no independent test kitchen has published on this tong
- It is the second most expensive tong here without a review record deep enough to justify that on evidence rather than on reputation
RSVP International Endurance 18-Inch BBQ Tongs: Best Long Tongs with a Storage Hook
Nineteen inches overall is the useful middle of the long band. It gets you down into a kettle and across a decent grate without the weight penalty the twenty-two-inch pair carries, which for most charcoal cooks is the better balance. Rosewood handles do the same insulating job here as on the Outset, and standing over an open fire rather than a closed lid is exactly where you notice that a steel handle would be conducting heat back at you.
The detail that earns this its own section is the hook on the end of the handle. Where a long tong lives between turns is a real hygiene question that nobody in this category writes about. If it does not hang, it gets laid down, and it gets laid down on whatever surface is nearest, which on a barbecue is frequently the same board that just held raw chicken. A hook on the tong means it goes back on the rail every time, and that is worth more than most of the features that get printed on the box.
The caveats are the usual ones for a small brand in a specialist length. 72 reviews is a thin record with no long-run history behind it. Hand wash is recommended because of the wood, so it will not go through with the rest of the barbecue washing up. And the buy box is held by a third-party seller rather than Amazon, so returns and replacements run through them. None of that makes it a bad tool, and the hook is a genuinely good idea, but it is a purchase made on design rather than on evidence.
RSVP International Endurance BBQ Locking Tongs, 18 in
by RSVP International
Nineteen inches on a rosewood handle that ends in a hanging hook, which is the practical answer to where a long tong lives between turns, on a thin 72-review record.
Pros
- Nineteen inches overall sits in the useful middle of the long band, giving real reach into a kettle without the weight penalty the 22-inch pair carries
- The rosewood handle ends in a hook, so the tong hangs on a grill rail or a rack instead of being laid down on a surface that just held raw meat
- Rosewood insulates radiant heat better than a bare steel handle, which is what you notice standing over an open fire rather than a closed lid
- It holds 4.7 stars across the record it has, in a length band where ratings frequently sit lower
Cons
- 72 reviews is a thin owner record with no long-run history behind it to weigh against the established grill brands
- Hand wash recommended because of the wood, so it will not go in with the rest of the barbecue washing up
- The buy box is held by a third-party seller, so returns and replacements run through them rather than Amazon
U-Taste 16-Inch 600F Silicone Tongs: Best Silicone Tips
Silicone belongs in this guide for one job, and it is worth being precise about which. A griddle, a flat-top, a plancha or a grill mat has a coated or seasoned surface that a bare steel edge will eventually mark, and those surfaces run at controlled temperatures rather than the uncontrolled ones directly above lit coals. That is where a silicone-tipped tong earns its place outdoors, and if a flat-top is a big part of how you cook, this is the pair to have alongside a steel one.
The specification here is unusually good for silicone. The tips are rated to 600F, which is meaningfully above the 450 to 500F most silicone tong tips carry, and the frame underneath is stated as 18/8 stainless at 0.8mm rather than left as a vague stainless claim. The pull-tab lock uses gaskets rather than a bare metal ring, which matters because a bare ring is the part that works loose first on cheap locking tongs.
Two things need saying straight. The 4.7-star rating sits on more than three thousand reviews, second only to the OXO here, but that count is pooled across the whole colour-variant family rather than earned by this single black listing, so read it as evidence about the U-Taste 16-inch line rather than about this exact SKU. And even 600F is below what a hard sear over direct coals reaches, so the rating is generous for silicone and still not a licence to hold these over open flame. Silicone is also a wear part: it discolours, softens and eventually degrades under repeated heat in a way steel does not. If your grilling is all live fire, buy steel and read our kitchen tongs guide for where silicone actually belongs.
U-Taste Kitchen Tong for Cooking, 600F Heat-Resistant Silicone, 16 in, Black
by U-Taste
The silicone answer for a griddle or a flat-top, rated to 600F, with the honest note that its review count is pooled across the whole colour line.
Pros
- The silicone tips are rated to 600F, which is genuinely high for the material and above the 450 to 500F most silicone tong tips carry
- 18/8 stainless at 0.8mm is stated on the listing rather than left as a vague stainless claim, so the frame under the silicone is specified
- The pull-tab lock uses gaskets rather than a bare metal ring, and a bare ring is the part that rattles loose first on cheap locking tongs
- The U-Taste 16-inch line holds 4.7 stars across more than three thousand reviews, second only to the OXO on this page
Cons
- That review count is pooled across the colour-variant family rather than this single black listing, so the number describes the line and not this SKU on its own
- Even a 600F rating sits below what a hard sear over direct coals reaches, so these belong on a griddle, a flat-top or a grill mat rather than over open flame
- Silicone is a wear part in a way steel is not: it discolours, softens and eventually degrades under repeated high heat
Kona 17-Inch Locking Grill Tongs, Set of 2: Best Set for Raw and Cooked
The two-pack is the point, and it solves a problem I care about more than most grill writers do. My ServSafe training makes this reflexive: the tong that lifts raw chicken onto the grate must not be the tong that takes it off. On a stovetop that is easy, because the sink is two steps away. At a grill it is genuinely awkward, so what happens in practice is that people wipe the tong on a towel and carry on, and that is how a cooked platter gets recontaminated by the tool that cooked it. Two identical tongs in the box, one designated raw and one designated cooked, removes the decision entirely.
The tongs themselves are properly specified rather than being a bundle of one good tong and one filler. Both are seventeen inches, both have a smooth-glide lock, both have comfort-cushioned grips, and the listing states scalloped edges explicitly, which is more than most of this page manages. Seventeen inches sits just above the sweet spot, which is a sensible length for a pair you are going to use interchangeably across gas and charcoal.
Three honest notes. Dishwasher safety is not published anywhere on the listing, so hand washing is the safe assumption for both. The 236-review record is modest, and the seller is Kona’s own storefront rather than Amazon, so returns run through them. And the cushioned grips are a wear part near a hot lid, which with a two-pack means two of them to keep an eye on rather than one.
Kona 17-in Stainless Steel Locking Grill Tongs, Heavy-Duty, Set of 2
by Kona
Two 17-inch scalloped tongs in one box, which is how you keep raw and cooked apart on a grill without washing a single tong halfway through the cook.
Pros
- Two tongs in the box is the whole point: one stays on raw protein and one only ever touches cooked, which is the easiest cross-contamination control there is on a grill
- The listing states scalloped edges explicitly, which most of the products on this page decline to do at all
- Seventeen inches with a smooth-glide lock puts both tongs in the useful length band rather than pairing a real tong with a token short one
- Comfort-cushioned grips on both, so the second tong is a working tool rather than a filler item to justify the word set
Cons
- Dishwasher safety is not published, so hand washing is the safe assumption for both tongs
- 236 reviews is a modest record, and the seller is Kona's own storefront rather than Amazon, so returns run through them
- Cushioned grips are a wear part near a hot lid, and a two-pack means two of them to keep an eye on
DAILY KISN 19.5-Inch Walnut Grill Tongs: Best for Charcoal
Charcoal is a different job from gas and almost no listing in this category acknowledges it. On a gas grill you are working across a grate at a fairly consistent height. On charcoal you are reaching down into a firebox, moving coals, repositioning a chimney’s worth of fuel, and pulling food back from a hot zone that is closer to your hand than any burner ever is. This is the only listing on this page that names that job explicitly, and 19.5 inches is genuinely the length it requires.
The steel is rated above 600F and the figure is printed on the listing rather than left for you to infer, which is a small transparency worth rewarding in a category that mostly markets heat resistance without committing to a number. The handles are real walnut, which is harder and more dimensionally stable than the generic hardwood that turns up on cheap grill tools, and it insulates radiant heat the way any wood does. The locking ring doubles as a bottle opener, which sounds like a gimmick and is one fewer thing to carry out to the grill.
The ambiguity worth flagging is the washing instruction. The listing says the tong washes easily with dishwashing liquid, which is not the same statement as dishwasher safe, and it never makes the machine-safe claim anywhere. Combined with a wood handle, hand wash is the only safe reading. The head type is not published either, so the edge profile is a photograph judgement. And 245 reviews at 4.4 is a modest record with a mid-tier score behind a brand with no long-run history. Buy it for the length and the firebox focus, with those caveats understood.
19.5 in / 50cm Extra Long Wood-Handled Grill Tongs
by DAILY KISN
The charcoal specialist: 19.5 inches of steel rated above 600F on walnut handles, from the only listing here that names a firebox as the job it is for.
Pros
- This is the only listing here that explicitly targets charcoal and reaching into a hot firebox, and 19.5 inches is the length that job genuinely requires
- The steel is rated above 600F, and that figure is printed on the listing rather than left for you to infer
- Real walnut handles insulate radiant heat, and walnut is a harder and more dimensionally stable wood than most of what appears on cheap grill tools
- The locking ring doubles as a bottle opener, which sounds like a gimmick and is one fewer thing to carry out to the grill
Cons
- Dishwasher status is ambiguous: the listing says it washes easily with dishwashing liquid but never claims machine-safe, and a wood handle makes hand wash the safe reading
- The head type is not published, so the gripping edge is something you judge from the photograph rather than from a specification
- 245 reviews at 4.4 is a modest record with a mid-tier score, and DAILY KISN has no long-run history behind it
Traeger BAC790 Stainless Steel BBQ Tongs: Best with a Hanging Loop
The case for this one is about where it lives. It is all stainless with a hanging loop, no wood and no silicone anywhere, which means it hangs on the grill’s tool rail permanently and goes straight into the dishwasher when it comes off. Every wood-handled pick on this page has to be hand washed and dried, which sounds trivial until the third time you have finished a long cook at ten at night. An all-steel tong with a loop is the pair that actually stays in rotation, and at 16.54 inches it sits comfortably inside the sweet-spot length band while adding half an inch over the sixteen-inch standard.
Traeger sells this as a companion tool for its pellet grills and the featured row on the listing is a Buy New offer sold by Amazon, so the default button is not quietly buying a used or open-box unit, which is a check worth making on any grill accessory from a big brand.
The reservation is the head shape, and it is a real one. The title states serrated edges, and serrated is precisely the profile America’s Test Kitchen faulted, finding that it ripped and gouged food rather than gripping it. Scalloped and serrated get used loosely in listing copy, so it is possible the edges are gentler than the word implies, but the word is what the manufacturer chose. Add a thin 188-review record for a brand with this much shelf visibility, and a price above the top pick, and this becomes a buy for the hanging loop and the all-steel convenience rather than for the grip.
Traeger Grills BAC790 Stainless Steel BBQ Tongs
by Traeger
All-steel with a hanging loop and nothing on it that needs hand washing, held back by serrated edges, the one head shape test kitchens actively fault.
Pros
- A hanging loop on an all-steel body means it lives on the grill's tool rail rather than in a kitchen drawer, which is the difference between using a grill tong and hunting for it
- All-stainless with no silicone and no wood anywhere, so it goes in the dishwasher without a caveat, unlike every wood-handled pick here
- At 16.54 inches it sits inside the sweet-spot length band while adding half an inch over the 16-inch standard
- The featured row is a Buy New offer sold by Amazon, so the default button is not buying a used or open-box unit
Cons
- The title states serrated edges, and serrated is the head shape America's Test Kitchen found ripped and gouged food rather than gripping it cleanly
- 188 reviews is a thin record for a brand with this much shelf visibility, so there is little long-run owner evidence behind it
- It sits above the top pick in price without a deeper review record or a better head shape behind it
Best Stainless Steel Grill Tongs
Bare stainless is the correct default for anything happening over live fire. A grill grate has no coating to protect, so the argument that pushes silicone into an indoor kitchen disappears completely outdoors. Steel has no meaningful heat ceiling in a domestic fire, it will not soften or discolour, and a steel edge can be made thin and scalloped where a silicone pad has to be thick and blunt, which is exactly why steel grips a sauced piece of chicken better. Choose on head shape and weight rather than on the word stainless, which almost every listing uses and almost none of them qualifies with an alloy number. Two of these three publish nothing about their edge profile at all, and that absence is worth knowing before you buy rather than after.
| Product | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|
| OXO Good Grips 16-Inch Locking Stainless Steel TongsBest stainless steel grill tongs Scalloped edges that close in line, a listing-confirmed 8 oz, and the deepest review record on this page | $20.95 | View on Amazon |
| Traeger Grills BAC790 Stainless Steel BBQ TongsBest stainless tongs with a hanging loop All steel with a hanging loop so it lives on the rail, though the title states the serrated edges test kitchens fault | $27.99 | View on Amazon |
| Cuisinart Locking Grill Tongs, 16 in Stainless Steel BBQ TongsBest budget stainless tongs The correct length and a working lock at the lowest price here, with the head type left unstated on the listing | $10.84 | View on Amazon |
Best Long Grill Tongs
Length is bought for depth rather than width. A deep charcoal bed, an offset firebox, or a fire pit is what makes a nineteen-inch or twenty-two-inch tong worth owning, and a standard gas grill almost never is. The trade-off is weight, and it is worth being blunt about the numbers. The Outset reaches 21.75 inches and weighs 15.2 oz, which is well past the 12 oz point America’s Test Kitchen names as where a tong begins to tire your hand. That is fine for turning a few pieces and it is a real problem over a long cook. The two nineteen-inch options sit in the more comfortable middle of the band, and both carry wood handles, which insulate radiant heat well and commit you to hand washing without exception.
| Product | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|
| Outset QB22 Locking Stainless Steel Grill Tongs Extra Long 22 in, Rosewood HandlesBest long grill tongs The longest reach here at 21.75 inches, with the honest weight penalty of 15.2 oz over a long cook | $21.99 | View on Amazon |
| 19.5 in / 50cm Extra Long Wood-Handled Grill TongsBest long tongs for charcoal The only listing that explicitly targets a charcoal firebox, on walnut handles with steel rated above 600F | $15.99 | View on Amazon |
| RSVP International Endurance BBQ Locking Tongs, 18 inBest long tongs with a storage hook Nineteen inches with a hook on the handle end, so it hangs on the rail instead of on a raw-meat board | $21.95 | View on Amazon |
Best Heavy-Duty Grill Tongs
Heavy-duty is not about weight, it is about stiffness. What fails when you lift a whole packer brisket or a butterflied chicken off a grate is the shaft flexing before the heads close, so your grip goes into bending the arms rather than holding the food. A reinforced shaft, a thicker gauge, or simply a shorter working length all fix that. Grip strength at the tips is the other half, and it is where a foodservice tong pulls ahead of a consumer one. If you cook large cuts regularly, this is the section to buy from, and the raw and cooked two-pack belongs here as well, since two heavy cuts on a grill is exactly when cross-contamination discipline gets abandoned.
| Product | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|
| EDLUND Strong Tongs, 16-Inch Heavy-Duty Grill Tongs, Made in USABest heavy-duty grill tongs A reinforced shaft and gripper tips from a foodservice maker, on a 36-review record that is the thinnest here | $39.99 | View on Amazon |
| Kona 17-in Stainless Steel Locking Grill Tongs, Heavy-Duty, Set of 2Best heavy-duty pair for raw and cooked Two 17-inch scalloped tongs so one stays raw and one stays cooked, with no washing in between | $19.95 | View on Amazon |
| OXO Good Grips 16-Inch Locking Stainless Steel TongsBest heavy-duty tongs with a long review record Fourteen thousand reviews behind a scalloped 8 oz tong, which is heavy-duty with evidence rather than claims | $20.95 | View on Amazon |
Best Grill Tongs by Use Case
A few more situations that come up often enough to name, each matched to the pick I would actually point you at.
| Product | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|
| Kona 17-in Stainless Steel Locking Grill Tongs, Heavy-Duty, Set of 2Best grill tongs set of 2 Two identical 17-inch scalloped tongs, which is the simplest way to keep raw and cooked apart at a grill | $19.95 | View on Amazon |
| U-Taste Kitchen Tong for Cooking, 600F Heat-Resistant Silicone, 16 in, BlackBest silicone grill tongs Tips rated to 600F for a griddle or a flat-top, with a review count pooled across the colour line | $15.99 | View on Amazon |
| Traeger Grills BAC790 Stainless Steel BBQ TongsBest grill tongs with a hanging loop All steel with a loop so it hangs on the rail and goes in the dishwasher with no caveat | $27.99 | View on Amazon |
| 19.5 in / 50cm Extra Long Wood-Handled Grill TongsBest charcoal grill tongs The only pick that names a firebox as the job, at 19.5 inches on walnut handles | $15.99 | View on Amazon |
| Outset QB22 Locking Stainless Steel Grill Tongs Extra Long 22 in, Rosewood HandlesBest wooden handle bbq tongs Rosewood scales on the longest reach here, hand wash only like every wood handle in this guide | $21.99 | View on Amazon |
| Cuisinart Locking Grill Tongs, 16 in Stainless Steel BBQ TongsBest cheap grill tongs The correct length and a real lock at the lowest price on this page, from a brand with a service path | $10.84 | View on Amazon |
Buyer's Guide
A grill tong is bought on length and used on weight, and almost no listing in this category publishes the second number. Six things decide whether the pair you buy stays in the rotation or ends up in the back of a drawer after one summer.
Length, and what your grill actually needs
Sixteen inches is the sweet spot both test kitchens name, and it is the right default for a kettle or a standard gas grill. Twelve inches is a kitchen tong, and using one over a fire puts your knuckles in the radiant heat. Eighteen to twenty inches earns its place on a kettle with a deep charcoal bed, an offset smoker, or anywhere you are reaching down into a firebox rather than across a grate. Past twenty inches you are buying a fire-pit tool and paying for it in leverage and weight. Worth knowing that the literal searches for smoker-specific and kamado-specific tongs carry no measurable volume at all, which tells you the length decision is really about how deep your firebox is rather than what brand is stamped on the lid.
Weight, the spec nobody prints
Serious Eats and America's Test Kitchen tested separately and converged on the same range: 8 to 9 oz is where a grill tong should land. America's Test Kitchen goes further and names 12 oz as the point past which a tong tires your hand over a long cook, and anything under roughly 6 oz is too light to feel trustworthy when you are lifting a heavy raw cut off a rack. The problem is that almost no listing publishes a weight anywhere. When it does appear it is usually buried in the product details block rather than in the bullets, so it is a spec you have to go looking for. The OXO here confirms 8 oz and the Outset confirms 15.2 oz, and the difference between those two numbers is the difference between a pair you reach for and a pair you resent by the third rack of ribs.
Head shape and why serrated loses
An oval or gently tapered head with shallow scalloped edges is what you want. Scalloping gives multiple contact points along the length of the head rather than a single pinch at the tip, which is what lets the tong lift a sauced thigh cleanly instead of squeezing it out sideways. Square heads and aggressively serrated ones both fail the same test: America's Test Kitchen found serrated edges ripped and gouged food rather than gripping it. Be aware that several listings on this page decline to state a head type at all, saying neither scalloped nor serrated anywhere in the copy, which leaves the product photograph as your only evidence. Zoom in on it and look at whether the two heads meet along their length or only at the point.
Silicone tips against real sear temperatures
This is the safety gap nobody in this category closes properly. Most silicone tong tips are rated somewhere between 450 and 500F, and manufacturers frequently market heat resistance without printing a number at all. The U-Taste line reviewed here is rated to 600F, which is genuinely high for silicone. The problem is that a hard sear over direct coals routinely exceeds every one of those figures, so a rating that reads generously on a listing is still below the temperature at the grate. The practical rule is simple: silicone belongs on a griddle, a flat-top, a plancha or a grill mat, where the surface temperature is controlled and there is a coating worth protecting. Bare steel belongs over open flame, where there is no coating to scratch and no ceiling to worry about.
Handle material and the wood trade-off
Rosewood and walnut handles insulate radiant heat well, they look right on a grill rail, and they are noticeably more comfortable than bare steel over a long cook. The cost is absolute: every wood-handled tong is hand wash only, with no exceptions, because a dishwasher cycle dries the wood out, greys it and eventually splits it at the fixing. Both major test kitchens penalise wood on exactly that basis. There is a durability note worth stating honestly as a reported pattern rather than a tested finding: grill forums consistently describe wood-handle attachment screws working loose over repeated seasons, which is a maintenance job rather than a failure but it is a job. Stainless with a resin or silicone grip is the consensus answer, and it is what the top pick uses.
What fails first
Nobody in this category writes this up, so here it is. Spring memory loss on thin stamped steel is the most common ending: the arms lose their set and the tong stops closing in line, which you feel as food slipping out of a grip that used to hold. The locking tab is the one genuinely moving part and it is the one that snaps, so treat a flimsy ring or a thin sliding tab as the weakest point on any pair. Tips go out of alignment after a tong is dropped on a patio, and misaligned tips never grip properly again. Rivets and handle screws work loose over seasons. Silicone tips tear at the seam where the silicone meets the steel, and once water gets in behind them they hold grease you cannot reach. Two of these you can inspect before you buy: hold the tong closed and check that the heads meet along their length rather than crossing or gapping, and work the lock a dozen times to feel whether it moves cleanly or catches.
How to Choose the Best Grill Tongs
Start with your firebox rather than your grill. If you cook on gas or on a kettle with a shallow bed of coals, sixteen inches is the answer and there is very little reason to go longer. If you are reaching down into a deep charcoal bed, working an offset smoker where the fire is at one end, or cooking over a fire pit, nineteen to twenty inches earns its place, and that decision is about depth and distance from the heat rather than about the brand on the lid. It is worth knowing that the searches for smoker-specific and kamado-specific tongs carry no measurable volume, which is a fairly good sign that experienced cooks already understand the choice is about geometry rather than about grill type.
Then weigh the tong, or find someone who has. Eight to nine ounces is the target both test kitchens landed on, twelve ounces is where America’s Test Kitchen says your hand starts to tire, and under about six ounces the tool feels too flimsy to trust with a heavy raw cut. This is the hardest specification to shop for because almost no listing prints it in the bullets, and when it appears at all it is buried in the product details block. Look for it there before you buy, and treat a listing that does not publish a weight as an unknown rather than as a safe default. Length and weight interact, so a very long tong that is also heavy compounds both problems at once.
Look at the heads next, and treat what the listing says as evidence rather than proof. You want an oval or gently tapered head with shallow scalloped edges that meet along their length. Square heads and pronounced serrations both fail the same way, and serrated edges in particular were found to rip and gouge food rather than grip it. Several listings on this page decline to state a head type at all, which is not a reason to avoid them but is a reason to zoom into the product photograph and check whether the two heads close in line or cross at the tip. If you can hold the tong before buying, work the lock a dozen times and squeeze the heads closed. A lock that catches, or heads that gap when pressed together, will only get worse.
Finally, decide on handle material with your washing-up habits in mind rather than your aesthetics. Wood insulates radiant heat well and it looks right hanging next to a grill, and every wood-handled tong is hand wash only without exception. Stainless with a resin or silicone grip is the consensus for a reason, since it goes in the dishwasher after a greasy cook and it does not need oiling to stay intact. If the grill in question is the same fire you are cooking in a pan over, our guides on seasoning a cast iron skillet and on cast iron woks cover what else is allowed near that heat.
Final Verdict
The OXO Good Grips 16-Inch Locking Tongs are the grill tongs I would put in most people’s hands. Scalloped edges that close in line and genuinely grip, sixteen inches of the length both test kitchens name as right, a listing-confirmed 8 oz that lands exactly in the 8 to 9 oz window they independently converged on, and more than fourteen thousand reviews at 4.8 stars behind a design that has barely changed in twenty years. If you want to spend as little as possible, the Cuisinart 16-inch locking tongs are the value answer: the correct length, a working lock and a real brand at the lowest price here, with the honest caveat that the listing publishes neither a head type nor a dishwasher rating. And the Rosle Premium is the upgrade for someone who specifically wants a reversible turning surface for side dishes, bought knowing that another test kitchen faulted its one-handed mechanism and that it carries the lowest rating on this page.
Beyond that, buy to the fire. The Outset QB22 for a deep charcoal bed, accepting 15.2 oz as the price of the reach. The Kona two-pack if you want the raw and cooked problem solved by having two tongs rather than by remembering. The EDLUND if heavy cuts are your normal and you trust a foodservice manufacturer on a 36-review record. And the U-Taste only for a griddle or a flat-top, never over open coals. If your cooking moves back indoors when the weather turns, our kitchen tongs guide covers the twelve-inch, nonstick-safe and air fryer versions of this same decision, and our colander guide handles the other tool every kitchen owns and nobody chooses.
Frequently Asked Questions
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About the Reviewer
Nora Whitfield, CIA Culinary Arts, ServSafe Certified
A.O.S. Culinary Arts, The Culinary Institute of America
Nora Whitfield trained at the Culinary Institute of America and spent twelve years in professional kitchens, the last four running the test kitchen for a regional restaurant group where her job was to decide which equipment could survive a dinner service and which could not. She has seasoned more carbon-steel woks than she can count, boiled water in every kettle worth owning, and broken enough cheap gear to know exactly where manufacturers cut corners. She reviews kitchen equipment the way she specified it professionally: cook on it, clean it, and see what it looks like after a month.