Ad-free. Influence-free. Powered by consumers.
The payment for your account couldn't be processed or you've canceled your account with us. Chloroprene Rubber
We don’t recognize that sign in. Your username maybe be your email address. Passwords are 6-20 characters with at least one number and letter.
We still don’t recognize that sign in. Retrieve your username. Reset your password.
Forgot your username or password?
Don’t have an account?
Save products you love, products you own and much more!
Which Car Brands Make the Best Vehicles?
The Cost of Car Ownership Over Time
Listen to the Talking Cars Podcast
Best DIY Home Security Systems
What to Do With a Broken Appliance
Cheapest Printers for Ink Costs
Find the Right Phone for You
Which oven mitt—cotton, silicone, neoprene, or leather—deserves a coveted spot in your kitchen?
When you shop through retailer links on our site, we may earn affiliate commissions. 100% of the fees we collect are used to support our nonprofit mission. Learn more.
Oven mitts are indispensable cooking utensils that protect your hands and arms from painful burns, but chances are you spend less time thinking about them than you do a great set of chef’s knives or even your cutting boards. And while you may have preferences when it comes to choosing silicone, wood, or plastic cutting boards, how often have you weighed the pros and cons of various oven mitt materials before grabbing the first one you can find?
When you just need something to get those french fries out of the oven without burning your skin, anything that resists heat seems like it will do. But if you’re ready to graduate to a pair of oven mitts that’s versatile enough to resist high temperatures for long periods of time, provide superior grip, and feel comfortable in your hands, there are key differences among four oven mitt materials—cotton, silicone, neoprene, and leather—that may sway you to choose one over another.
To set up the ultimate face-off among cotton, silicone, neoprene, and leather oven mitts, we enlisted the help and expertise of CR’s own lab tester José Amézquita, who tested each mitt in CR’s lab for heat resistance; CR’s classically trained chef Paul Hope; Joshua Resnick, lead chef and operations manager chef-instructor of Culinary Arts at the Institute of Culinary Education; and Lisa McManus, executive editor of America’s Test Kitchen Reviews.
Because your experiences with oven mitts will take place in your kitchen and not a CR lab, I also tried out their grip and comfort on my small hands and recruited the help of my friend Pasquale Giaquinto, a seasoned home cook who has been faithful to his mom’s cotton mitt for decades, so that he could weigh in on how each performs on larger hands.
Without further ado, oven mitts: the great, the good, the just okay, and the “why does this one even exist?”
Become a member to read the full article and get access to digital ratings.
We investigate, research, and test so you can choose with confidence.
3mm Skin Mat Neoprene Fabric We respect your privacy. All email addresses you provide will be used just for sending this story.