Grill Armor Gloves Review

A couple of months ago, Grill Armor Gloves reached out to us here at Angry BBQ to check out their selection of grill gloves. We know that grill gloves are one of the most important tools grillmasters and pitmasters have at their disposal. The last thing any of us wants is to burn our hands while working around our grills and smokers. Burns are preventable injuries, so a good pair of gloves is a must-have so we don’t lose cooking time or even food.

So how do Grill Armor Gloves do in terms of protecting our hands? Do they make our list of favorite grilling accessories? We’ll take a look at what these gloves are made out of, the experience of using these gloves, and our final verdict. Let’s turn up the heat and get started!

Grill Armor Gloves Company Overview

Grill Armor Gloves came to market back in 2016, and the company has since developed four main styles of gloves. There are the eponymous Grill Armor Gloves, Oven Mitts, Waterproof Oven Gloves, and even Welding gloves. The company is focused on making the cooking experience safer and therefore more enjoyable whether you’re someone who uses the oven, grill, or smoker. 

The Grill Armor Gloves Overview

The company’s namesake, the Grill Armor Gloves, comes in three different styles. There’s the standard “One Size Fits Most” that comes in four different colors: grey, red, yellow, and green (the silicone will even glow in the dark on the green gloves.)

Standard One Size Fits Most

Grill Armor also makes welding gloves, oven mitts, and waterproof oven mitts. Today we are just reviewing their grill gloves.

Regardless of the style of the Grill Armor Gloves, the basics of materials and construction remain the same. Each glove is made with an outer layer of M-Aramid and P-Aramid fibers with silicone grips overlaid and an inner layer of cotton for comfort.

What Are M-Aramid And P-Aramid Fibers?

If you haven’t heard of M-Aramid or P-Aramid fibers before, you’re not alone. You may know them by some of the brand name versions, though. M-Aramids, or Meta-Aramids, are fibers that are designed to hold up to temperatures among other things. Nomex© is an example of this style of fabric.

P-Aramids, or Para-Aramids, are used for strength while still being able to move easily under pressure. The most iconic P-Aramid fiber is Kevlar©. 

The combination of M-Aramids and P-Aramids is what makes Grill Armor Gloves heat-resistant while you are still able to easily grab what you need unlike a heavy-duty potholder or some other variations on grill gloves.

EN407 International Heat Standards

If you genuinely want to know how good a pair of grill gloves are in terms of heat resistance, you’ll want to know how they hold up to the EN407 standard. This is a battery of tests that judges how well a pair of gloves protect against general heat and even flame. It involves exposure to flame, contact heat, convection heat, radiant heat, and even exposure to molten metal, both small and large amounts.

The Grill Armor Gloves are rated to withstand temperatures up to 932°F through EN407 testing. Through most cooking methods, you won’t run into any real risk of burning your hands if you’re moving quickly and efficiently even at higher temperatures.

Grill Armor Gloves combine the qualities of the different types of Aramid fibers with a silicone overlay to ensure that you aren’t going to drop whatever you pick up. While strength and heat resistance are paramount to safety, we also want our food to stay safe. It’s easy to grab baking dishes out of the oven as well as cast iron skillets off the grill without worrying about dropping your food. 

The interior cotton lining also keeps your hands comfortable during use rather than dealing with potentially scratchy fibers. Then when it’s time to clean your gloves, you can just throw them in the washing machine. You won’t sacrifice any of the functionality when machine washing.

However, these gloves are not designed to be used when wet. It does not ruin them, obviously, but the heat resistance is heavily impaired when the gloves get wet. There’s even a warning on the gloves to immediately remove them and let them completely dry before using them again. If you’re working in an environment where your hands get wet a lot, you’ll want to consider the waterproof oven mitts that the company has rather than these gloves.

Ownership Experience

The first time I used my Grill Armor Gloves was on a massive overnight smoking session for a church fundraiser. Four of us smoked 70 pork butts in one night on three smokers. I was helping feed fireboxes all night long, opening heavy doors for spritzing, and even sliding racks in and out. 

At no point did the gloves make my hands feel uncomfortable throughout the duration. I was able to reach into fireboxes regularly to add wood logs and even adjust wood already burning. Sure, my hands got warm, but I would absolutely have burned my hands on multiple occasions without these gloves. 

I’ve used other grill gloves in the past and run into issues with my hands easily overheating. These gloves have stood up to everything I’ve thrown at them. I’ve handled cast iron skillets whether on the stove, in the oven, or even on the grill without issue. I also haven’t had any issues with skillets or baking dishes slipping while wearing the gloves either.

The only issue I’ve encountered is that I’ve snagged the fabric a couple of times and it has pulled a bit. It hasn’t affected the usability or the structural integrity so far. The gloves might not be as pretty as when I first opened the package, but they work just as well as the first time I used them.

Would I Recommend The Grill Armor Gloves?

Absolutely. There are cheaper options on the market, but I’ve used some of them and they are nowhere near as good as these gloves. If you’re a serious home cook, grillmaster, or pitmaster, you don’t want to sacrifice quality to save a few bucks. These gloves have held up to every single use I’ve put them through so far and haven’t failed me yet.

While the lack of waterproofing might be a slight drawback, it hasn’t affected my use at all. I’ve used them both inside and outside for regular cooking as well as grilling and smoking purposes. Heck, as I said before, I’ve used them to move burning wood. If you’ve got a wood-fueled fireplace, these gloves would even help you out there.

What I Like…

• Heat resistance up to 932°F for working around fireboxes on offset smokers and in charcoal grills
• Do not impair finger dexterity so I can still handle everything I need to, including instant-read thermometers
• The silicone overlay helps me grip whatever I need to 

What Makes Me Angry…

• It doesn’t make me angry, but just be aware that you cannot get these gloves wet and still handle hot objects
• My gloves have frayed a tiny bit but the usability has not suffered at all

Final Thoughts

The Grill Armor Gloves have supplanted every other grill glove I’ve got in my collection and not because I needed to review them. They’re extremely comfortable, they hold up to every heat situation I’ve put them through, and I don’t have to worry about losing my grip or burning my hands. Grill Armor Gloves believes that safe cooking is fun cooking, and I agree. I want to be assured that when I put my gloves on, I don’t have to worry about burning myself. I just want to focus on my cooking, and Grill Armor Gloves delivers on that.