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Best BBQ tongs UK: length, head, and a second pair

Updated: 22 October 2026

You are replacing a short supermarket pair before a garden cook, and every packet says barbecue. The useful checks are the length that keeps your hand off the grate, the head that can sit near the heat, and whether one pair is enough once raw chicken and cooked sausages share a plate. This page is that order. The [barbecue tongs comparison](/hub/grill-accessories/barbecue-tongs) holds the eight amazon.co.uk listings, from £7.99 to £11.99. Peter F. used those listings on 21 October 2026. We did not lab-test these tongs. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are replacing a short supermarket pair before a garden cook, and every packet says barbecue.

Our top picks

Hotec Hotec (two 12 in)

Best overall

Hotec Hotec (two 12 in)
6.8/10about £10.99
View offer
Weber Weber 6317 (40 cm)

Rank 2

Weber Weber 6317 (40 cm)
7.6/10about £11.26
View offer
DAILY KISN DAILY KISN (17 in)

Best value

DAILY KISN DAILY KISN (17 in)
7.4/10about £7.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Start with length
  2. 2.Head and handle
  3. 3.Lock, spring, and two pairs
  4. 4.What this comparison can and cannot show

Start with length

A tong that is fine on the hob still leaves your knuckles over a kettle. The grill-length class is about 40–43 cm: Weber 6317 at 40.6 cm, and the DAILY KISN one-piece at 43.2 by 3.7 cm. Hotec is 30.5 cm, and that length is still a kitchen tong. ZHIYE is 28 cm. Extodry is 9 inch and 12 inch at £9.97. How that reach works over a kettle is on charcoal BBQ tongs length. A 17 inch title is not automatically 43 cm of usable steel. One HE-SANQI colourway is titled 17 inch all metal while a bullet also lists 7, 9, and 12 inch, at 99.8 g. Another copies 43.2 cm into the width. Weber's Precision tongs, at 45.5 cm and £26.99, are not a row in this table.

Head and handle

Stainless steel is the head for an open grate. Soft silicone or nylon is for a non-stick pan, and it should not rest in the fire. Zwilling states about 220°C for Staub silicone tongs and about 230°C for some other silicone models. The ZHIYE listing says silicone and about 230°C, four colours at £11.01, and UK reviews say the tips are hard plastic. Read that clash on stainless vs silicone BBQ tongs. Bare steel conducts heat if the tong lies on the grate. Weber 6317 uses a silicone handle. DAILY KISN and the 17 inch HE-SANQI use anti-slip strips. Extodry uses oak. A 430 stainless line is the seller's wording, not the same claim as 18/10. DAILY KISN's above 315°C and Extodry's 900°C are seller text, not a measured grate temperature.
Hotec Hotec (two 12 in)

Testsieger

Hotec Hotec (two 12 in)
6.8/10about £10.99
View offer

Lock, spring, and two pairs

The pull-ring holds the arms shut in a drawer. It does not grip the sausage. Extodry's lock jams for at least one buyer. ZHIYE's clips jam in some reviews. Open and close the lock once before the coals are ready. A second pair on this shelf is often Hotec's two 12 inch tongs at £10.99 or Extodry's two lengths at £9.97. Neither is the 40 cm class. Turning and washing sit on how to use BBQ tongs.

What this comparison can and cannot show

The table can show a shelf price, a star line, a stated length, and the complaints that repeat. It cannot show a lab winner. Weber 6317 at £11.26, with 4.7 from 2,043 reviews, is the top pick because the score rewards a usable 40 cm line and a named model. The DAILY KISN 17 inch pair at £7.99, with 4.6 from 7,556 reviews, is the best value long pair. A second DAILY KISN title at £11.99 says 2PCS, the details say one item, and the review names match the £7.99 file. Use a width that looks like a tong, such as Weber's 4.4 cm or DAILY KISN's 3.7 cm.

Common questions

How long should barbecue tongs be?
For a charcoal kettle or a gas grill, look for about 40–43 cm. That sits inside Joseph Joseph's 30–40 cm practical range and matches Weber's published length for model 6317. About 28–33 cm is the hob, the air fryer, salad, and serving. A 12 inch tong can turn food on a small grill if you already have a longer pair.
Are 12 inch tongs enough for charcoal?
Hotec at 30.5 cm and Extodry's longer pair are the 12 inch examples here. UK reviews do use the Extodry 12 inch pair at the barbecue. Your hand is still closer to the coals than it is with a 40 cm or 17 inch pair. If the cooker is a kettle, treat 12 inch as the kitchen pair.
What does the pull-ring do?
It locks the arms together so the tong stores flat and can hang. Weber, DAILY KISN, HE-SANQI, and Hotec describe that kind of ring. It does not clamp the food. Reviews in this set include rings and clips that jam, so try the lock before you cook.
Do I need two pairs?
Yes if raw meat, fish, or poultry and the cooked plate would otherwise share one tong. The Food Standards Agency asks for separate utensils, and Food Standards Scotland says to wash tongs in hot soapy water after those raw foods. A second short pair is enough for the plate if the long pair stays on the raw side until you wash it.
Should wood-handled tongs go in the dishwasher if the field says yes?
Extodry's field says yes, and UK reviews say the oak may suffer. Several owners hand-wash. One review after five years says the hanging-loop rubber perished. If you want the wood, wash it by hand. If you want a dishwasher pair and will not make an exception, choose a listing whose reviews describe dishwasher use, such as the Weber file, rather than arguing with the wood.
What should I ignore in this set's listings?
Ignore a seller temperature as if it were measured, ignore a review count copied onto a second ASIN, and ignore a width that equals the length. The £11.99 DAILY KISN title and the two HE-SANQI files are the examples. Rank 1 in Barbecue Tongs is Amazon's browse node on the day of the capture, not a test result.

Related pages

Best barbecue tongs

Barbecue tongs

Charcoal BBQ tongs length: about 40 cm on a kettle

How to use BBQ tongs: turn once, then wash the raw pair

Stainless vs silicone BBQ tongs: steel grate or pan

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, used with the amazon.co.uk listing figures in the display file. Page date 21 October 2026.

  1. FSA: BBQ food safety (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. FSA: common BBQ blunders (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. NHS: burns and scalds (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. GOV.UK: fire safety outdoors (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. Weber UK: tongs 6317 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. Joseph Joseph UK: essential BBQ tools (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. Food Standards Scotland: cleaning (retrieved 21 October 2026)