StarPack Premium Silicone Kitchen Tongs (9-Inch & 12-Inch) - Stainless Steel with Non-Stick Silicone Tips, High Heat Resistant to 600°F, for Cooking, Serving, Grill, BBQ & Salad (Cherry Red)

I hated our old black fiberglass-reinforced nylon tongs, which had no locking mechanism and didn't grip foods securely, and rarely used them, reaching instead for my stainless steel locking tongs with scallop-edge pincers and trying to avoid letting the metal tongs inadvertently touch, and potentially scratch, my nonstick-coated pans. So, when we decided to buy two sets of Copper Chef Black Diamond nonstick pans (which are awesome) to replace our old nonstick cookware, I decided to look for some silicone-tipped tongs to protect our new investment.I own several OXO Good Grips kitchen gadgets and utensils and like them, so my first inclination was to buy their silicone-coated scalloped locking tongs. But when the pretty teal color of the silicone on these StarPack Premium tongs caught my eye and I saw that they had thousands of 5-star reviews, I decided to take a closer look. The price of these was significantly lower than the ones I had intended to get, and I liked the idea of having two pairs of tongs, so one would be available even when the other was in the dishwasher. I appreciated the thoroughness of the description and other information on the Amazon product page, and I prefer buying from family-owned companies, as well as businesses that have enough confidence in their products' performance to offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee.My husband and I really enjoy using these kitchen tongs, and often choose them even when we're cooking in pans without a nonstick coating. Plain scalloped stainless steel locking tongs grip more securely than those coated with silicone, since the sharp metal scallops "bite" into the food a bit. But the lack of sharp edges also makes the silicone-coated tongs safer to use, as well as much quicker and easier to clean. And when I'm pan-frying just a few breakfast sausages in a small skillet, for example, I prefer the shorter pair of tongs, although both pairs are very comfortable to use and thoughtfully designed.The locking mechanism is extremely smooth and easy to operate (although it does require two hands). To open the locked tongs, push in the silicone-coated ring. To lock them again, pull the ring out. (Don't pull hard!) Being able to unlock and lock these tongs with very little force is a significant benefit for people (like me) who don't have much grip strength.We've been extremely pleased with the quality of both the materials and the manufacturing. Highly recommended!

Very good tongs. I use these for everything from tossing a salad to cooking. The silicone started to bubble and the silicone grips started to split and congeal/melt about 6 months ago. I would not recommend use over 300 degrees F as that's when I noticed tong grips softening/melting (when I mixed or turned items in the oven). I will try out the highly rate OXO tongs for replacements which are comparable in price.

I needed some heavy duty utensils for the camper. I have duplicate metal/plastic for the different types of pots we use (cast iron vs non-stick). Am trying to minimize the number of items, so went with the heavy duty heat resistant versions. Holy cow are these things heavy duty. I have been using low-heat silicon ones and they are flimsy and the silicon is already getting messed up. I’ll follow up if they don’t hold up to the heat, but based on what I have and what these feel like, I’m impressed.

I personally prefer a locking mechanism that sticks out with a tab so that I can lock them by catching the tab on my pants or apron. That said, these ticked the boxes I was looking for - silicone-coated metal tips, a good price, and a quoted 600 degree F heat resistance.As I purchased the item I contacted customer support and inquired about the company's warranty policy, stating that I bought them based on the claim that the metal tips are coated with silicone rather than plastic or purely silicone or plastic heads, and that I was concerned about my ability to right any wrongs. The response I got made me very satisfied with my purchase:"Our warranty policy is pretty simple - we aim to make things right no matter what. So if a product is defective, we'll replace it, with no time limit after purchase."That's what I expect from a company who makes good products. I will happily buy from this company again if I find a need to.

I bought these to lift waffles out of my waffle maker, which makes 4 waffles at a time. I don't buy waffles at the super market anymore. These work great to remove the waffles, so far no melting of the tongs. These are very easy to clean , I put them in the top rack of the dishwasher.