Isi 11-Inch Silicone Oven Mitt, Blue
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Isi 11-Inch Silicone Oven Mitt, Blue
Customer Review: Limited usefulness but can be a real help in some situations.
Summary: 4 Stars
Two years ago, I bought this and found, as many reviewers have noted, that the fit tends to be oversized for women and that the mitt is somewhat clumsy to use. Still, no tool works in every circumstance. I put it aside. Eventually it ended up in the nether regions of the kitchen--until I sustained two small but very painful third degree burns on my left hand while taking a pizza out of a very hot oven.
It took those burns over a month to heal, because in a third degree burn, all the skin layers are destroyed. In a small burn, new skin has to regrow from the sides until it covers the middle. For large burns, new skin may need to be grafted.
Once my hand had healed, I seriously rethought my pizza removal strategy. It was then that I discovered the perfect use for this mitt--providing coverage for the "back" hand (and forearm) when removing a tricky item--pizza qualifies--from a 425 to 450 degree oven.
For those who grill and/or have a rotisserie: This can be useful when removing meat from the rotisserie, and occasionally even when turning things on the grill.
So the Orca mitt now has a dedicated place in my kitchen--a place it merits. I always use it when I need to protect my hand and forearm when reaching nearer the back of the oven to keep the pizza from sliding off the pizza stone. That has happened to me more than once when removing a pizza (using a pizza peel) from the stone, even with the rack pulled out.
BTW, this mitt pairs nicely with other potholders, both silicone and cloth, if you find that excess heat is a problem. Ditto for grease. I take on old clean kitchen towel or a piece of foil, and use that to minimize contact of the mitt with the meat. Sure makes cleaning the mitt easier.
For these limited uses, I would give this product five stars if the fit were better and/or if two sizes were available. As for cracks, mine has been around two years and none have developed.
Customer Review: A pleasant addition to the kitchen of any aspiring overlord
Summary: 4 Stars
The kitchen of an evil overlord bent on planetary domination is a busy place. Believe me, I know! But the ORKA Silicone Oven Mitt is definetely one of the most welcome additions to my kitchen that I have purchased over the past 20 years of toil and dementia.In my kitchen/laboratory, it's always "safety first" -- when developing an insanely evil plan to enslave the majority of humanity within Plutonium manufacturing plants, who has the time to take care of unnecessary burns from hot plates? After the ORKA glove, however, I might as well toss my first-aid kit of iodine and Muppet Babies band-aids right out the evil window! No more unsightly scars and red marks will ever find their way onto these gnarled, twisted hands that so carefully craft the doom of mankind.
Before, when brewing a hideous potion of deadly poison that was supposed to be entered into a small town's drinking water supply, I had to use hand towels to prevent the dangerous heat from searing my tortured flesh. The result was almost always a huge mess! Now, there's no more accidents or smoldering holes in the floral-pattern linoluem of my evil kitchen/laboratory -- mom doesn't have to worry about her decorative hand towels, either!
The blue hue of the ORKA glove complements the gloomy interior of my lab, whose walls drip with the vile designs of my impending apocalypse when my mom's not busy cooking dinner. As such, the good people at ORKA will be spared their lives upon the decimation of the free world, though they will be required to serve the remainder of their lifetimes within the Uranium mines of Siberia. Overall, I must heartily recommend the ORKA glove for any mad scientist, evil overlord or even upstart henchman looking for their first job in the career field of hopeless nihilism.
Customer Review: Some good points, some bad points
Summary: 3 Stars
A passionate home cook that has been honing her cooking skills for the last 25 years writes this review. My favorite cookbooks are "The Professional Chef" by the Culinary Institute and "Culinary Artistry. Cooking is my form of therapy. I purchased these mitts a few years ago because I love my silicone cookware and potholders. I had great expectations for these potholders. This product did not live up to my expectations.
Pros:
1. These gloves will protect your hands and forearms from splattering grease when deep fat frying
2. This product does not absorb fat as cloth does
3. This product will not absorb water and then radiate heat as cloth does
4. The gloves can be washed in the dishwasher or in the kitchen sink with dish soap
5. The mitts will not burn if left near a burner like cloth
6. They did work well when I was flipping over a partially cooked 22 pound turkey last Thanksgiving so that it could finish breast side up
Cons:
1. These gloves are far too big for the average female, my hands swim inside the gloves
2. If you are working in a hot kitchen you hands will get sweaty inside the gloves which can cause your hand to slip out of the glove unexpectedly
3. The bulkiness of the glove keeps you from being able to grip tongs or utensil handles firmly
Overall, the concept is good, but the execution leaves a little to be desired. I have resumed using my silicone potholders that have most of the benefits of the mitts without some of the drawbacks. I would only recommend this product to men; they are far too big to be useful for most women.
Customer Review: My favorite oven mitt.
Summary: 5 Stars
Bravo to the designer of this oven mitt. Despite the one-size-fits-all sizing, this fits pretty comfortably and accommodates a wide range of hand sizes. Both my husband and I use this and it's the first mitt I grab. The grippy ribbed surface helps you grip just about anything and is as heat-resistant as it claims (can't say that for most of the oven mitts I own). The few times I spilled something on it, it washed off well and I even tried it in the dishwasher once to test out the validity of the claim on the tag (cleaned it without melting). Being left-handed and living in a right-handed world, changing hands to grip a particular pot or tool isn't a problem since this works on both hands. However, unlike most oven mitts that fit either hand, this one has an opposable thumb which is much more ergonomic and allows you to get a better grip, especially on heavy pots. I bought a smaller "ladies" version for my mother-in-law for Christmas. It is cut narrower in the width of the hand, which may work better for the people who find the standard model too clumsy. I have a medium-sized hand and the standard one works great for me. You can usually find these pretty inexpensively at Bed, Bath, & Beyond too.Customer Review: Clumsy grip, and very hot and sweaty to use in practice..,
Summary: 2 Stars
I bought a pair of these for their 500 degree capability...and that's about all I got out if them.
I have size 7-8 glove hands, and these are at least a good fit.
In actual use on BBQ, grill and oven work, they:
1. quickly make one's hands hot and drip with sweat because they are waterproof
2. are way too stiff, and hard to grip things with, because of the rigid, thick silicone, and rigid containment of the thumb
3. because they are completely waterproof, they would be good for working in and around hot liquids, that would penetrate cloth or leather gloves
I've gone back to lined leather and lined thick cloth gloves, and welcome their dexterity, and not having sweaty, hot hands encased in these "heaters".
This was a great idea in 2001. Not now. If you insist on having a silicone material, there are smaller silicone "grabbers" or "glovelets" perhaps 4 inches in length to fit just the fingers and thumb in, that are far easier to use for hot utensils and pots in the oven. Perhaps in a few years, silicone will be not as stiff to work with, and then we can try a pair.