OXOGood Grips 12-Inch Stainless-Steel Locking Tongs

These are very high quality tongs. Work well, tips touch, locking mechanism is secure.

Great Product. The longer tongs work perfectly for grilling or even reaching into the oven. Quality Product

I love these tongs for mixing salads, use in cooking and in serving, shorter length is easier to handle.Most important is that the tongs are stainless steel with no plastic or rubber on the tips, so much safer and easier to clean.

Looks and works very well.

I bought these to replace a set of grilling tongs that I had forever that finally broke. Those tongs had no markings of any kind to help me identify an identical replacement. I found these and got them based largely on the reviews. These tongs are very sturdy, easy to close, and easy to lock/unlock. There are a couple of minor things that I do not care for. These tongs open up a bit wider than I would like, making it difficult to grab them unless I do so very close to the hinge. Also, the width of the hinge results in the two sides of the tongs coming nearly all the way together when closed, making it possible to pinch my fingers if I am not careful. My previous tongs had additional spacing at the hinge end to prevent this. I'll happily use these until I find the perfect tongs.

These are the BEST tongs I have ever owned. I initially purchased the 12-inch size, but I liked it so much I then purchased the 9-inch and 16-inch size to complete the set. These are some of my favorite kitchen tools and so I highly recommend these tongs.I've had a lot of tongs that have warped, melted, broke, did a poor job grasping food, etc. Part of this reason was because I was too cheap to buy nice tongs. It took me a little while to bring myself to buy these more expensive OXO Good Grips Tongs, but I am really glad I did.THE DESIGNThe construction of these is a brushed stainless steel frame with (removable) rubberized silicone inserts to give you more grip. These tongs can lock closed via a mechanism which is a pull-push lever located on the back. The portion of the tongs that makes contact with food is bare stainless steel. As I cook on stainless clad cookware that is safe to use stainless utensils with, this is exactly what I wanted (if you have non-stick cookware, certain coating types can be damaged by these as a heads-up.) If your cookware can safely support stainless utensils, THIS set with stainless steel heads will yield maximum performance & durability.THE BUILD QUALITY & PERFORMANCEBeyond everything else, these tongs are SUPER easy to grasp food with and do a fantastic job at preventing food from slipping. Even if that food is heavy or covered in [slippery] oil, these tongs maintain a stable grip. The finish is simple, consistent, and functionally beneficial. Brushed stainless hides scratch/usage/hard water markings, plus it increases stain/corrosion resistance. The silicone inserts are tough, heat-resistant, can be removed for cleaning or replacement, and firmly lock into place so they do not pop out randomly. The mechanism to lock these closed is oversized & easy to use (even with gloves/mitts on), strong as can be, and accessible (the hanging hole is convenient.) The spring is heavy duty and after years of almost daily usage it still shows no sign of fatigue. The hinge is also heavy-duty and has not developed excessive lateral play. In fact, despite heavy & frequent usage, my tongs still look and function like the day I bought them. OXO clearly spent a lot of time with the research & development because they made a product that is very functional and very durable.CLEANINGThese are low maintenance and do not need special cleaning care at all. I usually clean these in the dishwasher without removing the silicone inserts and they come out perfect every time. If there is a lot of caked-up food on them, I sometimes clean them with a metal polish called Bar Keeper's Friend (amazing stuff.) These tongs have held up like a champ to countless cleaning cycles & the use of cleaning chemicals/polishes.SIZES---WHICH SIZE???I initially purchased the 12-inch size and it is the size I use the most. With that said, I LOVE the 16-inch for when I am doing something in which more distance is desirable, such as if I am turning bacon as 16 inches puts a nice distance between my hand & the scalding-hot popping grease. And while the 9-inch is the size I use the least, it is still great to have when I am making something in a smaller pot as that reduced form factor makes it a little more nimble. So while I think all three sizes are very useful, if you are only going to purchase one size, I recommend the 12-inch.SO THIS IS AN INVESTMENT OF A QUALITY KITCHEN TOOL THAT WILL LASTSo if you are thinking, "hey, these cost more than many other tongs I have seen," I understand where you are coming from as I've been there myself. However, I highly recommend spending the few extra bucks on these OXO Good Grips as that small price premium gets you a product of exceptional quality: not only will these tongs last a very long time to offset the higher purchase price, but their good functional design makes using them more convenient (and therefore more enjoyable.) Convenience and enjoyment can encourage cooking more often, and when cooking more often one can save money over eating out, and arguably eat much healthier. So like other premium kitchen tools, I see these quality tongs as an investment.(PICTURE NOTE: The attached pictures show the 12-inch and 16-inch sizes, with various angles showing the different features & the sturdy build quality of these tongs.)

Excellent, great grip on items. Small and just what I need for my small servings and cooking.

tldr: these are all steel and worth a few $ more than versions with plastic parts. They will last 20+ yearsI got one of these oxo goodgrips tongs as a wedding shower gift 17 years ago. It was great (some of the rubber around the top ring had cracked off, but functionally it was still perfect). It inexplicably disappeared after the family turkey dinner this year. Everyone swears they checked their drawers and didn’t take it home by mistake. I couldn’t believe how frustrated I was trying to cook without my “good” tongs! While I was waiting for them to turn up at an in-laws house, I bought a clearance one with the plastic heads…and they would just bend when trying to turn anything bigger than a sausage! When I searched for where to find a new Oxo one, I saw Walmart was a few $ cheaper than Amazon. I was going to Walmart that day anyway, so I checked them out. They are Oxo brand, but called Softworx, not Good Grips. They looked the same, but felt light in my hand. But after 17 years I don’t really expect the same quality, so I almost bought them until…I noticed the top ring locking slide mechanism was made entirely of plastic. That’s a dealbreaker for me, I know I will break that. So I ordered these from Amazon instead.They are EXACTLY as good as my 17-year old ones. The top ring locking piece on the top is stainless (btw, I saw some people complain that feature is annoying because it means you always have to use 2 hands to open them. No. Just hold it in your dominant hand with the tong heads up it the air and tap it on the counter, or on your hip. It won’t break, because it’s STEEL, not plastic. Of course you do need both hands to close them.) The steel is as thick as the old ones and definitely heavier than the Walmart version. I was pleasantly surprised that a company still has a product out there is the same quality as years ago!! I love these tongs. Pay the extra $2 for the Good Grips version. I’m sure my original pair would’ve kept on trucking to 20, 30 years if they hadn’t disappeared, but this pair doesn’t go to anyone else’s house anymore. That’s what those crappy clearance plastic ones are for now 🤣