- 100% premium quality silicone
- Microwave, oven, and freezer safe
- Meets all global regulatory requirements for consumer safety
Product Description
Introducing the newest addition to Le Creuset’s Cool Tool family of products! The silicone Cool Tool handle sleeve offers a comfortable grip when handling hot cookware on the stovetop. It’s designed to offer a secure fit on Le Creuset enameled cast iron cookware and fits all standard metal cookware handles. The flexible, heat resistant silicone is also dishwasher safe making clean-up a breeze!… More >>
Le Creuset Silicone Cool Tool Handle Sleeve, Black Onyx
I bought this because I have had some bad luck with some Calphalon pans that are oven safe. A couple months ago we were baking some sort of casserole, and I reached in the oven for the handle without a potholder. It hurt pretty bad. After that, I removed the pot with a holder, placed it on the stovetop, did some stuff, and AGAIN I reached to grab it with my bare hand! It hurt a lot more this time. Lesson learned.
So, when I was researching this product, the description said “heat resistant to 500*F.” Based on that, I expected to be able to put the holder on the handle for the duration of cooking. When I received the product, the label stated that the product should not be used in ovens, thus defeating my purpose for owning it.
The product is a lot smaller than I expected (about 6-8 inches long). On my longest handle, however, it covers all except the very base of the handle. It does have a very good grip of the handle, which is brushed metal. On top of everything, it does look nice. A lot nicer than a cloth product might look.
I give the product 3 stars, because of the lack of oven tolerence. I don’t see a purpose for this unless you’re using cast iron pots. My handles don’t get hot when they’re on the stove, and I would bet a majority of people don’t have a problem with this either. I certainly can’t imagine my handle heating up to 500*F if it’s not directly in contact with an open flame, so why label the product that way? Maybe I’m wrong, who knows.
Also, if you’re planning on baking without the holder, and then slipping the holder on just before you take it out of the oven, think again. At least on my handles (which are pretty slim – Calphalon Contemporary collection) it takes a slight amount of effort to put the holder on. It’s silicone and has a good grip, which makes it hard to put on with one hand without any resistance on the pot.
Either way, I gave three stars because I do believe this is a very good product for some applications, but for mine it seems pretty worthless and I feel like the amazon description wasn’t accurate enough for me to make an informed decision on it.
An absolute necessity for cast iron cooking. Works great with the Le Creuset, of course, but is also fantastic with Lodge pans (I have 8, 10 & 12″). I’ve found that it is actually a little tighter on my Le Creuset handles than Lodge. To me, the most practical aspect of a silicone handle sleeve is the fact that I can leave it on without worry while scrubbing the warm pan. I have a Lodge cloth holder, but with that I have to be much more careful to avoid getting it wet. Not that water hurts the cloth holder, but water does 2 things to the cloth – it takes a while to dry, but most importantly it loses all of its insulating capacity. Neither is an issue at all with silicone, and unlike cloth, cleaning this little item is as simple as tossing it into the dishwater (or dishwasher), much easier than having to wash a cloth holder in the laundry. So to me, the silicone has major advantages over the cloth holder; I have two of these. I will note, however, that while on the stove the handle, as another reviewer said, does get pretty warm. It absolutely protects you from accidental burns, and I can certainly move the pan, but I find it a bit uncomfortable (hot) to actually fully pick up a food-filled pan and move it without using an additional pot holder. Someone else said something about leaving it on the pan in the oven. It makes absolutely NO sense to leave it on! If you put any object, silicone or not, into a 400 degree oven, it’s going to warm up to 400 degrees!!! Put the pan in the oven, take off the handle sleeve, then when you go back to take it out, slip the (cool) handle sleeve back on. Now it will work as intended – as an INSULATOR! Four stars because of the need for an extra holder after the pan’s been on the stove a while, and it’s just a bit tight. Otherwise, perfect. Happy cooking!
Wonderful for stainless pan handles! Can cook on gas stove and grab the handle-not hot-good grip!
It’s a great product but could fit a bit more snugly around my cast iron pan. Very useful though!
This is a must have for on-the-stove Le Creuset cast iron pans. It fits perfectly and works most of the time. However, it can get too hot to handle at times. Still, it’s much better than accidentally grabbing a bare handle and burning yourself. I had to knock 1 star off because where mine meets the edge of the cooking area, it turned white and started tearing.
Maybe the heat that escapes the sides of the pan is doing this. I have a gas viking range with tons of BTU output. But it still seems like it should have held up better.
That said, the fit and function is such that I will be buying replacements as needed.