Le Creuset Silicone Cool Tool Handle Sleeve, Cobalt

No more burned hands
I gave this as a gift. It was perfect. The person's immediate response was "Thank you, no more burned hands." And it works. It is used all the time. I don't hear any more screaming from the kitchen.

Jelly Hands
This glorified pot holder falls very short of the mark. My main complaints have to do with the insecurity of the grip and the fact that two hands are needed to place or withdraw the sleeve from my beloved Lodge pans.

To clarify, these issues stem primarily from the raised bumps inside the sleeve that serve to minimize the surface area of the sleeve that comes in contact with the hot handle. Granted, this, along with the heat retardent properties of the silicone make the sleeve top-notch with regards to protecting one from burns; but it also makes my dense cast iron pan wobbly within my grasp. This is not a situation that I feel particularly comfortable with when lifting a red hot pan from one station to the other.

In addition, these raised bumps also require I get a hold of my pans with my free hand in order to attach or remove the sleeve - so now I need a pot holder to help with my sleeve?!!! This seems to go against the whole idea of having a good pot...

Used properly great addition to cast-iron skillet or pot
I use this with a Le Creuset 11.75 inch skillet. It looks good and is a very tight fit. It is meant to stay a part of the pan or pot you want to use. There would be no way in the middle of cooking to fit this on. If I am using the skillet just on the stove top this is fine as is. It gets warm but not unpleasant and there is no need for a pot holder. It is also comfortable.

Where you need some care is when you put your cast iron into the oven. The handle will get hot at that point. But I find with a single convetional pot holder it is fine to take out and place wherever I want. I called the Le Creuset outlet near my home where I bought the skillet. They said it is safe to keep on to oven temps up to 500 degrees. I bought this and put it on before the first use of the skillet. So I can't say how it compares to not using it. It was highly recommended by the outlet. Seeing how hot cast iron can get, this is a nice addition. The picture on Amazon is accurate. It does taper in...

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