I have not put these tongs to use YET....however just thought I would give a quick initial thought to these new tongs upon arrival.
The length of these tongs are close to 18 inches from tip to tip. I thought it was 18" from the butt of the tongs to the top, but they measure the locking mechanism as part of the length. Oh well...
The tongs seem to lock nicely and the springs keep the tongs open with good tension when it is unlocked.
They feel pretty good and solid in my hands with nice thumb grooves in the bamboo for gripping the tongs. The pin seems to keep the tongs well aligned...unlike the cheapo kinds where you can barely grab the meat your cooking fearing it will slip out from the tongs grip.
Its stainless steel so no worries about rust.
I have given these tong a 4 star. The 5th star will be added once I put these tongs to the test.
I have a Big BBQ this weekend, so these tongs will be put thru the ringer. We will see how they hold up.
I will come back and give an update with the good, the bad and/or the ugly!
Edit: 07-19-15
So far so good. I'm bumping my 4 star to 5 stars. This has worked quite well. No rust after washing. It still locks fine. Springs continue to work well too.
All good!!
Cheers!!!