This video review is about the Laken Polyamide Universal Handle. A handle that is lightweight, comfortable to the hands and has a friendly price tag. Enjoy the video!
- Pack size: 140x40x28 mm
- Weight: 43.1 grams
- Price: € 3,70*
*I could not find any prices in $ or £.
When I am outdoors I sometimes cook a meal on a campfire but most of the time I use a cook set. A cook set where the energy comes from a gas cartridge or a bottle filled with Coleman fuel. With the cook sets that I use – a Primus Etapower and the one from Trangia – a pot and pan handle comes with the set. You may have seen the Jetboil in many of my videos but that one has a handle attached to the pot.
Aluminum handles
The majority of the handles are made from aluminum and for some good reasons. They are strong, pretty resistant against heat and lightweight. Still, I am not a great fan of aluminum handles. When it is cold they are not very comfortable in my hands when I am not wearing gloves. Also I find that most pot and pan handles are not very well ergonomically designed.
And there are two other things. First: aluminum conducts heat very well and therefore it is maybe not that logical to make them out of this lightweight material. Second and last but not least: most aluminum handles have proven not to be friendly to the non-stick material on the inside of my pots and pans. Nevertheless… I have been using them for years.
Laken TK7 Thermos bottle review
I stumbled upon the Laken Polyamide Universal Handle by accident. I was checking the prices on the Laken TK7 Thermos bottle when I was wrapping up that review. Then I saw that this Spanish company also produces cook sets that include a ‘plastic’ handle. The Dutch distributor of Laken pointed out to me that the Laken Polyamide Universal Handle is also for sale separately. So I got one and I started testing.
Materials, Packsize and weight
The Laken Polyamide Universal Handle is made from – as the name indicates – Polyamide. The material is free from BPA. More info on BPA in the Laken TK7 review. I measured the Laken handle at a weight of 43.1 grams on my precise scale. That is 0.9 grams less than what the manufacturer claims it should be. In comparison with the Primus handle, the Laken weighs a little less: the Primus weighs 44,9 grams on my scale. The Primus has a smaller pack size though. I measured 140x40x28 mm for the Laken and 129x42x24 mm for the Primus.
Daily practice
I have been testing the Laken Polyamide Universal Handle since last summer holiday in Sweden. The difference to my trusty and loyal Primus is quite big. I like the ergonomic shape of the Laken. It is comfortable to use and it fits nicely in my rather small hands. It does not take a lot of force to use it and lift a pan with 1.4 liters of water from the stove. The part that grabs the pot has a nice opening so it fits well around the rim of a pot or pan. I tried it with every pot that I own and it never fails. But what I think is best, is the material. Since the part that grabs the pan is made of Polyamide it doesn’t leave scratches in the non-stick material inside my pans.
The opening in the handles grip… 
…fits around rims of pots and pans.
Since I mentioned the Primus a few times I will do justice to the Primus on the subject of scratching the non-stick material. The Primus has two rubber dots on the inside of the grabbing part. This did work for a long time but by now the aluminum is bent a bit and the rubbery parts are flattened out. So… less protection to the non-stick material.
Heat resistant?
Big difference of course between aluminum and Polyamide is that the latter is not good when things get too hot. Be careful when using the Laken on an open campfire and don’t leave it on the pan on a stove either when dinner is cooking. It did not happen to me, but I can’t guarantee that it won’t melt. But you will not leave an aluminum handle on the pan either since you will burn your hands. In relation to heat: the Laken Polyamide Universal Handle hardly conducts heat.
Verdict
I do like the Laken Polyamide Universal Handle. I like the material since it prevents scratching the non-stick material on the inside of my pots and pans. The handle is ergonomically shaped, fits nicely in my hands, has a good pack size, hardly conducts heat and is lightweight. No, it is not fireproof but it does not need to be. The price of the Laken Polyamide Universal Handle is very friendly too: € 3.70 and therefore I rate the Laken Polyamide Universal Handle at 8.1 points out of 10 total.
Information
International: https://www.laken.es/en
For the Dutch: https://shop.matterhorn.nl
