THE BBQ season in the UK is relatively short (and some might say patchy). But most BBQs are so large you must keep them outside all year.
To prolong the life of your BBQ, investing in a BBQ cover is pretty essential.
How different can BBQ covers be? Well, they vary quite a lot.
Many BBQs have their own covers designed especially to fit over them. This is handy as it means they don’t blow around too much – but they can be pricey.
There are also generic BBQ covers. These BBQ covers can be cheaper (but not always) and offer you versatility if you’re planning to change BBQs every so often.
Good BBQ covers should be weather resistant as a non-negotiable. They should fit snuggly over the BBQ and be able to be tied tight onto them. You want a durable fabric.
Ideally, a BBQ cover should be fairly easy to get on and off. No one wants a faff, and it’ll encourage you to use your BBQ cover even between uses in the summer.
Read our honest review of the best BBQ covers available to buy now.
Grillman waterproof BBQ cover, £26.97 from Fruugo
Pros: Thick, really durable, fits most brands, great value
Cons: Won’t fit very large bbqs
Rating: 4.5/5
I absolutely loved this BBQ cover, which is a weird sentence to write. But it does the job brilliantly and is a good fit for my three-burner BBQ.
The cover feels premium – it’s thick and made from fade-resistant polyester, so it won’t go grey and grim after a year or two stood on a patio. I liked the smart black look – there is a logo on there.
The Grillman cover is generic and suitable for any brand of medium-sized grill. You secure it using wide Velcro straps around the middle. This cinches it in and stops it from ballooning and blowing around.
As the fabric is tear-proof too, there are no holes in the cover despite it being out in the worst of the British weather.
Dimensions: 163 x 61 x 122cm; Colour: Black
Von Haus kettle BBQ cover, £13.99
Pros: Water and UV resistant, stays on in high winds, premium feel, great value
Cons: Grey colour shows up dirt
Rating: 4.5/5
I couldn’t get over the value of this Von Haus BBQ cover, and apparently nor could other people, as it goes in and out of stock all the time.
However, if you can get your BBQ mitts on this cover then you’re on to a winner.
It’s heavy duty and generous, which I couldn’t believe for the price of under £20. I was able to secure the cover at the foot of my BBQ using a robust clip, then I tightened it up with a velcro strap.
All these fixings along with the heavy weight of the fabric stopped the bbq cover from blowing around even in quite high winds. I was very impressed.
A great design feature in this cover is that there is an air vent too. This allows air to circulate inside the cover and prevents mildew from building up.
Although I haven’t used it for long enough to really see the benefit of this yet, I can attest to this being an issue with other covers I’ve used in the past.
I found this cover easy to get on and off again, encouraging me to use it between grill sessions even in the summer.
Dimensions: 90cm x 70cm; Colour: Grey
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Argos Home Deluxe Medium BBQ cover, £25
Pros: Cheap, water resistant, very large, fits most brands, heavy
Cons: Not great fixings to secure, liable to fade in the sun
Rating: 4/5
This BBQ cover from Argos is completely generic and has no frills, but it gets the job done.
And that’s all we can ask for from a BBQ cover, right?
It’s without any branding, which I personally really like, and it fits my 3+1 gas BBQ well.
It’d also fit well on charcoal bbqs and oil-drum style bbqs – but not kettle BBQs.
It has Velcro straps on the side to secure it in place, but I found these a bit short so if you’ve got a very wide BBQ this might potentially not do the job. It will swamp smaller bbqs and almost certainly wouldn’t stay on it in high winds.
It’s water resistant, and the black colour looks great. However, I don’t believe it’s UV-resistant, so it may fade over time.
Having said that, this is a good and affordable option for a BBQ cover.
Dimensions: 113x140cm; Colour: Black
Everdure long cover for Hub/HubII, £68 from Amazon
Pros: Fits like a glove on Charcoal Hub, looks premium, water and UV-resistant
Cons: Only Velcro fixings, no ventilation, snug fit makes it a bit faffy to put on
Rating: 4/5
I’m the lucky owner of the Everdure Charcoal Hub, which I reviewed in best charcoal BBQs.
It’s a beast of a BBQ though, and expensive, so I want to keep it in good nick.
Therefore, I was delighted to discover a cover for the Everdure Charcoal Hub that fits like a glove.
I felt like this was great quality – it’s averagely thick polyester, and in black with the branding on it looks premium and doesn’t show up dirt.
There are Velcro straps around the bottom corners of the cover to help keep it in place. This seemed to do the job well, and the cover stayed put in all weathers.
The Everdure cover has a waterproof lining, and during downpours, water runs straight off it.
And it’s also UV resistant so it won’t fade over time.
Dimensions: 1365 x 487 x 900; Colour: Black
Weber premium barbecue cover, £64.99
Pros: Looks smart, easy to get on and off, ties to hold it secure
Cons: Only suitable for large kettle bbqs, on the expensive side
Rating: 3.5/5
If you’re loyal to the Weber brand, then this is a great branded BBQ cover for kettle bbqs (sized 57cm). It looks smart and feels thick and premium.
The black cover is emblazoned with the Weber logo, which I quite liked.
It’s easy to pull on and off, with a handle on the top for lifting it clean off. Slipping it on was a breeze too, so I didn’t find it annoying putting it on and off in between grill sessions.
There are straps around the bottom of the legs to hold it on in high winds. I found this did a good job.
And it’s water resistant too so it’s going to stop your grill from getting too rusty in the great outdoors. Certainly, my BBQ looked as good as new every time I took the cover off.
Dimensions: 89 x 63.5 x 68.5cm Colour: Black
We strapped on the BBQ covers for months, observing how they handled whatever the British weather threw at it.
Covers that tore or ballooned in high winds didn’t make the cut here. Our ideal BBQ cover was UV resistant too, so it doesn’t fade in the sun.
Of course, they needed to be weather-resistant and durable.
While we love our BBQ as much as the next person, we wanted value for money so we paid close attention to the price tag.
There are loads of places to buy BBQ covers. Larger branches of supermarkets often sell them in their seasonal aisles, as do DIY stores and garden centres. If you’re buying online, department stores stock BBQ covers, and you can go direct to brands. There are of course third-party retailers online who stock a plethora of BBQ covers which can be handy for price comparisons. Here are some of the best places to buy BBQ covers:
You don’t have to spend the earth to get a very decent BBQ cover.
The Von Haus one is an absolute bargain and comes in a range of shapes if you don’t have a kettle BBQ.
However, branded BBQ covers, custom-made BBQ covers and very large BBQ covers can set you back.
It’s worth remembering that new BBQs can be fairly expensive, so it’s wise to cover them up to prolong their lifespans.
