The 9 Best Marshmallow Roasting Sticks (Bought & Tested!)

Sturdiness

For sturdiness, I looked at how much each roasting stick would bend with different kinds of food on it: first 4 marshmallows, then up to 4 hot dogs.

*The FireFork has no rod of its own (you skewer food with a stick you find), so the sturdiness test doesn’t apply to it.

• 4 marshmallows: Most of the sticks held 4 marshmallows without too much flex; only the bamboo sticks flexed noticeably
• 4 hot dogs: The heavy duty sticks (Sumpri, Jolly Green, Carpathen, and the Briout at 32 inches) had hardly any flex at all

• Lighter duty flexes: The lighter duty Ajmyonsp, MalloMe and Ezire had moderate flex, while the bamboo sticks were practically unusable with 4 hot dogs

• Length adds flex: At its full 45.5 inches, even the heavy duty Briout picked up a moderate amount of flex; after all, the longer the length, the more the flex
• Thinner tines suit marshmallows: thinner tines that sit closer together are actually more suitable for marshmallows. They poke smaller holes, conduct less heat, and both tines go through the marshmallow. When I roasted pointing straight downwards, the MalloMe, Ezire, Ajmyonsp and FireFork all had minimal slipping, while the thicker sticks left a trail of marshmallow goo

• Sharp tines cut both ways: The very sharp sticks (Sumpri, Carpathen and Jolly Green) skewer meats easily, and all come with rubber safety tips. But I actually pricked my finger on the Jolly Green while rushing to clean up, so for kids, I’d go with non-sharp tines instead

Ease of Use

For ease of use, I looked at the maximum length, the telescoping feature, color-coding, and how easily each roasting stick rotates.

*The weight of just one roasting stick. All measurements are my own, and may differ from the brands’ marketed specifications.

• Telescoping holds: Every telescoping stick extended to at least 32 inches (a pretty good distance from your fire), and all of them stayed firmly extended in use. Just be careful collapsing the thinner MalloMe, Ezire and Ajmyonsp (and the extra-long Briout); they flex a bit when collapsing
• Rotating axles: The Sumpri, Carpathen and Jolly Green all have rotating axles, so I could rotate food for an even roast with just my thumb

• The rest turn whole: The rest need the whole stick turned, which isn’t difficult, though the bamboo was the hardest to rotate, since it’s the thinnest with the least grip
• The FireFork loses points: finding the right stick takes time. It can’t be too thick (under 0.6 inches wide), it can’t be too thin, and it has to be straight for easy rotation

Clean Up

For clean up, I looked at the general ease of clean up, and whether there’s a storage pouch for easy pack up.

• The bamboo sticks were the easiest: just break them and toss them into the fire, so there’s basically no clean up at all

• Stainless steel: For all the stainless steel sticks, I tossed them into soapy water for a couple of hours, and they came out basically clean without any scrubbing

• I liked the zippered pouches best: the Sumpri, Jolly Green and MalloMe are soft, with smooth zippers. The drawstring pouches are still good quality, the Ajmyonsp pouch has a bit of a chemical smell, and the Ezire pouch is such a tight fit that the sticks protrude out of the Velcro opening

Quality

For quality, I looked at the handle, the rod and tines, and the storage pouch of each roasting stick.

• All the stainless steel sticks felt good quality: though I couldn’t find the type of stainless steel for the Sumpri, FireFork and Ajmyonsp. I had no issues using any of them, so they’re likely food safe
• A tiny bit of rust: on the connecting parts of my MalloMe, Ajmyonsp and Ezire after soaking them in water and not drying them, but it’s easy to scratch off, so no serious rust issues

• The Ezire handles aren’t painted or lacquered: so the wood started peeling off after a few washes

• Bamboo can splinter: the bamboo sticks can splinter and split when hit too hard, though during roasting, they were always splinter free