Why the Donkey Long Tong 80cm is the Fire Tong Every South African Braai Master Needs

Stop Using the Wrong Tool.

Donkey Long Tong handmakes two different lengths of tongs. The OG (Our Donkey Long Tong 80cm) has proven itself as a quintessential tool for fire management globally. Our second tong, the Donkey Tong 69cm, has re-defined the way people flip food over fire. There's a tong for food and there's a tong for fire. Most people only have one.

But the Donkey Long Tong 80cm was built for one thing: managing fires from a distance (which ends up saving your arm hair). 

What's the Difference Between a Fire Tong and a Braai Tong?

A traditional braai tong is shorter than the average fire tong and is specifically made to handle your meat. A fire tong is different. It's longer, sturdier, and built for heat management. You use it to position logs, control your coal bed, move burning wood, and adjust the fire. And that explains the Donkey Long Tong 80cm to a T.

The shell-shaped head of our fire tong grips wood and coals while the 80cm length keeps your hands far enough from the heat to be comfortable. The serrated edges that are on the head of the tong are also not ideal for flipping food, but perfect for managing flames.  

Why a 80cm tong? Because you need the distance.

Most braai tongs sit around 40-50cm. You need longer tongs for an open fire where wood burns hot.

The Donkey Long Tong 80cm gives you exactly that. 80 Centimetres of reach. That's enough to work a big fire pit, a built-in braai, a smoker, or a wood-fired pizza oven without bending over or scorching your arm hair. At 640g it's heavy enough to feel solid in your hand, but light enough to use one-handed without your wrist giving up two hours in.

What durable materials the Donkey Long Tong 80cm is made of.

The Donkey Long Tong 80cm is made from 304 food-grade stainless steel, which is the same grade used in commercial kitchens. It doesn't rust, handles direct heat without warping and it’s easy to clean with warm water and a scrub.

The handles are white oak, treated with ProNature's 0% VOC, UV-protection wood finish. The wood stays dry, resists cracking, and gives you a firm grip even when your hands are sweaty from the fire.

It's handmade in Cape Town by a team of Donkeys who actually use the product. After all, who makes tongs if they don’t love a braai?

Features

Here's what you get when you buy a Donkey Long Tong 80cm:

• Built-in bottle opener

• Sliding lock for easy storage

• White Oak handles

• Durable Spring

• Personalisable 

• Hand-wrapped

On top of all that (as if you needed more reason to get this fire tong), it comes gift-wrapped, hand-boxed, and ready to give! There’s also the option to personalise your tong. Standard Typed engraving is an additional R200, while Handwriting engraving is an additional R300.

The handwriting engraving is worth highlighting as a personal favourite of ours. We take your handwriting, recreate it and engrave it directly onto your tong. It's not a font. It's fully yours and no one can ever re-create that.

The Best Braai Gift for Him.

If you're buying for a man who braais, a dad who lives around a fire, or a friend who takes their outdoor cooking seriously, you need to get this fire tong. It arrives looking like something worth getting. The handwrapping is done by us, by hand.

Add personalisation and it becomes even more special. A name, a nickname, a date, something written in your own handwriting. Either way, this is a gift that will actually get used and is sure to spark many late-night conversations around the fire.

Where the Donkey Long Tong 80cm Came From

Our story started in July 2021. Three friends met in the Richtersveld on an overlanding trip. They decided that they were tired of short tongs, burnt hands, and bent backs.

One night, around the fire, they designed something long and strong. With sticks in the sand and a clear idea in their mind, they designed the first Donkey Long Tong 80cm. 

They drove back to Cape Town and made the first 300 tongs on an Airbnb kitchen counter. Donkey Long Tong launched on 24 September 2021 (South African Braai Day) and four and a half years later, the donkeys are still building fire tongs by hand and standing around fires talking nonsense.

Final Words

And there you have it. Everything you need to know about the Donkey Long Tong 80cm. The best long tong you’ll ever use. 

FAQs About the Donkey Long Tong 80cm