SunPatio 55 × 23 × 42 in, vinyl lined

They solve the problem that actually stops people covering a grill. You take the cover off to cook, and it goes somewhere — on the ground, over a chair, in the damp grass — and comes back to the grill wetter and dirtier than the grill. SunPatio puts it plainly: the handles "can also be used as loops to hang up at side when your grill is in use". Unicook says the same of its handles ("can also be used for hanging and storage"), and Tuyeho and Simple Houseware have handles without naming the use. On a 55-inch cover the handles are also simply how you get it on and off without dragging the fabric across a sharp lid edge, which is how covers tear.

Because the lining is the surface that sits against the wet metal. Three covers on this shelf are lined: SunPatio with waterproof vinyl, Summerset with smooth polyester, and Formosa with insulated cotton. All three give the same reason — an unlined coated fabric flapping in wind polishes and scuffs a stainless lid. But they behave differently when the cover goes on damp: vinyl and polyester shed condensation, while cotton absorbs it and holds it against the metal for far longer. Formosa pairs its cotton with air vents, presumably for exactly that reason. If the grill tends to get covered before it is quite dry, a synthetic lining is the safer choice — and vents safer still.

It is the narrowest of the mass-market covers here, and the price per inch is the second-highest of them behind the Tuyeho, so the fit has to be the reason to buy it. SunPatio is specific about what it suits: 3 and 4 burner grills from 48 to 53 inches wide, with the cover at 55 to give the allowance. That is a genuinely common size — a Weber Spirit or a mid-range Char-Broil — and a cover sized for it will sit far closer than the 65 or 82 inch covers here, which matters, because slack fabric flaps and a large air volume under a cover holds damp. SunPatio also gives the advice the rest of the shelf should: "measure your grill size before purchasing and choose a cover with space to spare."