Why is All-Clad so expensive? What makes it so special? And is it worth the high price? In this review, I reveal the truth about All-Clad
after using it for over 10 years and testing every collection. You’ll learn about its design, performance,
and durability, and I’ll show you what it looks like after almost 30 years of regular use. I'll also explain why All-Clad recently agreed
to a $4 million settlement and what their biggest competitors are doing now that All-Clad's
original patent has expired. So before spending your hard-earned money
on All-Clad, watch this video to the very end. Before I talk about the design, performance,
and durability, it’s important to understand that All-Clad has several cookware collections. And each collection is designed for different
cooking styles and budgets. D3 is All-Clad’s original, best-selling,
and most affordable stainless steel collection. It has 3-ply construction with durable top
and button steel layers and a conducive aluminum core that extends throughout the pan, including the sides. All-Clad's founder invented this fully-clad
construction decades ago, hence the name "All-Clad," but it has since become the industry standard. D3 Everyday is a revamped version of D3 with
the same construction but a larger cooking surface and more comfortable handles. Instead of 3 layers, the D5 collection is
made up of 5 bonded layers, including a thin steel core. This collection is more expensive than D3,
but the steel core slows heat transfer, allowing the pans to heat slightly more evenly. Copper Core is All-Clad's most expensive collection. The exterior is steel, but the inner layers
are aluminum and copper. And since copper has a much higher thermal
conductivity than aluminum and steel, this cookware heats up and responds to temperature
changes more quickly. G5 Graphite Core is All-Clad's newest collection. It's made of five layers, including a thin
graphite core disc. Graphite is highly conductive and lightweight,
so these pans heat fast and are easy to maneuver. Although All-Clad is best known for its stainless
steel cookware, it makes quality non-stick pans, too. HA1 is its most popular non-stick collection. It has a 4 mm thick hard-anodized aluminum
base, a triple-layer non-stick coating, and a steel induction plate bonded to the bottom. The Essentials collection has the same construction
but lacks the steel induction plate. This cookware costs less, but it’s not compatible
with induction. As you just saw, All-Clad offers a variety
of collections with unique designs. But I want to call out a few specific elements
I like, one that is consistently the top complaint about the brand and one that has caused a class
action lawsuit that All-Clad recently settled. Starting with the good stuff, I love that
All-Clad offers both polished and brushed exteriors. The D3, D3 Everyday, and Copper Core collections
have a beautiful, polished exterior with a mirror-like finish. The G5 collection has a brushed finish that
looks more modern and does a better job of hiding fingerprints and smudges. The D5 collection comes in both polished and
brushed. I also like how All-Clad shapes the body of
their pans, especially the fry pans. The walls are sloped, and the rims are flared,
which makes it easy to flip eggs and slide food onto a plate, but they aren't too shallow. They have enough height to contain ingredients
and limit splatter. All-Clad does a nice job with the minor details. The straight handles are long and get thinner
as you get closer to the pan, which helps disperse heat and keep them cool. They also have a small bump underneath to
warn you when your hand is getting too close to the heat. Most All-Clad handles have a prominent upward
angle, which makes it easy to tip the pan forward for basting or coating the pan with
oil and allows you to keep your hand away from the heat. The downside is that you need more room between
oven racks to fit the pan. For context, there are five inches between
the bottom of the pan and the top of the handle. Made In handles are positioned at a much lower
angle; there are only 3.5 inches between the bottom of the pan and the top of the handle. The most common complaint about All-Clad is
that the handles are uncomfortable. As you may have noticed, All-Clad handles
have a cup-shaped design. They're rounded on the bottom with a concave
groove on top. This design ensures your hand won't rotate
when you tilt your wrist, even if your hand is greasy or you're wearing an oven mitt. But if you're used to more rounded or flat
handles, All-Clad handles will feel awkward. When All-Clad originally designed the handle,
they did so with professional chefs in mind. And since pro chefs often grab the handle
while holding a towel or oven mitt, the design was ideal. However, the concave shape is unnecessary
and uncomfortable for most home cooks. Fortunately, All-Clad has listened to this
feedback, and newer collections, like D3 Everyday, G5, and Essentials, have newly designed handles
with a much more subtle indentation on top. Another design element that could be improved,
especially given the high cost of these pans, is the rivets. Other premium cookware brands like Hestan
and Demeyere make pans with flush rivets or welded handles with no rivets at all. Although rivets are a secure way to attach
the handle, they tend to collect grime and can be a pain to keep clean. Lastly, the edges right along the rim of the
pan are not sealed, which allows you to see the bonded layers. While some people like this because it showcases
the quality of construction, it can cause issues. In fact, All-Clad recently settled a class
action lawsuit because of this. The lawsuit alleges that All-Clad advertised
its cookware as "dishwasher safe," but when cleaned in the dishwasher, one or more of
the bonded layers become thin and sharp. Essentially, when you put these pans in the
dishwasher, the aluminum core can shrink and recede over time. And when this happens, the thin steel layers
on the top and bottom can stick out. And these steel layers can become sharp. All-Clad did not admit to wrongdoing, but
they agreed to a settlement and refund or replace any damaged pans. Since its legal trouble, All-Clad now says
its pans are not dishwasher safe. Although un-sealed edges are common and not
an issue if you avoid the dishwasher, brands like Sardel, Hestan, and Misen make pans with
sealed rims to avoid this issue altogether. I’ve been cooking with All-Clad for over
ten years and have tested every collection. I’ve seared steak, sautéed vegetables,
fried chicken, cooked eggs, simmered sauces, and more. After years of use and dozens of head-to-head
tests against top-rated brands, I can confidently say that All-Clad performs as well or better
than any other cookware I’ve reviewed. It heats up fast and evenly and maintains
a consistent temperature. I recently tested All-Clad against Made In,
and as you can see below, the chicken browned nicely and cooked evenly in both pans. I also tested All-Clad against HexClad, and
both pans put an excellent sear on salmon. And the All-Clad HA1 pan did a much better
job preventing eggs from sticking. I tested All-Clad Copper Core against the
start-up brand Goldilocks, and the chicken browned much faster in the All-Clad pan due
to the fast-heating copper. What I like most about All-Clad is that each
collection performs differently, which allows you to choose pans based on your cooking style
and needs. For example, D3 is the most well-rounded collection. It heats fast, responds quickly to temperature
changes, and holds heat well. D5 heats slower and more evenly and is more
forgiving, so you’re less likely to burn or overcook your food if you accidentally
turn the heat too high. Copper Core and G5 pans pans react incredibly
fast to temperature changes. These collections are for cooks who want more
control over their cooking. They’re ideal for fish, onions, sauces,
garlic, and other ingredients that require frequent temperature adjustments. For context, Copper Core and G5 pans boiled
two cups of water about 20% faster than D3, HA1, and D5 pans in my standard heat conduction
test. In fact, Copper Core and G5 heat up more quickly
than almost all of the 30+ brands I've tested. However, because of their high thermal conductivity,
Copper Core and G5 pans don’t retain heat as well as All-Clad D3 and D5 pans. Overall, All-Clad's performance is excellent
and lives up to the hype. Besides the handles that aren't as comfortable
as other brands, the only other common complaint about All-Clad and any stainless steel cookware,
really, is that food sticks. Delicate foods like eggs and fish are prone
to stick, but if you preheat the pan, add enough oil, and allow the food to cook for
a few minutes before you touch it, it will naturally release from the pan. One thing that you're guaranteed to get with
All-Clad is durability. When you pick up and hold these pans, you
can feel it. They're thick and heavy, so they stay flat
on the stove and won't dent or warp. And the handles won't ever budge. Almost every stainless steel cookware brand
says their pans will last a lifetime, but All-Clad is one of the few that can prove
it since the company has been around for so long. Thousands of customers have owned All-Clad
pans for decades, and although they may look a little tarnished, they still perform wonderfully. Here's a look at a pan that I've used for
a year. And here's a pan that I've been using for about
7 years. And here is my parents' All-Clad saucepan
that they bought in 1995 and have been using at least a few times a week since then. Almost 30 years later, this pan still sits
flat on the stove and heats as evenly as it did from the beginning. If you prefer to buy American-made cookware,
I have good and bad news. The good news is that All-Clad manufactures
the bodies of their stainless steel pans at their factory in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania,
using local steel, aluminum, and copper. They have extremely high quality standards,
and pans with even the slightest imperfections are sold at steep discounts during All-Clad's
Factory Seconds sales events. However, while the pan bodies are American-made,
the lids and handles are produced in China and attached to the pans in the US. Also, All-Clad's non-stick collections, like
HA1 and Essentials, are made entirely in China. It's worth noting that while All-Clad operates
out of its Pennsylvania headquarters, the company was acquired years ago by the French consortium
Groupe SEB. All-Clad is one of the most expensive cookware
brands on the market. But why? Well, there are a few reasons. It’s mostly made in the US, they use quality
materials, the manufacturing standards are high, and they work with pro chefs to develop
unique pans with combinations of metals that you won’t find with other brands, like the
G5 Graphite Core collection. But the main reason All-Clad is so expensive
is because of the prestigious brand it’s built over several decades and the consistently
high demand that comes with that. All-Clad was founded in 1971 by John Ulam,
an expert in bonding metals. At the time, most cookware was made of aluminum,
which reacts with acidic foods, or steel, which is durable but a poor heat conductor. Leveraging his expertise in bonding metals,
Ulam recognized he could create an ideal cookware material by bonding stainless steel and aluminum. He obtained several patents for his bonding
process, giving All-Clad a significant head start and a major competitive advantage. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, All-Clad cemented
itself as the leader in premium, fully-clad stainless steel cookware. It was the brand to buy and became somewhat
of a status symbol - which it still is today. Although the company has continued innovating,
the original patents on their 3-ply aluminum core fully clad pans have expired. Today, brands like Misen, Goldilocks, Cuisinart,
and Calphalon produce similar fully clad pans at lower costs by manufacturing in China. However, All-Clad maintains an advantage and
can continue to demand higher prices because of the reputation it built up over decades,
its first mover status, and its loyal customer base. So, is it still worth buying All-Clad when
you can get almost the same design and construction from other brands at a much lower price? In my opinion, All-Clad is well worth the
investment for a few reasons. First, they offer more variety than almost
every other brand. So you can mix and match collections based
on your cooking style and budget. Second, the quality control is in a class
of its own. And third, it's one of the few brands that
has proven it will last for decades. So, despite the high initial price, the long-term
value is excellent. That said, brands like Made In, Misen, and
Heritage Steel make excellent quality stainless steel pans for less, and you might like their
handle designs better. If price is the one thing holding you back, you have two options. First, sign up for my free newsletter in the pinned comment, and I'll email you when All-Clad goes on sale or when they launch one of their Factory Seconds sales events. The second option is to check out this video, where I break down the best alternatives to All-Clad that cost less. And don't forget to click the logo to subscribe to the channel. Thank you for watching, we'll see you in the next video.
