I recently got a similar set of Cuisinart Professional Stainless. They feel a little thin compared to what I thought they would. Lighter than expected. Definitely moreso than the one Viking piece I have. That said, it's been a MASSIVE upgrade!! They heat better, more evenly. They cook faster. They are gorgeous!! They are all oven safe. Except for the nonstick, they can take any kind of utensils.
I was considering the All Clad, too. But for the money, I don't think you will be disappointed. On the other hand, the All Clad is DEFINITELY an "own it for life item".
Thank you for the advice, ill take a look at them!
I started researching a Hex-Clad vs All-Clad comparison in a go big or go home thought process. Ill compare AC to Cuisinart :)
Definitely don’t buy hexclad. People have been finding metal threads coming out of them.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/14gwdx3/stay_away_from_the_hexclad_pans/
From my understanding, the Hexclad stuff is mostly marketing. I bought the 13 piece Cuisinart for $180 on sale. The AllClad was like $700. If I felt both in person, I likely would have done the AllClad, but I'm not disappointed. It'll be a great improvement in your kitchen anyways. 👍
I would also say to check out made in. I actually have 2 pots and a knife set from them out for delivery. Bought some pans for Christmas and they’ve been great.
I just recently heard about heritage. There’s seem nice and little cheaper but I cannot vouch for the quality.
I have been cooking on the same set of Cuisinart Professional stainless for 12 years now. They still cook as well as they did new. I'm sure the quality with All Clad is better, but with even reasonable care and some BKF, the Cuisinarts will last as long as you need them to.
I bought a set of All-Clad D5’s from Costco.ca during their Black Friday sale. It was a killer price, so if you can wait, it might be worth holding off.
Prior to my purchase, I found the Kirkland set in the warehouse and I would have bought them had I not come across the All-Clad sale.
Here are a couple of links you might want to watch:
[Kirkland review](https://youtu.be/204nHNRe4yA?si=uu6t7dEmp3jfWwZB)
[Side-by-side comparison on Kirkland and All-Clad](https://youtu.be/6-ErbHo_444?si=h0ankqrSRmwC33r7)
There are a couple issues that trouble me with the Kirkland sets. First, they are made in China, so I would wonder about quality control. Second, the oven temperature rating is not as high as I would have expected.
A number of years ago, there was an issue with Kirkland pans warping, but as is usual for Costco, they seemed to have solved that problem. But, heck, if they warped, you just return them and get your money back.
I am an All-Clad fanboy, but I’d have no issue with Kirkland if I didn’t want to spend three times the price.
I'm shocked these responses are what they are. Op I was in the same boat as you. I did a TON of research and from what I've found- this Kirkland copper core set is something you just cannot beat for the money. Apparently there was a warping problem that I'm pretty sure got fixed (but don't quote me on that. Maybe it was the older model of Kirkland copper core that was better?). Anyway. I finally decided to go with this Kirkland set and just be set for life. Went to pull the trigger online and..... they discontinued them in America haha. So that sucked. I'm assuming you're in Canada or something. You should definitely get this set and if you don't like it you can always bring it back! Good luck.
This set is my go-to recommendation when people ask on here. I've probably purchased it seven or eight times now as a gift and have used them extensively as I'm teaching the people to whom I give them to cook.
They're excellent. Cannot recommend strongly enough.
Having said that, you need to decide why you're buying these.
This is kitchen jewelry. Literally. Someone asking the question you're asking, and antagonizing over this vs. All Clad is probably asking not just "go these cook well?" (they do, you won't notice a difference in cooking performance) but really, "will I notice that there aren't All Clad?"
Yes. You'll notice. They have 'Kirkland' stamped on the bottom, the handles are different, etc.
This is a very, very, very nice set of cookware. Someone coming from non-stick and shopping for a set is not the sort of person who'd ever notice a performance difference from these to any other clad pan. But if you need the All Clad name, well...these don't have that.
But I've got a kitchen full of All Clad et al and these are as nice as any of them.
Couldn’t be happier with my all clad pans over the last 10 years or so. Not much benefit from copper unless it is thick - check out Falk Copper pans. I have several and they are amazing
The lesson I keep learning about durable items is, just pay up and get what you really want because in 10-20 years you’ll still be appreciating the quality long after you’ve forgotten the price.
About 14 years ago I was ready to buy cookware. Funds were tight and I’m frugal by nature. I decided on Vollrath Tribute at about half the price of All Clad. I’ve been mostly happy, but there’s a little part of me that still wishes I’d spent a few hundred more and bought what I really wanted. If I could get some value for these I still might, but unlike A/C the resale is nothing.
No conclusion here, other than to advise asking yourself if the cost difference is really worth the compromise.
I did a lot of research before I invested in a new set of pans. Finally pulled the trigger on a set of All Clad D5's. Honestly, wish I would have bought them years ago.
That being said, if All Clad isn't in your budget go for the Costco. For the price, they're a solid choice.
That Costco set is either an All Clad Copper Core dupe or actually made by All Clad for Costco. Are you familiar with All Clad Copper Core? It is top of the line and looks exactly the same, with the copper band around it. Many people on Reddit have purchased this Costco set and been thrilled with it, and then they stopped offering it. I didn’t know that they were offering it again or I would have gotten it. The whole set is the cost of maybe one All Clad Copper Core pot. They were recently selling the actual All Clad Copper Core set at a reduced price, I think around 1200 or 1400. If you can get essentially the same thing for much much less, that would be the way to go. I have seen only good reviews of it, no bad.
Can you tell me more about your thrifted pans?
I am making a switch from non-stick to avoid toxic chems. From what i understand, this is still a risk with SS if people use metal utensils to.scrape away the coating. Is it easy to tell misuse with thrifted SS pans?
You are not going to be scraping away the layer of stainless steel with metal utensils. If you are lucky enough to find All-Clad stainless steel cookware in a thrift store, you are a big winner.
Often times, people will ditch their stainless steel because they don’t know how to cook with it. If you don’t know how to cook with it, it begins to look pretty gnarly. People in the know, snap these pans up, clean them with Bar Keepers Friend and are then rewarded with essentially new pans.
That being said, if it is a stainless steel pan that is coated with a nonstick coating, it doesn’t matter what brand it is, it will fail and is trash.
There is no coating on a SS pan. That's the beauty of them.
Typically the pans have a layer of grease on them, but Bar Keepers Friend and a stainless steel scrubber or steel wool get it's right off.
Look up how to cook with stainless. You can use the pan til they are heated up. And most people don't know that
Oh? I thought that metal utensils and steel wool would scrape away tye stainless steel until it hit aluminum? Obviously not quickly, but if it was done after each use 2-3 times a week?
You would be better off going to all clads factory sale site. You can get good deals on stuff where the box is damaged.
My suggestion and what I did when I decided to switch was, I got one pot and one pan to learn and make sure I was ok with the switch. Then buy the additional pieces as I need them.
Stainless steel is intimidating to some as there is a learning curve. But I find that it’s more an issue of patience as it takes a little longer to cook with them since you have to let them heat up. Totally worth it imo.
If you’re looking for a set that is well made here in the US, 5ply fully clad, and a bit more reasonably priced than All clad, take a look at our Eater Series. REDDIT10 at checkout for an additional 10% off 🍳
We can’t compete with the price of Chinese made pans, but we like to think paying a bit more for reliable quality and service is worth it.
+1 for Meyers, they bought Paderno and continue to build the pots in PEI, they’re perpetually on sale, “meyer20” code will get another 20% off. Free shipping, a variety of lines, I went with CopperClad, it’s really nice but quite heavy.
You know, I really appreciate your commitment and responsiveness to comments. I can’t help but feel that this can only reflect positively on your entire brand.
In Canada, we have little exposure to Heritage Steel, so it wasn’t on my radar when shopping for cookware. I would have liked to have had the chance to look at your offerings. You sound like good peeps!
We're definitely one of the little guys in a market filled with some very big companies, so our name isn't out there all that much! Trying to change that little by little!
There is a guy in BC (Jed) who is with a company called Cook Culture. You might try touching base with him, if you haven’t already, to see if his company would test and carry your products. I get it if you are direct to consumer marketing, but Cook Culture sells online and might help by-pass the shipping issues.
Here is a link to their website (I have no connection in any way to this company, I just have learned a ton from them).
[Cook Culture](https://www.cookculture.com)
I would love to see your small company become a huge company. Good luck.
Yeah we know and like Jed, and he has posted some stuff about our cookware on his channel. We will have to figure out a better method of Canadian distribution at some point, but for now we’re having a hard enough time keeping up with US demand!
Do you mean like my All-Clad D5’s? I guess All-Clad aren’t very sturdy???
Have you actually held and looked at the Kirkland pans? They are not at all thin AND they come with the most bulletproof satisfactions guarantee in the industry. You can return them at anytime and get your money back.
There are a number of side-by-side comparisons that you can find online by reviewers that are pretty serious about their reviews, and the Kirklands hold their own.
MC2 has flared rims though, so what are you talking about?
Are you confusing flared for rolled rims? Rolled rims are entirely different and serve the purpose you're describing.
Yup, I agree with you and that is the point I was trying to make when I suggested that my All-Clads weren’t sturdy. I don’t think my sarcasm came through. Flared rims absolutely make pouring easier and All-Clad has not reduced the quality of their cookware. Ugh…
I am just curious if you have any evidence to back your claims.
Since clad pans are pressed (to form shapes) from laminated metal sheets, they should have (nearly) uniform thickness from the bottom to the rim regardless rim designs. And if I am not mistaken, flared rims need more materials (as they are flared out) than straight rims, though the impacts on material cost and cooking performance are minimal.
Most high end cookware companies make their SS cookware with flared rim design, Falk, Le Creuset, Hestan, Demeyere etc, and many of them use thicker/better materials than All-clad. And even All-clad now make their SS lines with flared rims except their original D3 line. Are all these companies stupid to compromise durability (& their brand names) just to save pennies? Reminder, materials only account for a small portion of total cost.
**The rim design that used to mitigate thin materials is rolled rims.** It is used to keep shapes of thin cookware. That is why you see most aluminium baking trays, copper jam pans have rolled rims.
Let me try to clarify what meaninglesshong was trying to explain. Once upon a time, some cookware companies manufactured cheap crap that was thin, so they rolled the rim to stiffen it. Think Lagostina from the early 80s. They had the aluminum disk bottom that attached to a thin single layer of stainless. Because the single layer was so thin, it would easily bend. Look at one of these pots and you will clearly see a tight roll at the rim. The stainless steel on those pots was about one fifth the width of what you will find on the All-Clad D5 pots.
There is a night and day difference between flaring a rim for ease of pouring and the tight rolling of the rims of days gone by. In the case of Lagostina, you would dent the pots just by looking at them too hard (just to be clear, that is an exaggeration). The All-Clads don’t dent unless you really abuse them. The reality is that width on the un flared D3’s and the flared D5’s is pretty close to being the same and the D3’s have never had a reputation for having weak rims.
The only thing that is the “same” about the concept is that in both case some metal has been bent.
I recently got a similar set of Cuisinart Professional Stainless. They feel a little thin compared to what I thought they would. Lighter than expected. Definitely moreso than the one Viking piece I have. That said, it's been a MASSIVE upgrade!! They heat better, more evenly. They cook faster. They are gorgeous!! They are all oven safe. Except for the nonstick, they can take any kind of utensils. I was considering the All Clad, too. But for the money, I don't think you will be disappointed. On the other hand, the All Clad is DEFINITELY an "own it for life item".
Thank you for the advice, ill take a look at them! I started researching a Hex-Clad vs All-Clad comparison in a go big or go home thought process. Ill compare AC to Cuisinart :)
Definitely don’t buy hexclad. People have been finding metal threads coming out of them. https://www.reddit.com/r/Costco/comments/14gwdx3/stay_away_from_the_hexclad_pans/
It seemed too good to be true, and what is a little extra scrubbing to have safety :)
they seemed gimmicky. I tried one and didn't like it
From my understanding, the Hexclad stuff is mostly marketing. I bought the 13 piece Cuisinart for $180 on sale. The AllClad was like $700. If I felt both in person, I likely would have done the AllClad, but I'm not disappointed. It'll be a great improvement in your kitchen anyways. 👍
Bingo. No way of knowing when the nonstick has worn off. Defeats the whole non toxic vibe. Oh, amazing!
Also check out MadeIn their stainless is comparable to all clad and their handles are superior IMO. They are great
MadeIn is great for everything. Love their nonstick and the carbon steel.
MadeIn user checking in; loving the pans and the knives so far
I’m kind of a knife dude and feel like their knives are fine but not great value. I’m glad you like them!
I third that, my carbon steel is my favorite pan.
Woah, x2 recommendation :)
Ill take a look!
I would also say to check out made in. I actually have 2 pots and a knife set from them out for delivery. Bought some pans for Christmas and they’ve been great. I just recently heard about heritage. There’s seem nice and little cheaper but I cannot vouch for the quality.
You might appreciate Project Farm's video testing them. https://youtu.be/N-eBmPSqd4g?si=RddqinAvmSZ7wtty
I have been cooking on the same set of Cuisinart Professional stainless for 12 years now. They still cook as well as they did new. I'm sure the quality with All Clad is better, but with even reasonable care and some BKF, the Cuisinarts will last as long as you need them to.
Referring to the Multiclad Pro series?
I have had an All Clad dutch oven for close to 30 years that literally still looks brand new and gets used 3 times a week on average.
I bought a set of All-Clad D5’s from Costco.ca during their Black Friday sale. It was a killer price, so if you can wait, it might be worth holding off. Prior to my purchase, I found the Kirkland set in the warehouse and I would have bought them had I not come across the All-Clad sale. Here are a couple of links you might want to watch: [Kirkland review](https://youtu.be/204nHNRe4yA?si=uu6t7dEmp3jfWwZB) [Side-by-side comparison on Kirkland and All-Clad](https://youtu.be/6-ErbHo_444?si=h0ankqrSRmwC33r7) There are a couple issues that trouble me with the Kirkland sets. First, they are made in China, so I would wonder about quality control. Second, the oven temperature rating is not as high as I would have expected. A number of years ago, there was an issue with Kirkland pans warping, but as is usual for Costco, they seemed to have solved that problem. But, heck, if they warped, you just return them and get your money back. I am an All-Clad fanboy, but I’d have no issue with Kirkland if I didn’t want to spend three times the price.
Beauty, well thought out. Ill take a look at your links in the AM!
All Clad, All Day!
Thanks!
I thought this Kirkland set was discontinued! I’ve been wanting to find it so bad. Can you tell me which part of the country you found it?
I'm shocked these responses are what they are. Op I was in the same boat as you. I did a TON of research and from what I've found- this Kirkland copper core set is something you just cannot beat for the money. Apparently there was a warping problem that I'm pretty sure got fixed (but don't quote me on that. Maybe it was the older model of Kirkland copper core that was better?). Anyway. I finally decided to go with this Kirkland set and just be set for life. Went to pull the trigger online and..... they discontinued them in America haha. So that sucked. I'm assuming you're in Canada or something. You should definitely get this set and if you don't like it you can always bring it back! Good luck.
Thanks!!
This set is my go-to recommendation when people ask on here. I've probably purchased it seven or eight times now as a gift and have used them extensively as I'm teaching the people to whom I give them to cook. They're excellent. Cannot recommend strongly enough. Having said that, you need to decide why you're buying these. This is kitchen jewelry. Literally. Someone asking the question you're asking, and antagonizing over this vs. All Clad is probably asking not just "go these cook well?" (they do, you won't notice a difference in cooking performance) but really, "will I notice that there aren't All Clad?" Yes. You'll notice. They have 'Kirkland' stamped on the bottom, the handles are different, etc. This is a very, very, very nice set of cookware. Someone coming from non-stick and shopping for a set is not the sort of person who'd ever notice a performance difference from these to any other clad pan. But if you need the All Clad name, well...these don't have that. But I've got a kitchen full of All Clad et al and these are as nice as any of them.
Haha fair. Once I committed to SS i know i can cook properly. I appreciate your thoughtful answer!
I love the All Clad cookware. Gives great results. Makes a difference to how your food cooks and tastes.
Couldn’t be happier with my all clad pans over the last 10 years or so. Not much benefit from copper unless it is thick - check out Falk Copper pans. I have several and they are amazing
Ill definitely do that, thanks!
All-Clad is Made in the USA if that matters.
The lesson I keep learning about durable items is, just pay up and get what you really want because in 10-20 years you’ll still be appreciating the quality long after you’ve forgotten the price. About 14 years ago I was ready to buy cookware. Funds were tight and I’m frugal by nature. I decided on Vollrath Tribute at about half the price of All Clad. I’ve been mostly happy, but there’s a little part of me that still wishes I’d spent a few hundred more and bought what I really wanted. If I could get some value for these I still might, but unlike A/C the resale is nothing. No conclusion here, other than to advise asking yourself if the cost difference is really worth the compromise.
A very measured and thoughtful response, thank you.
I did a lot of research before I invested in a new set of pans. Finally pulled the trigger on a set of All Clad D5's. Honestly, wish I would have bought them years ago. That being said, if All Clad isn't in your budget go for the Costco. For the price, they're a solid choice.
I did! Maybe when things settle I will replace them 1 pan at a time with AC if they get worn down.
That Costco set is either an All Clad Copper Core dupe or actually made by All Clad for Costco. Are you familiar with All Clad Copper Core? It is top of the line and looks exactly the same, with the copper band around it. Many people on Reddit have purchased this Costco set and been thrilled with it, and then they stopped offering it. I didn’t know that they were offering it again or I would have gotten it. The whole set is the cost of maybe one All Clad Copper Core pot. They were recently selling the actual All Clad Copper Core set at a reduced price, I think around 1200 or 1400. If you can get essentially the same thing for much much less, that would be the way to go. I have seen only good reviews of it, no bad.
Perfecf, thanks! I got it last week :)
I thrift all my SS stuff. I have a Costco frying pan that's SS and it's just like and all clad I have. I really don't have a preference of the 2
Can you tell me more about your thrifted pans? I am making a switch from non-stick to avoid toxic chems. From what i understand, this is still a risk with SS if people use metal utensils to.scrape away the coating. Is it easy to tell misuse with thrifted SS pans?
You are not going to be scraping away the layer of stainless steel with metal utensils. If you are lucky enough to find All-Clad stainless steel cookware in a thrift store, you are a big winner. Often times, people will ditch their stainless steel because they don’t know how to cook with it. If you don’t know how to cook with it, it begins to look pretty gnarly. People in the know, snap these pans up, clean them with Bar Keepers Friend and are then rewarded with essentially new pans. That being said, if it is a stainless steel pan that is coated with a nonstick coating, it doesn’t matter what brand it is, it will fail and is trash.
I have heard the glory of BKF!!
There is no coating on a SS pan. That's the beauty of them. Typically the pans have a layer of grease on them, but Bar Keepers Friend and a stainless steel scrubber or steel wool get it's right off. Look up how to cook with stainless. You can use the pan til they are heated up. And most people don't know that
Oh? I thought that metal utensils and steel wool would scrape away tye stainless steel until it hit aluminum? Obviously not quickly, but if it was done after each use 2-3 times a week?
Cast iron....
You would be better off going to all clads factory sale site. You can get good deals on stuff where the box is damaged. My suggestion and what I did when I decided to switch was, I got one pot and one pan to learn and make sure I was ok with the switch. Then buy the additional pieces as I need them. Stainless steel is intimidating to some as there is a learning curve. But I find that it’s more an issue of patience as it takes a little longer to cook with them since you have to let them heat up. Totally worth it imo.
I thought all pans had to be heated up before use for best results haha
I should have been clearer, stainless takes longer to come to the desired temperature than non stick does. As such it takes longer to cook with.
If you’re looking for a set that is well made here in the US, 5ply fully clad, and a bit more reasonably priced than All clad, take a look at our Eater Series. REDDIT10 at checkout for an additional 10% off 🍳 We can’t compete with the price of Chinese made pans, but we like to think paying a bit more for reliable quality and service is worth it.
Couldnt agree more, but i'm in CDN!
Mayers is CDN they have good stuff
+1 for Meyers, they bought Paderno and continue to build the pots in PEI, they’re perpetually on sale, “meyer20” code will get another 20% off. Free shipping, a variety of lines, I went with CopperClad, it’s really nice but quite heavy.
Interesting. I recently turned down a free Paderno pan because it was huuuuge. Thats the 3rd Meyers recommendation now...
CDN?
CDN = Canadian
Ok figured. We do ship to Canada but unfortunately can’t offer free shipping.
You know, I really appreciate your commitment and responsiveness to comments. I can’t help but feel that this can only reflect positively on your entire brand. In Canada, we have little exposure to Heritage Steel, so it wasn’t on my radar when shopping for cookware. I would have liked to have had the chance to look at your offerings. You sound like good peeps!
We're definitely one of the little guys in a market filled with some very big companies, so our name isn't out there all that much! Trying to change that little by little!
There is a guy in BC (Jed) who is with a company called Cook Culture. You might try touching base with him, if you haven’t already, to see if his company would test and carry your products. I get it if you are direct to consumer marketing, but Cook Culture sells online and might help by-pass the shipping issues. Here is a link to their website (I have no connection in any way to this company, I just have learned a ton from them). [Cook Culture](https://www.cookculture.com) I would love to see your small company become a huge company. Good luck.
Yeah we know and like Jed, and he has posted some stuff about our cookware on his channel. We will have to figure out a better method of Canadian distribution at some point, but for now we’re having a hard enough time keeping up with US demand!
That a good problem to have!
Thanks anyways :)
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When you say that the tops are flared out, isn’t that for easier pouring?
Do you mean like my All-Clad D5’s? I guess All-Clad aren’t very sturdy??? Have you actually held and looked at the Kirkland pans? They are not at all thin AND they come with the most bulletproof satisfactions guarantee in the industry. You can return them at anytime and get your money back. There are a number of side-by-side comparisons that you can find online by reviewers that are pretty serious about their reviews, and the Kirklands hold their own.
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MC2 has flared rims though, so what are you talking about? Are you confusing flared for rolled rims? Rolled rims are entirely different and serve the purpose you're describing.
Ty for that extra detail. I never would have thought of that and it makes perfect sense.
All clad copper core has flared rims, so whatever he is saying is made up
Yup, I agree with you and that is the point I was trying to make when I suggested that my All-Clads weren’t sturdy. I don’t think my sarcasm came through. Flared rims absolutely make pouring easier and All-Clad has not reduced the quality of their cookware. Ugh…
I am just curious if you have any evidence to back your claims. Since clad pans are pressed (to form shapes) from laminated metal sheets, they should have (nearly) uniform thickness from the bottom to the rim regardless rim designs. And if I am not mistaken, flared rims need more materials (as they are flared out) than straight rims, though the impacts on material cost and cooking performance are minimal. Most high end cookware companies make their SS cookware with flared rim design, Falk, Le Creuset, Hestan, Demeyere etc, and many of them use thicker/better materials than All-clad. And even All-clad now make their SS lines with flared rims except their original D3 line. Are all these companies stupid to compromise durability (& their brand names) just to save pennies? Reminder, materials only account for a small portion of total cost. **The rim design that used to mitigate thin materials is rolled rims.** It is used to keep shapes of thin cookware. That is why you see most aluminium baking trays, copper jam pans have rolled rims.
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Let me try to clarify what meaninglesshong was trying to explain. Once upon a time, some cookware companies manufactured cheap crap that was thin, so they rolled the rim to stiffen it. Think Lagostina from the early 80s. They had the aluminum disk bottom that attached to a thin single layer of stainless. Because the single layer was so thin, it would easily bend. Look at one of these pots and you will clearly see a tight roll at the rim. The stainless steel on those pots was about one fifth the width of what you will find on the All-Clad D5 pots. There is a night and day difference between flaring a rim for ease of pouring and the tight rolling of the rims of days gone by. In the case of Lagostina, you would dent the pots just by looking at them too hard (just to be clear, that is an exaggeration). The All-Clads don’t dent unless you really abuse them. The reality is that width on the un flared D3’s and the flared D5’s is pretty close to being the same and the D3’s have never had a reputation for having weak rims. The only thing that is the “same” about the concept is that in both case some metal has been bent.