Is All-Clad Worth It? Compared With a $50 Tri-Ply

D3 is All-Clad's original line, bonded tri-ply from rim to rim with a riveted stainless handle grooved for a chef's underhand grip and a flared rim for pouring. The listing says it is made in the USA with global components in All-Clad's Pennsylvania factory, oven and broiler safe to 600 degrees Fahrenheit, induction compatible, hand wash only, and covered by All-Clad's limited warranty.

America's Test Kitchen named it the winner of its stainless skillet review, measured a 9.5 inch cooking surface, weighed it at 2.8 pounds and found it resisted warping and abuse testing. Consumer Reports rated the closely related D3 Everyday skillet excellent for cooking evenness across the whole surface, very good at releasing eggs and excellent at keeping its handle cool on the stovetop. ATK's broader finding is that pans around 3 millimeters thick resisted warping best, and that a good pan need not cost more than $150.

Buy it if you cook most nights and want one pan that will still sit flat in thirty years. Skip it if you want the dishwasher, or if $160 for a single pan is money you would rather put toward a second pan of another kind.

Tramontina's Signature pan is 18/10 stainless around an aluminum core with a riveted stainless handle, a mirror-polished exterior and a satin interior, made in Brazil. The listing rates it oven safe to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, induction compatible, NSF certified, dishwasher safe and covered by a lifetime warranty.

America's Test Kitchen tested Tramontina's Gourmet tri-ply 12 inch with helper handle, a sibling of this pan at the same price, and recommended it with reservations: it barely dented and did not warp, but its 8.38 inch cooking surface was the narrowest in the test and crowded food, and the testers found it heavy at 3.2 pounds. That is the trade. The metal is sound; the geometry is a little less generous than the All-Clad's.

Buy it if you cook a few times a week, want to put the pan in the dishwasher, or are furnishing a first kitchen. It is also the right pan to learn stainless on before deciding whether the All-Clad is worth it to you.

The 10 piece set is 8 and 10 inch fry pans, 2 and 3 quart saucepans with lids, a 3 quart sauté pan with lid and an 8 quart stockpot with lid, all D3 tri-ply, oven and broiler safe to 600 degrees, hand wash only, with a limited lifetime warranty. America's Test Kitchen made it a co-winner of its cookware set review alongside Made In's 10 piece set, praising the well-balanced, sturdy construction and saying the pans will last a lifetime, while noting the pieces run a bit smaller than it prefers. Consumer Reports rated the set's frypan excellent at releasing eggs, excellent for evenness, and only good for handle sturdiness.

Here is the arithmetic. ATK recommended Tramontina's tri-ply 9 piece set with reservations at about $259, the main complaint being a small stockpot. At $800 the All-Clad set costs three times that for cooking that ATK found broadly similar. Buy it if you want one set for life and the price does not sting. Otherwise buy the single All-Clad fry pan you will use daily and fill the rest of the cabinet for less.

MultiClad Pro is Cuisinart's long-running tri-ply line. The listing describes triple-ply stainless construction, a cast stainless handle that stays cool and is riveted on, tapered rims for pouring, and a pan that is dishwasher safe, broiler safe and oven safe to 550 degrees Fahrenheit. The helper handle makes the 12 inch easier to lift full.

America's Test Kitchen tested the lidded version of this pan and recommended it with reservations: it browned well and measured a roomy 10 inch cooking surface, but it warped early in testing and wobbled even on a gas burner, and at 3.75 pounds it was heavy. That is the exact flaw the All-Clad does not have, and the reason to think of this as a bigger, cheaper pan rather than a cheaper All-Clad.