All-Clad HA1 Nonstick Fry Pan Set Review

We purchased the All-Clad HA1 Nonstick Fry Pan Set so our reviewer could put it to the test in his kitchen. Keep reading for our full product review.

All-Clad is an American line of cookware and kitchen appliances made in the heart of Pennsylvania’s Steel Belt. The brand’s sturdy, functional cookware isn’t the cheapest option out there, but the All-Clad HA1 Nonstick Fry Pan Set is one of their lower-end offerings. We tested these 8- and 10-inch nonstick frying pans to see if the company’s reputation for performance and durability holds true for their more affordable products. We cooked breakfasts, lunches, and dinners in the skillets for several weeks, looking at durability, performance, and ease of cleaning and use.

Design: A classic all-metal style

The steel handles on these pans are heavy-duty, but they’re not so long or hefty that they make the pans unbalanced when they’re empty. They’re straight and stiff, but the concave channel toward the end of the handle makes them have a more comfortable, secure grip.

The smooth stainless steel bottom is bare, machined metal, which allows you to slide the pan around and perform artful egg flips. However, the sides of the these pans are steep, making them more spill-resistant but sacrificing some ability to slide and flip foods (if that’s your thing).

Check out our other reviews of the best nonstick cookware sets available on the market today.

Material and Construction: Heavy-duty riveted aluminum

All-Clad is a serious-sounding name, and these frying pans fit the descriptor. They’re made up of two main parts—a steel handle and an aluminum body—giving them an incredibly sturdy feel. You could probably throw them out of a tall building if you wanted, and they’d survive the fall (though we haven’t tested that one quite yet).

As the name implies, these pans are made from HA1 aluminum, which stands for “hard anodized” and basically means that the surface is smooth and more durable than other nonstick surfaces. Indeed, we did find that the aluminum and nonstick coating were both smooth to the touch and resisted any major scratching throughout our weeks of testing. The bottoms are stamped with stainless steel to prevent warping, a common issue with aluminum frying pans, especially at high heats. They’re oven-safe up to 500 degrees, putting them at the high end of heat resistance in the nonstick cookware world.

Take a peek at some of the other best frying pans you can buy.

Performance: Hard-working and long-lasting

Most nonstick pans do their primary job—preventing food from sticking—reasonably well out of the gate. Where the HA1 set shines is how it performs over the long haul. As mentioned above, the nonstick surface is a cut above cheaper nonstick pans. Not only does that result in excellent nonstick performance and easy clean-up, it means that performance will last. We found that these pans looked almost new after a few weeks of use. It’s worth noting that you need to take basic precautions, such as avoiding metal utensils when cooking, to make your nonstick coating last.

Cleaning: One-wipe ease

To clean these nonstick pans, use warm, soapy water and a soft cleaning rag. While the All-Clad pans are designed to be durable and are technically dishwasher safe, it’s still a good idea to hand-wash them and avoid abrasive detergents and scrubbers to keep the nonstick finish intact.

Price: Value for the quality

These pans aren’t the cheapest on the market, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find the same quality of construction and performance for less. The two pan sizes, 8- and 10-inch, cover most home cooking needs, so you won’t have to buy other pans to round out your arsenal.

All-Clad HA1 Nonstick Fry Pan Set vs. T-fal B363S3 Specialty Nonstick Set

T-fal, the original creators of nonstick cookware, offers a similar set of three nonstick frying pans at half the price of the All-Clad duo. Both packs contain multiple pan sizes to meet the bulk of home-cooking needs, and while the T-fal trio seems like a better deal on the surface, the performance of the All-Clad pans is superior, as is their construction and coating.

If you can afford the All-Clad duo, it’s probably worth the extra money. However, the T-fal pans may be a smarter choice if budget is your top priority.

Want to take a look at some other options? See our guide to the best nonstick pans.