Articles · Comparison
Prudent Reviews alone holds 101 of the 148 claims in this comparison, 68% of everything said about either pan.
About All-Clad stainless pan and Heritage Steel Eater Series.
We have not used any of these ourselves. We read 24 sources and structured what 8 people said. Of the 18 quotes below, 7 are complaints and 5 come from someone with a declared commercial interest. Every one of them links to the person who said it and the second they said it.
Based on 8 people, 24 sources and 148 recorded claims. A declared interest is labelled beside the quote rather than removed.
None of the 8 people quoted picks one over the other: Prudent Reviews, a cookware reviewer who tests pans head-to-head and discloses an affiliate interest, owns both and in 2026 named them together as safest long-term buys in the $100 to $200 range. Uncle Scott, a self-funded reviewer who buys what he tests for Uncle Scott's Kitchen, owns an All-Clad D3 and calls it a base worth starting from, but never mentions Heritage Steel. Handle comfort and price are argued both ways only within All-Clad's evidence, unsettled either way.
In the $100 to $200 range, Made In, All-Clad D3 Everyday, and Heritage Steel Eater Series are the safest long-term buys. I've used all three for years and they consistently perform great.
Two judgements rest on this sentence:
what i said is set your base level at d3 and then go from there kind of as budget and needs dictate and you can't go wrong
Cites price
Beside price, the main downside is the handle. It has a deep groove on top that prevents your hand from slipping, but it's not the most comfortable design to hold.
Cites handle (against)
Both collections are a hefty upfront investment, but the D5 collection is even more expensive than D3.
Cites price (against)
Prudent Reviews earns commission on this. Stated in the source: “Those are affiliate links so if you click and buy I'll earn a commission but at no extra cost to you.”
Expect to pay between 10 and 30% more for D5.
The handle is the most polarizing of any pan I tested. It has a concave groove on top that locks the pan in place so it won't rotate. And it works really well if you grab the handle with a towel or oven mitt, but since the groove is so deep, the edges can dig into your hand and make it very uncomfortable.
Cites handle (against)
I prefer the Eater Series handle just because it's a little bit more secure in your hand, so when you go to tilt the pan, if you're sliding food onto a plate, you can rest your thumb on this flat part, and it's not going to twist in your hand.
Cites handle
The trade-off is you're paying a lot more than D3 for differences that most home cooks won't notice.
Cites price (against)
Critics will say it is expensive. They will say it requires preheating. They are right.
Cites heating speed (against), price (against)
In fact, Copper Core and G5 heat up more quickly than almost all of the 30+ brands I've tested.
Cites heating speed
a lot of people have trouble with food sticking in stainless steel but if you cook foods like okra at the correct temperature they will be non-stick
Cites heat control, non-stick surface
here i made a big mistake i cooked some hash browns and they stuck like a duck but it turns out normally i despise the induction burner but this time it was my fault
And since copper has a much higher thermal conductivity than aluminum and steel, this cookware heats up and responds to temperature changes more quickly.
Cites heat control, heating speed
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.
Copper Core and G5 pans pans react incredibly fast to temperature changes.
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.
so guess what i tried a d3 and i like it i like it a lot
Cites build quality, weight
i really do like this all clad d3 stainless steel frying pan been cooking in it heavily for about six months now so it's part of my go-to frying pan rotation it's easy to move around seems to be well made and most importantly it produces a ton of delicious food it gets a thumbs up
If those brands are out of your budget, the next best options are Made In, Heritage Steel Eater Series and All-Clad D3 Everyday. All three are roughly 3 mm thick with wide cooking surfaces and comfortable handles. They don't retain heat as long as the heavier pans, but they heat faster and are easier to handle.
Two judgements rest on this sentence:
Prudent Reviews holds 101 of the 148 claims behind this comparison, 68% of everything in scope, so most of what either pan is known for is one reviewer's method run repeatedly rather than agreement between people who tested separately. None of the 8 people quoted states how long they have owned an All-Clad or a Heritage Steel pan; neither product has any ownership duration behind it at all. David Chang, a chef speaking on GQ under a sponsored interest, calls the All-Clad pan a lifetime workhorse from cooking on it professionally, not from timing one himself. Heritage Steel's evidence is thinner still: most of its 29 claims come from a voice with a declared interest, including an unnamed reviewer who was given the pan free and supplies most of what is said about it beyond Prudent Reviews.
they're just workhorses they're fantastic you know you don't even have to treat it well if you just clean it it'll last you your entire lifetime
Cites durability, maintenance
David Chang paid by this brand. Stated in the source: “I feel like one of those Hair Club for Men guys it's like not only do I like sponsor this like I use it myself”
the eer series units we got had none of the issues from the titanium Series so maybe that's a thing of the past
Cites build quality
The speaker was given the product. Stated in the source: “Danny sent over all of these units under our new review unit policy that means that we're going to donate all these units when we're done reviewing them and Brands get no Insight or control over the process whatsoever”
for Value titanium gets a two and eer gets a seven
Cites build quality, price
The speaker was given the product. Stated in the source: “Danny sent over all of these units under our new review unit policy that means that we're going to donate all these units when we're done reviewing them and Brands get no Insight or control over the process whatsoever”
it's not a game changer but it's decent quality at a more reasonable price point and it genuinely feels better than a lot of the cookware we test
but the eater series pleasantly surprised us and though it doesn't have the ultra low price point of our budget favorite Goldilocks I do think that its nicer construction represents a decent price for performance upgrade
These handles are similar to Made In handles, except they fork right before the body of the pan to disperse heat and keep the handle cool.
Prudent Reviews earns commission on this. Stated in the source: “Those are affiliate links, so I'll earn a commission if you click and buy, but at no extra cost to you.”
There's a small bump underneath to warn you when your hand is getting too close to the heat.
I strongly prefer the flatter design of the Eater series handle because it's less likely to rotate but is still comfortable.
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Our Motto: You can never have too much great cookware and kitchen gear. Our Philosophy: If you have great equipment and great ingredients, with a little practice you can cook any dish in the world. At USK, we make recipes, review frying pans, deep fryers, knives, grain mills, gadgets, pots and pans, and anything else you might find in a high-end kitchen. We teach people how to season carbon steel and cast iron pans, show people the proper way to cook eggs, tell a few jokes, and cook delicious meals. We really like high quality brands such as De Buyer, Falk, Matfer, Lodge, Smithey, Mauviel, Le Creuset, live, Staub, Breville, and others. And, importantly, Uncle Scott buys all of the products he reviews with his own money, and unlike many cookware channels, no free items are accepted for review. This keeps Uncle Scott's reviews genuine, trustworthy, and unbiased. Any sponsored videos or affiliate sales links are clearly labelled.
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Verified 2026-09-16
When someone quoted here was paid, sponsored, sent the product free or works for the brand, the quote says so and, where they said it themselves, gives their own words about it. We keep those quotes rather than dropping them: a paid endorsement is still evidence, and you should be the one to decide what it is worth.