I bought new pans.

[Jason in CA]

So here's the story. About twelve years ago I bought a nonstick Cookware set and I'm still using some of it with good results. But the pans that get heavy use have been failing for about four to seven years. The set I got was form Vollrath. Restaurant NSE certified and all that stuff. However the nonstick coating is failing on a couple now that they are basically unusable.

Couldn't handle it anymore so today I bought these.


I decided to buy into the hype and give them a shot. They have a lifetime warranty, but so did the last set of pans I bought. However these ones I got from Costco, so if I do have a problem I don't have to find a vendor or contact the company. I figured with the Costco return policy it would be worth a shot. Here's one of the demos about how superb they are supposed to be.

Guess I'll find out if they live up to the hype.

 

[BFletcher]

The design looks pretty; I hope you like them. Here, the Mrs knows two temperatures; off and high. So on cooking utensils that are shared I take the cheap route. And also I'd be mortified if she saw this

 

[LMichaels]

Circulon did something like this as well. Honestly IMO good stainless and cast iron is the best. I also use some non stick ones from All Clad in addition to some of their very nice tri ply stainless ones. The non stick are EXTREMELY durable, POFA (or whatever) free, as well. I treant them REALLY badly and have not had any trouble with them. I have forgotten to turn off the burner, put them hot into water, put them in the dishwasher. Basically if there is anything you can do to misuse them I do it regularly, Have had them for about 5 or 6 years now and they still work like new. So I don't fall for gimmicky designs. I figure if or when I ever "hurt" these I will buy them again. Yeah they're that good. Hell I even use them on my grills LOL.

 

[Timothy F. Lewis]

What came in the set? Looking forward to a report!

 

[Jason in CA]

What came in the set? Looking forward to a report!

It came with an 8 10 12 in pans stir fry wok and three kids. The wok is a 12 inch so everything has a lid. I expect they will work as advertised for now. My last set worked as they were supposed to for years before the heavy used ones began to fail. So I think there won't be anything meaningful to say until they have had some long term use. Or, on the other hand, if they begin to fail in a shot time. My wife used one last night with no problems.

I have seen many reports of discoloration but it's not supposed to affect performance. So I will live with that when it happens. Or, they say you can safely clean them with abrasives like sos pads if you want to make them shiney again. I figure the discoloration is the stainless reacting to the heat same as it would on a BBQ.

 

[Jason in CA]

Circulon did something like this as well. Honestly IMO good stainless and cast iron is the best. I also use some non stick ones from All Clad in addition to some of their very nice tri ply stainless ones. The non stick are EXTREMELY durable, POFA (or whatever) free, as well. I treant them REALLY badly and have not had any trouble with them. I have forgotten to turn off the burner, put them hot into water, put them in the dishwasher. Basically if there is anything you can do to misuse them I do it regularly, Have had them for about 5 or 6 years now and they still work like new. So I don't fall for gimmicky designs. I figure if or when I ever "hurt" these I will buy them again. Yeah they're that good. Hell I even use them on my grills LOL.

I like cast iron also. Had a great set from my grandparents. But they are just too heavy for my wife, so I passed them on to my sister. I strongly considered a set of carbon steel pans after reading through another thread here. Then came across hexclad while spending a lot of time watching and reading reviews. The hexclad claim to be as durable as steel, and as good as the best nom stick. So it was an option that my wife could use without being too heavy. I'll report back if there's anything to say, but I expect it will be a while before anything comes up.

 

[LMichaels]

Yeah what I disliked about circulon (and others that used a textured surface to make a "non stick") is they did not brown well, and cleaning was a chore. I tried it on both Circulon and T-Fal. So when I found the All Clad ones I gave them a go. They really take a licking. I even use metal in them. TO be fair they don't look like new but they still perform like the day they came out of the box.

 

[Kyle in Woodstock]

We got a set of Rachel Ray pots and pans as a wedding gift this past October...... they are already starting to show signs how wear

I imagine the set will last us a few years, then we can buy something nicer like the set you bought from Costco. Those things look really nice.

 

[Jason in CA]

We got a set of Rachel Ray pots and pans as a wedding gift this past October...... they are already starting to show signs how wear

I imagine the set will last us a few years, then we can buy something nicer like the set you bought from Costco. Those things look really nice.

I was kind of hoping to hear from someone that has had the ones I got for a while. I'd like to hear some honest opinions from users. Looks like I'll be the guinea pig on this one.

 

[Brad Olson]

I have a couple of vintage (1970s) nonstick pans with coating issues, but instead of replacing them I'm going to give recoating a try. There's a company called OPI, LLC in Sheboygan, WI that offers this service and I have a quote from them, now all I need to do is get off my duff and get the pans packed and shipped.

I could probably replace the pans for less money, but they're nice and heavy and have lasted for closer to 50 years if not more.

 

[Kyle in Woodstock]

Jason, how are they holding up?!

 

[Jason in CA]

They are doing fine so far. I don't expect any issues for some time. I think the real test will be how they are doing in a few years. I think this one has seen the most use since we got the set. You can see the discoloration on some of it.


I know I can scrub it back to shiney because I've already done it. But I figure it's like stainless grates and flavorizor bars in the BBQ. They are shiney when new but once you heat them up a few times.