HexClad review: what the hexagons actually do

HexClad’s pitch is that you should not have to choose between stainless steel and nonstick. Its pans use a laser-etched hexagonal stainless-steel pattern raised above a nonstick surface, so the steel peaks take the metal utensils and the searing while the nonstick valleys handle the release. The 6-piece fry pan set with lids is $399 from $532, the 12-piece pots and pans set is $699 from $999, and the 7-quart deep sauté is $229. Sets ship free in the contiguous US. It is expensive, it is genuinely different, and whether it is worth it depends on what you cook.

Buy it if / Skip it if

· Buy it if you want one set of pans that sears like steel and releases like nonstick

· Buy it if you use metal utensils and are tired of babying a nonstick surface

· Buy it if you want cookware that goes on induction, into the oven and into the dishwasher

· Buy it if you are replacing a whole kitchen at once, where the set pricing works hardest

· Buy it if you cook for a crowd and need large-format pans — the 7-quart and the wok cover that properly

· Skip it if you want the lightest possible nonstick egg pan, because these are heavy

· Skip it if your budget is the deciding factor, since $399 buys a lot of conventional cookware

· Skip it if you want pure stainless performance for fond and pan sauces, where clad steel still wins

Who HexClad is

HexClad launched in 2016 around a single engineering idea and has spent the years since building a full kitchen catalogue on top of it. The idea is the hexagon: a laser-etched stainless-steel grid sitting proud of a nonstick layer underneath, so the two surfaces work at different heights on the same pan.

The practical claim is that this gives you the properties of both. The raised steel can take a metal spatula and handle high-heat searing without the nonstick being scraped; the recessed nonstick does the releasing. It is a patented construction, and no amount of marketing noise changes the fact that it is a real design rather than a repackaged coating.

The range now runs well beyond frying pans. There are pots, woks, deep sauté pans, a half-quart milk pot, mixing bowls, Damascus-steel knives, BBQ tools, bakeware, and apparel for the brand’s “Cooking Division” community.

The customer is a home cook upgrading from supermarket nonstick, often buying a set rather than a single piece, and usually persuaded by a demonstration video.

What HexClad does differently

The hexagons are the entire product, and they work as described. The laser-etched steel pattern sits above the nonstick so that metal utensils contact steel rather than coating. This is the thing the brand exists for, and it is the reason HexClad pans survive treatment that destroys conventional nonstick.

It is dishwasher-safe, which conventional nonstick is not really. The half-quart milk pot’s page states it plainly, and the construction across the range is built for it. Anyone who has watched a nonstick pan degrade in a dishwasher over eighteen months will understand why this matters.

The new bakeware applies the same tech with PFAS-free nonstick. The 6-piece Hybrid Bakeware Set is described as the first of its kind, using the patented laser-etched stainless and a PFAS-free nonstick surface reengineered for baking — lifting cakes and cookies off the pan so air circulates underneath. It also resists warping, which is the usual failure mode for sheet pans.

The large-format pieces are properly thought out. The 7-quart deep sauté and chicken fryer has high sides to contain spatter and a tempered-glass lid for braising. The 12" wok is 3" deep for genuine high-volume stir-frying. These are not scaled-up frying pans; they are designed for the jobs they name.

The range, decoded

Products worth your money

Hybrid Fry Pan Set with Lids, 6-pc — $399 (from $532)

Best for: The starting point, and the set that answers whether the technology suits you.

Why it stands out:

· The three pans home cooks actually reach for — an 8" for eggs, a 10" for one or two portions, a 12" for searing steaks, chops and chicken — with lids for all three

· The hexagonal stainless-and-nonstick surface across every pan, so metal utensils are fine on all of them

· Free shipping to the contiguous US, which on cookware this heavy is not a trivial inclusion

One honest limitation: These pans are heavy. If wrist strain is a consideration, handle one before buying three.

Bottom line: The right first purchase. If the technology works for how you cook, you will know within a fortnight.

Hybrid Pots & Pans Set, 12-pc — $699 (from $999)

Best for: Replacing an entire kitchen’s cookware in one order.

Why it stands out:

· HexClad’s best-selling set, combining the three everyday skillets with pots for braises, soups, pasta and sauces

· Works out considerably cheaper per piece than building the same collection individually

· Covers the full range of everyday cooking, so nothing in the drawer needs keeping “just in case”

One honest limitation: $699 is a serious outlay, and if you only ever use two pans you are paying for ten you do not need.

Bottom line: The best value in the catalogue if you genuinely want the whole set, and poor value if you do not.

Hybrid Deep Sauté Pan / Chicken Fryer with Lid, 7-qt — $229

Best for: Cooking for more than four, and the most useful single piece in the range.

Why it stands out:

· A 7-quart volume with a wide cooking surface, which handles a pork tenderloin, a batch of fried chicken or a dozen poached eggs

· High sides that keep spatter off the stovetop — the practical difference between this and a large skillet

· A tempered-glass lid, which makes it a braising pan as well as a frying one

One honest limitation: At 7 quarts it is large and heavy when full, and it needs real storage space.

Bottom line: If you buy one HexClad piece rather than a set, this is arguably the one that earns its place most often.

What owners actually say

Consistently praised:

· Searing performance, which is where hybrid construction beats conventional nonstick clearly

· Durability under metal utensils, reported repeatedly as the reason people stopped replacing pans

· Dishwasher convenience, which owners mention more than the marketing does

· The large pieces — the 7-quart and the wok get particularly strong feedback

Consistently criticised:

· Weight, which is the most common complaint by a distance

· Price, with buyers noting the sets only make sense if you use most of the pieces

· The learning curve on heat and oil — these do not behave like pure nonstick on day one

· Sticking when the pan is used dry or underheated, which catches people expecting zero-oil performance

The money question

$399 for three pans and three lids is a lot of money, and nobody should pretend otherwise. The question is what the alternative costs over the same period.

Conventional nonstick is cheap and has a short life — it degrades from metal utensils, dishwashers and high heat, and most households replace it every few years. Clad stainless lasts decades but demands technique and does not release eggs. HexClad’s argument is that it sits between the two and survives the treatment that kills nonstick, and the ownership feedback broadly supports that.

The set pricing is where the real value sits. The 6-piece at $399 from $532 and the 12-piece at $699 from $999 both price well below the sum of their parts, and sets ship free in the contiguous US. The All-In Bundle at $1,199 from $1,893 adds a Damascus-steel chef’s knife and stainless mixing bowls, which is a genuine saving if you need all of it and an expensive way to buy a knife if you do not.

Buying individually is the expensive route. The 7-quart at $229 and the wok at $199 are worth it as specific tools; buying three separate frying pans one at a time is not.

Confirm the current warranty terms at checkout, and note that HexClad promotes heavily around Black Friday and major holidays — if you can wait, that is when the sets move furthest below list.

How it compares

Questions people ask

What do the hexagons actually do?
The laser-etched stainless-steel pattern sits raised above the nonstick surface. Metal utensils and high-heat searing contact the steel; the recessed nonstick does the releasing. That is the whole patent and the whole reason the brand exists.

Can I use metal utensils?
Yes. That is the central design claim and the main reason owners say the pans outlast conventional nonstick.

Is it dishwasher safe?
Yes, which is unusual in this category and one of the more practical advantages over standard nonstick.

Is the nonstick PFAS-free?
The Hybrid Bakeware Set is specified with a PFAS-free nonstick surface. For the cookware lines, check the individual product page for the current specification rather than assuming it carries across.

Does food still stick?
It can if the pan is underheated or used completely dry. These are not zero-oil pans; treat them like good cookware — preheat properly and use a little fat — and they behave.

Which set should I buy first?
The 6-piece fry pan set at $399 if you want to test the technology, the 12-piece at $699 if you have already decided and want to replace everything.

The verdict

HexClad is one of the few cookware brands of the last decade with an actual engineering idea behind it rather than a colour palette. Etching a raised stainless grid over a nonstick base to give one pan both properties is a real solution to a real annoyance, and the fact that the patent has held and the imitators have not displaced it says something.

In use, the trade-off is honest. You get searing performance and metal-utensil tolerance that conventional nonstick cannot match, plus dishwasher convenience that clad steel owners take for granted and nonstick owners never get. What you give up is weight and a little of the effortless egg-release that a pure nonstick pan delivers on day one and loses by month eighteen.

The price is the real hurdle, and the sets are the answer to it. $399 for three pans and three lids with free shipping is the sensible entry point; $699 for the full twelve-piece set is the better arithmetic if you are genuinely replacing everything. Buying piece by piece at full price is how this becomes expensive.