KitchenAid Five-Ply Stainless-Steel Clad 8-Inch Open Skillet

Wearing a mirror finish inside and out and equipped with big handles, lids sit down deeply to produce tight seals. Cast-stainless-steel handles are triple-riveted for strength and gracefully arched for easy lifting. They stay cool on the stovetop and go safely into the oven up to 500 degrees F. This classic, slope-sided, 8-inch skillet (without lid) is ideal for sauteing veal medallions, frying smelt, and pan-roasting scallops, and its rounded rim resists drips when pouring. Though it's dishwasher-safe, hand washing KitchenAid cookware prevents the surface from dulling. The first year of this item's lifetime warranty against defects is "hassle-free," with a replacement shipped at no cost and without question if a defect is detected. --Fred Brack

All-clad is three ply, Kitchenaid is five. All-clad has two rivets holding on the handles, Kitchenaid has three. All-clad has weirdly shaped handles that are uncomfortable when lifting large pans and oversized on small ones. Kitchenaid has two different sizes of wide, comfortable handles. All-clad has a straight lip, which makes pouring more difficult, and which also means the exposed aluminum at the top edge of the pan rests against the lid, where water can condense and run back into the food. Kitchenaid has a flared lip, which makes pouring easier, and which keeps the exposed aluminum on the outside of the pan.

My only complaint with my kitchenaid cookware is that the rivets are hard to clean around (which makes this pan less than perfect for crepes), and that the stay-cool handles stay cool enough to drag the pan around on the stovetop, but not cool enough to lift a very hot pan and flip it. The handle also heats up quite thoroughly in the dishwasher (yowch!), and while the instructions with the pan specifically warn about the handles heating up in the oven, the folks at the factory apparently never thought about the dishwasher problem. (All-clad has the same issue).