Q: So how thick is All-Clad, really? Or any other brand?
A: See below for a sortable list of cookware thickness. My preferred way of estimating thermal performance of cookware (heat-spreading ability) is to use thermal imaging, but that takes a long time to perform. You can see the results for induction/electric and gas.
Even without thermal images, you can still do some guesstimation of how a particular piece of cookware performs relative to other cookware by looking at the thickness of the cookware. If we assume that everyone is using the same grade of aluminum/copper/thickness and the same thickness of stainless steel, then all else equal, the thicker cookware is more thermally conductive. Obviously those assumptions are shaky, but they can be good enough for a guesstimate if no thermal data is available.
The table is broken up into types: cladded, cast iron, nonstick, copper, and disc-bottom. Thickness is given in millimeters, and the assumed thermally conductive material is aluminum (Al). However, sometimes the conductive material is Carbon Steel (CS), Copper (Cu), or Iron (Fe), and will be marked accordingly.
CenturyLife.Org's Cookware Thickness Database
| Brand | Model | Build Type | Measured Total Wall or Disc Thickness (mm) | Published Total Wall or Disc Thickness (mm) | Est. Al. Thickness (mm) | Published Al. Thickness (mm) | Ind- duc- tion? | Interior | Made In |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-Clad | Copper Core | Clad | 1.7 | 1.83 (patent embodiment) | 0.91 (Cu), 0.1 (Al) | 0.91 (Cu), 0.1 (Al) | Yes | Stainless | USA |
| All-Clad | D5 | Clad | 2.6 | Yes | Stainless | USA | |||
| All-Clad | D7 | Clad | 3.76 | Yes | Stainless | USA | |||
| All-Clad | MC2 | Clad | 3.45 | Yes | Stainless | USA | |||
| All-Clad | D3 Stainless | Clad | 2.6 | Yes | Stainless | USA | |||
| All-Clad | C2 | Clad | 1.68 | 1.2 (Cu) | No | Stainless | USA | ||
| All-Clad | Emeril Pro-Clad | Clad | Yes | Stainless | China | ||||
| Anolon | Anolon Tri-Ply Stainless | Clad | 2.36 | Stainless | |||||
| Bonjour | Copper Clad | Clad | 2.6 | 2.6 total: 0.4 interior inox, 0.3 Al, 1.0 Cu, 0.3 Al, 0.6 inox exterior. | Yes | Stainless | |||
| Browne-Halco | Thermalloy Tri-Ply | Clad | 2.5 | 1.5 | Yes | Stainless | |||
| Calphalon | AccuCore | Clad | 2.13 | Yes | Stainless | ||||
| Calphalon | Tri-Ply Stainless | Clad | 2.12 | Yes | Stainless | Mostly or all China | |||
| Calphalon | Contemporary Stainless | Clad | 2.36 | Yes | Stainless | Mostly or all China | |||
| Chantal | Chantal Copper Fusion | Clad | 2.03 | Yes | Enamel | Germany | |||
| Cooks Standard | Multi-Ply Clad Stainless | Clad | 2.44 | Yes | Stainless | China | |||
| Cuisinart | Cuisinart MultiClad Pro | Clad | 2.6 | Yes | Stainless | China | |||
| Culina | Stainless Tri-Ply | Clad | 2.44 | Yes | Stainless | China | |||
| Demeyere | Demeyere 5-Plus aka Industry5 aka Zwilling Sensation | Clad | 2.95 | 3 | Yes | Stainless | Belgium | ||
| Demeyere | Proline (skillet) | Clad | 4.76 | 4.8 | 3.7 | Yes | Stainless | Belgium | |
| Demeyere | Conic | Clad | 3.35 | 3.3 (but thinner for smaller sizes) | 2.2 (unspecified for smaller sizes) | Yes | Stainless | Belgium | |
| KitchenAid | Tri-Ply Stainless | Clad | 2.46 | Yes | Stainless | China | |||
| Lenox | Tri-Ply Stainless | Clad | 2.29 | Yes | Stainless | China | |||
| Mauviel | M'Cook Stainless | Clad | 2.6 | 2.6 | Yes | Stainless | France | ||
| Paderno World Cuisine | Triple-Ply Stainless aka Series 2500 | Clad | 2.2 | Yes | Stainless | ||||
| Sur La Table | Tri-Ply Stainless | Clad | 2.6 | Yes | China | ||||
| Tramontina | Tri-Ply Clad | Clad | 2.6 | Yes | China | ||||
| Viking | 5-Ply Stainless | Clad | 2.16 | Yes | Stainless | USA | |||
| Vita Craft | Vita Craft Stainless | Clad | 2.34 | Yes | Stainless | USA | |||
| Vollrath | Tribute Stainless | Clad | varies 6-10 gauge (12" skillet = 8 gauge = 3.12) | Yes | Stainless | USA | |||
| Williams-Sonoma | Open Kitchen Stainless | Clad | 2.18 | Yes | Thailand | ||||
| Williams-Sonoma | Thermo-Clad | Clad | 2.62 | Yes | Italy | ||||
| Zwilling J.A. Henckels | Sensation aka Industry5 | Clad | 2.95 | 3 | Yes | Belgium | |||
| Cuisinart | Chef's Classic enameled cast iron Dutch oven | Cast Iron | 3.89 | Yes | Enamel | China | |||
| Le Creuset | Enameled cast iron oven | Cast Iron | 3.65 | Yes | Enamel | France | |||
| Le Creuset | enameled cast iron pan | Cast Iron | 3.68 | Yes | Enamel | France | |||
| Lodge | Cast Iron | Cast Iron | 5.03 Fe (includes bumpiness) | Yes | Cast Iron | USA | |||
| Staub | enameled cast iron | Cast Iron | 3.35 (lip); body TBD | Yes | Enamel | France | |||
| Anolon | Anolon Nouvelle Copper Nonstick | Nonstick | 2.54 sidewall only | 0.6 Cu + 4 Al + 0.5 Stainless | Yes | PTFE | Thailand | ||
| Berndes | Signocast Pearl Ceramic and Vario Click | Nonstick | varies; 2.87-3.02 skillet-saute | 6 | Some | Ceramic | Germany | ||
| T-Fal | Atlantis | Nonstick | 3.28 sidewall | Yes | PTFE | China | |||
| Woll | Diamond Plus Induction Nonstick | Nonstick | 2.97 sidewall | Yes | PTFE | Germany | |||
| Baumalu | Copper (tin-lined) | Copper | 1.75 | 1.7 Cu | No | Tin | France | ||
| De Buyer | Prima Matera | Copper | 2 | 2 Cu | 1.8 Cu | Yes | Stainless | France | |
| Matfer Bourgeat | Copper (cast iron handles) | Copper | 2.5 Cu | 2.3 Cu | No | Stainless | France | ||
| Mauviel | M'Heritage Copper 250C | Copper | 2.5 | 2.5 Cu | 2.3 Cu | No | Stainless | France | |
| Cuisinart Chef's Classic | Chef's Classic Stainless | Disc Base | No | Stainless | China | ||||
| Demeyere | Atlantis | Disc Base | 2 Cu | Yes | Stainless | Belgium | |||
| Demeyere | Resto Egg Poacher | Disc Base | 4 | Yes | Stainless | Indonesia | |||
| Fissler | Fissler Solea and Original Pro | Disc Base | 6 | Yes | Stainless | Germany | |||
| Paderno World Cuisine | Grand Gourmet aka Paderno World Cuisine Series 1100/2100 | Disc Base | 7.5 | 7 | 7 | Yes | Stainless | Italy | |
| Sitram | Sitram Profiserie aka PPRO1 or Prestige Pro | Disc Base | 6.35 (30cm casserole); 5.25 (20cm pot) | 6.35 | Varies | 5 | Yes | Stainless | France |
| Sitram | Sitram Catering | Disc Base | 2.5 | 2 Cu | No | Stainless | France | ||
| Update International | SuperSteel | Disc Base | 0.8/1.0 (below/above 29cm diameter) | Yes | Stainless | ||||
| Vollrath | Optio Stainless | Disc Base | 21 gauge | 1/4-in disc | Yes | Stainless | USA |
Methodology: For measurement of sidewalls (e.g., the thickness of All-Clad Stainless), I use two high-end micrometers (Mitutoyo, purchased new and calibrated). For disc bottom measurements, if the disc was exposed, I measured thickness using coins of known thickness.1
Below are some photos of the various measurements I took. For instance, my Sitram Profiserie casserole (I review it here) had just enough room for two pennies, a nickel, and a dime = 6.34mm. But 2 quarters, a dime, and a penny (6.37mm) would not cleanly fit. Therefore we can guess that the Sitram has a 6.35mm base (exactly equivalent to 1/4-inch).
Similarly, my 1100-series 11″ Paella pan (I review it here) has a bottom disc could fit 2 dimes, 2 pennies, and a quarter (7.49mm). However, 3 dimes, a nickel, and a penny (7.52mm) were too much. So I classified it as 7.5mm total disc thickness, in the table above.
FOOTNOTES