Anolon X vs HexClad: two hybrid nonstick lines compared

HexClad etches a hexagon pattern of raised stainless steel and fills the valleys with its TerraBond ceramic nonstick, on a three-layer body; HexClad says the coating is free of PTFE and PFAS. Anolon X lays a stainless steel mesh into the nonstick of an aluminum pan with a thick stainless steel base, and Anolon’s disclosure page lists X among its fluoropolymer nonstick lines, with intentionally added PFAS.

Colorado, Maine and Minnesota have stopped the sale of new cookware with intentionally added PFAS, which covers Anolon X. If you live there, or simply want no PFAS in the pan, that settles it for HexClad.

HexClad rates its pans to 900°F in the oven and its glass lids to 400°F. Anolon X pans go to 500°F; Anolon gives no separate figure for the glass lids that come with them, though the X lids it sells on their own are rated to 500°F. Neither maker gives a broiler rule for these lines. Both allow metal utensils and the dishwasher, and both say their pans work on induction. HexClad asks you to season a new pan with a teaspoon of oil; Anolon’s pages don’t ask for it.

HexClad’s 12-piece set is six pans, each with a lid: 8-, 10- and 12-inch frying pans, 2- and 3-quart saucepans and an 8-quart stockpot. Anolon’s X 7-piece set is five pans and two lids: 8.25- and 12-inch frying pans, a 2-quart saucepan and an 8-quart stockpot with lids, and a 3.5-quart sauté pan without one. HexClad’s set has the everyday 10-inch pan and a lid for every pan; Anolon’s has the sauté pan.

HexClad publishes each frying pan’s flat base (9.4 inches on the 10-inch) and some of their weights, so you can check a pan against your burner or induction zone before you buy. Anolon’s drawings give the width and height (10 inches across and 2.25 inches high on the 10-inch) but no base or weight. They also show where the steel sits: Anolon’s mesh covers only the flat floor, and the sides are plain nonstick.

Choose HexClad for a coating its maker calls free of PTFE and PFAS, the higher oven limit for the pans, a 10-inch pan and a lid with every pan, and a published base size. Choose Anolon X for a sauté pan in the set, or if you’d rather not season a new pan. HexClad covers manufacturing defects for life; Anolon gives a limited lifetime warranty.