Brand review
Is HexClad safe? What changed, and what HexClad still doesn’t say
HexClad now sells its pans as “free from PTFE and forever chemicals”. Pans sold before April 2024 used a PTFE coating, and a class action over the old marketing has been settled. The new coating has a trade name and no published chemistry.
We cannot tell you whether a HexClad pan is safe to cook on. We have no laboratory. What we can do is read what HexClad puts in writing, and what it leaves out.
It is a disclosure score out of 100, not a safety rating: what it is made of, who tested it, where it is made, whether the claim matches the evidence. A product can score 20 and be perfectly fine to cook in. What a low score means is that nobody outside the company can check. The rubric is here.
What they publish, point by point
HexClad 12" Hybrid Frying Pan — 43/100 · coated, or plastic in contact
- What touches the food — 26/60. Tri-ply with an aluminium core between two layers of “high-grade stainless steel”, grade not named · laser-etched hexagonal ridges · “proprietary TerraBond ceramic nonstick coating”, chemistry never stated
- The rest of it — 17/25. Lids, seals, handles and the outside.
- Backed up — 0/15. Named testing, published reports, and whether the claim matches the evidence.
- Made in. UNVERIFIED — not published on the product page, the FAQ or the support centre
- They claim. "free from PTFE and forever chemicals"; "PFAS-free"
- Warranty. Lifetime against manufacturer’s defects — whether coating wear counts is not stated
- Heat. Oven safe to 900°F; dishwasher safe; metal utensil safe; induction not stated
HexClad settled a class action over exactly these claims. Cliburn v. One Source to Market alleged it “falsely advertised, labeled, and marketed the non-stick coating”, specifically challenging “non-toxic”, “PFAS Free” and “PFOA Free”.
The class period ran 1 February 2022 to 31 March 2024. Pans in that period used a PTFE coating; “TerraBond” is the replacement. HexClad denied all wrongdoing, and its product page mentions neither the change nor the settlement.
The full entry, with every source · The maker’s own page
What we’d want you to know:
- The stainless is described as “high-grade stainless steel”, with no grade named.
- The coating is “proprietary TerraBond ceramic nonstick coating”. “Ceramic” here is a category, not a chemistry. What ceramic non-stick usually is.
- The class period in Cliburn v. One Source to Market ran 1 February 2022 to 31 March 2024, when the pans used a PTFE coating. HexClad denied all wrongdoing. Its product page mentions neither the coating change nor the settlement.
- Where the pans are made is not published on the product page, the FAQ or the support centre.
- Lifetime warranty against manufacturer’s defects — whether coating wear counts is not stated.
How it compares
Pans sold 1 February 2022 to 31 March 2024 used a PTFE coating. Current pans use “TerraBond”, whose chemistry HexClad does not publish.
| Product | Score /100 | What touches the food | Our call |
|---|---|---|---|
| 92 | 60/60 | Buy it | |
| 76 | 53/60 | Fine | |
| 57 | 34/60 | Read the caveats | |
| 53 | 34/60 | Read the caveats | |
| 43 | 26/60 | They won't say | |
| 21 | 8/60 | They won't say |
- 92/100
Made In Stainless Clad Frying Pan · US5-ply: 304 18/10 stainless, aluminium, aluminium alloy, 403 ferritic
The full entry → - 76/100
All-Clad D3 Stainless Fry Pan · USTri-ply bonded: aluminium core between stainless layers
The full entry → - No maker photo57/100GreenPan Valencia Pro Frypan · US
Thermolon ceramic sol-gel on hard-anodised aluminium
The full entry → - 53/100
- 43/100
HexClad 12" Hybrid Frying Pan · USTri-ply with an aluminium core between two layers of “high-grade stainless steel”, grade not named
The full entry → - No maker photo21/100Our Place Always Pan (ceramic) · US
“Thermakind” ceramic coating on recycled aluminium
The full entry →
Our verdict
A hybrid pan whose coating you are asked to take on trust. A stainless pan with no coating scores higher here because there is nothing applied to disclose. HexClad’s score is held down by the unnamed TerraBond chemistry and by publishing no testing at all (0/15 for backed up). If you own a pre-April-2024 HexClad, the coating on it was PTFE. When a scratched non-stick pan is still fine.
Questions people ask
Does HexClad contain PTFE (Teflon)?
HexClad pans in the class period, 1 February 2022 to 31 March 2024, used a PTFE coating. HexClad says the current pans are “free from PTFE and forever chemicals”, with a coating it calls TerraBond. It does not publish what TerraBond is made of.
Is HexClad PFAS-free?
HexClad claims “PFAS-free” for current pans. It publishes no laboratory or test report to back that up, which is why it scores 0 of 15 for backed up.
What was the HexClad lawsuit about?
Cliburn v. One Source to Market alleged HexClad “falsely advertised, labeled, and marketed the non-stick coating”, specifically challenging “non-toxic”, “PFAS Free” and “PFOA Free”. It was settled; HexClad denied all wrongdoing.
Is HexClad better than Caraway or GreenPan?
On disclosure, slightly behind both: HexClad 43, Caraway 53 and GreenPan 57 out of 100. All three are coated. See the Caraway and GreenPan reviews.
Related
Sources
- HexClad 12" Hybrid Frying Pan — maker or retailer page. hexclad.com
- HexClad support centre. support.hexclad.com
- MessyPig materials rubric. MessyPig materials rubric
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