Titanium comparison

Independent test. No brand paid for this.

I Spent $8,477 Testing 100 "Titanium" Pans For 14 Months. Only 1 Passed The Magnet Test.

HexClad. Our Place. Siraat. Taima. Okura. Taiko. Same 7 questions for every one of them. Same eggs. Same abuse. One winner, and it's not the one with the celebrity chef.

By Wade MerrittOwner, Merritt's Steakhouse, Fort Worth. Two-time Texas Steakhouse of the Year. 31 years behind a grill. I bought every pan with my own card.

See the pan that passed

Or keep reading. It gets ugly.

Wade Merritt in his restaurant kitchen with the pans he tested

I've cooked more steaks than most people have eaten.

Started on the grill line at my dad's place at 16. Opened my own steakhouse in Fort Worth at 29. We run 900°F broilers, cast iron that's older than my cooks, and enough carbon steel to build a truck. I know what a pan does when you abuse it, because abusing pans is the job.

Two years ago my daughter sent me a video of black flakes in her eggs. Coating. From a pan I'd bought her.

That's when I started looking at titanium.

And the second I started looking, I saw what you're probably seeing right now. Every brand says the same words. "Titanium." "Nothing sticks." "Lasts a lifetime." Slick ads. Five stars. A chef with a British accent yelling at you.

I didn't trust a word of it. So I bought them. All of them.

What I actually did

Bought 100 pans across every brand calling itself titanium, plus the "hybrid" and "ceramic titanium" ones that show up in the same ads. $8,477 total. Receipts below.
Cooked on them for 14 months. Not one demo egg on day one. Months. Because every one of these pans looks great on day one. That's the trick.
Took them to the extremes. Brisket fat rendered at 500°F. Fish sauce reductions. Tomato and wine braises sitting acidic for hours. Sugar caramel to hard crack. Chili oil past smoke point. Metal spatulas. Steel wool. The dishwasher, even when the box said no. If a pan can't survive my kitchen it won't survive yours for 20 years.
Ran three physical tests on every pan: the magnet test, the weight test, and the cut test on one pan per brand.

Receipts and shipping boxes totalling $8,477

The scorecard

Taiko 100% titanium, no coating

Magnet test: PASS

On Amazon / in stores: No. Direct only.
What I paid: $99.95 for the hammered pan on the restock sale.
How much titanium: 100%. Solid titanium where the food touches. Cut it in half: no film, no paint line.
Guarantee: 25-year warranty. 30-day returns. Free shipping. 4 stars on Trustpilot, highest of the six.
Does it stick: Cold and dry, yes. 30 seconds of heat and a teaspoon of oil, eggs slide like they're on wet ice.
How long it lasted: 14 months of steel wool, metal tools and caramel. Looks like day one. Nothing on it to wear off.
Aftertaste / flakes: None. No coating, so nothing can flake.

9.4 / 10

The only one still on my stove.

HexClad Nonstick coating with steel bumps

Magnet test: FAIL

On Amazon / in stores: Yes, everywhere. Warranty void if you buy from the wrong store.
What I paid: $180 for one 12" pan. Customers: $699 to $850 for sets.
How much titanium: 0%. They don't even claim it.
Guarantee: "Lifetime." Customers told sticking is a "care issue," not covered.
Does it stick: Great for 3 months. Then everything.
How long it lasted: Coating peeled at month 7 on mine. Customers: 3 weeks to 3 years.
Aftertaste / flakes: Customers report the coating chipping into food.

4.1 / 10

Expensive Teflon with a famous face.

Our Place Titanium Always Pan Pro

Magnet test: FAIL

On Amazon / in stores: Yes.
What I paid: $195 for one pan.
How much titanium: A word in the name. Layered pan, coated surface. Customers say it wears off like the ceramic one.
Guarantee: Was 1 year. Now 3 on some lines. Customers who asked got a $30 credit toward a new one.
Does it stick: Yes. Goes black between batches.
How long it lasted: 6 months before it stuck on everything.
Aftertaste / flakes: "Imparts a nasty flavour on food." Customer, verbatim.

3.8 / 10

Beautiful. Doesn't cook.

Siraat "Titanium hammered pan"

Magnet test: FAIL

On Amazon / in stores: No. Direct only, ships from Hong Kong.
What I paid: $154 for one pan.
How much titanium: A material engineer XRF-tested his: stainless steel 321 on the cooking surface. Brand admitted "multi-layer bonded."
Guarantee: "100-day trial, cook with it." Customers who cooked with it were refused. Offered 15% to 70% back.
Does it stick: Worst of the six. Eggs welded on. Turned brown on the first fry.
How long it lasted: Handle rusted before I used it. Hot spot in the middle on induction.
Aftertaste / flakes: "An unpleasant metallic taste that transfers to the food."

2.2 / 10

Stainless steel in a titanium costume.

Taima Claims 100% titanium

Magnet test: PASS (grade unknown)

On Amazon / in stores: No. Direct only. Checkout is a wall of upsell videos.
What I paid: $180 for one 11" pan. 14-piece set about $950.
How much titanium: Claims 100%. Passed my magnet. Couldn't get a straight answer on grade.
Guarantee: 25 years on paper. $25 restocking fee on returns, you pay shipping. Refunds taking 8+ months.
Does it stick: Usable with technique. Better than stainless.
How long it lasted: Pan's fine. Lid rusted under the knob. Handle bolts loosen weekly.
Aftertaste / flakes: None reported. Credit where due.

4.6 / 10

Decent pan. Customers wait 3 to 6 months to get one.

Okura "Japanese" titanium, ships from China

Magnet test: FAIL

On Amazon / in stores: No. Facebook ads only. Customer found the same pan at ALDI for $40.
What I paid: $140 for one 12" pan with lid.
How much titanium: Brand admitted "not made entirely of 100% titanium." Aluminum core, stainless outside. Refused to give a percentage.
Guarantee: 30-day return. Return address is Hangzhou, China. You pay.
Does it stick: Yes. "Definitely not an egg pan."
How long it lasted: Warped by week 6. Stained after grilled cheese.
Aftertaste / flakes: None reported. Stains that don't come off, yes.

3.0 / 10

Drop-shipped aluminum with a titanium skin.

Shop the Taiko Restock Sale, 50% off

25-year warranty. Free shipping. Once it sells out, the pricing is gone.

Winner

Taiko. The one I kept.

I'll be straight with you. I expected Taiko to be another Taima. Same look. Same "100% titanium" claim. Same small brand you've never heard of.

So I tested it harder than the rest.

The magnet testTitanium is not magnetic. A fridge magnet tells you in one second if a "titanium" pan has a steel cooking surface. Taiko: nothing. The magnet slid off like it was glass. Siraat and Okura: stuck flat.

The cut testI took a hacksaw to one Taiko pan. Solid titanium on the cooking side, edge to edge. No film. No paint line. Compare that to the HexClad cut, where you can see the coating sitting on the steel like a layer of paint.

The abuseSteel wool. Metal spatula scraped hard. Caramel burnt black and boiled off. Chili oil past smoke point. Dishwasher, 40 cycles. The pan went a little gold, the way titanium does under heat. That's it. Nothing to peel, because nothing was applied.

Does it stick? Here's the 30-second trick.Here's the honesty nobody else on this page will give you. Cold pan, no oil, cracked egg: it sticks. Same as stainless, same as cast iron, same as anything that isn't wearing a disposable film. Now the trick. Heat the empty pan for 30 seconds on medium. Add one teaspoon of oil. Then the egg. It slides like it's on wet ice. That's it. That's the whole secret, and it works on day 1,000 exactly like day 1 because there's nothing on the pan that can wear off. Every other brand hides the oil in their videos and then blames you in customer service.

TasteNothing. Titanium is the metal surgeons leave inside people for 30 years. No coating to chip into your eggs. No aluminum touching acid. No metallic tang on a tomato sauce. I ran a 4-hour red wine braise in it. Tasted like a red wine braise.

The priceThis is what surprised me. Taiko is running a restock sale right now, and the hammered pan is $99.95. One HexClad 12-inch pan cost me $180. Taiko's six-piece bundle (a 9" hammered pan, a 10.2" flat-bottom wok, a 10.2" two-handled sauté, a 7.8" high pan, a 7.9" pot with lid, and a titanium utensil set) costs less than the $699 to $850 HexClad customers are paying for a set. So a full Taiko kitchen costs less than a HexClad set, and one Taiko pan costs $80 less than one HexClad pan that's headed for the trash in a year. The site says once the restock sells out, the pricing doesn't come back.

The guarantee25 years. Every "lifetime warranty" on this page has a footnote about sticking not being covered. Taiko doesn't need that footnote, because there's no coating that can stop working. Free shipping, 30-day returns, and the pan is dishwasher safe and metal-utensil safe, so you don't baby it.

What their customers sayI don't take a brand's word for anything, so I checked. Taiko sits at 4 stars on Trustpilot, the highest of any brand on this page, with over 1,244 five-star reviews. Read the 1-stars too. They're about shipping times, not about the pan. Compare that to five brands whose 1-stars are about the pan.

The catchTwo of them. It's not on Amazon. You buy from Taiko or you don't. And you have to give it the 30 seconds. If you want a pan you never think about again, this is the last one you'll buy. If you want a pan you can abuse cold and dry, go buy another $20 Teflon pan and set a reminder for next year.

★★★★★

"Eight months in. I fry eggs in it every morning and sear steaks on Sundays. First week I skipped the oil and it stuck, so I did the 30 seconds of heat and a bit of butter like the card says. Haven't had an egg stick since. Scrubbed it with steel wool after a burnt caramel and there's not a mark. My HexClad was peeling at month 5."

Dale Whitaker, Tulsa, OK. Verified buyer

★★★★★

"I bought it after reading about PFAS. Honestly expected another gimmick. The pan is lighter than my stainless, heats fast, and there's nothing on it to worry about. Tomato sauce, wine, lemon, no metallic taste. It has gone a little gold in the middle, which they say is normal. Ten months of daily use and the surface is smooth as day one."

Marianne Kessler, Asheville, NC. Verified buyer

★★★★★

"Line cook for 12 years. This is not a Teflon pan and it doesn't pretend to be. Preheat, oil, cook. Same as any real pan, except it weighs half of my carbon steel and goes in the dishwasher. I've run it on induction, gas and the grill. Fish skin releases clean if you wait for it. The wok is my favorite piece in the set."

Ray Delgado, El Paso, TX. Verified buyer

9.4/ 10

Shop the Taiko Restock Sale, 50% off

25-year warranty. Free shipping. 30-day returns. Over 1,244 five-star reviews.

Tested 14 months

HexClad. The most expensive Teflon you'll ever buy.

Let's get the big one out of the way, because you've seen the ads.

HexClad is not titanium. They don't claim it is. It's a nonstick chemical film with a laser-etched steel pattern on top. The hexagons are stainless peaks. The stuff that makes it slide is the same family of coating that flaked into my daughter's eggs. Customers write it plainly: "full of forever chemicals." The company paid a settlement over its "non-toxic" marketing. Look it up.

Sold on Amazon / in storesYes. Everywhere. And here's the twist: buy it anywhere but HexClad's own site or an approved store and the warranty is void. A customer bought a sealed, unopened set on eBay and was told "not an authorized seller, no replacement."

Price$180 for one pan. Sets from $699 to $850 in the reviews.

"Divide your purchase price by 3 months, as that's all they will last you."Stefanie, HexClad customer

Titanium0%.

Guarantee"Lifetime." Read what that means. Customer after customer sent photos of food welded to the surface and got the same answer: sticking is a "care/performance issue," not a defect. Nonstick is the entire product. It's the one thing they won't stand behind. When the coating does peel, they will replace it. One man replaced half of eight pieces inside six months and called it "warranty claims like clockwork."

"Lifetime warranty does not cover sticking issues."Daniel, HexClad customer, after 6 months

Does it stick?Month one, no. It's a dream. Then it turns. In my kitchen it was week 11. Customers: "within approximately ONE MONTH the frypans were sticking." "Everything sticks. Eggs, bacon, steak, fish." "My $20 pan from Walmart works better." The brand's fix is to re-season it with oil every time.

"Since when do you need to season a non stick pan?"HexClad customer, Australia

How long it lastsCoating peeled at month 7 on mine. Customer range: 3 weeks to 3 years. "After only around a year of normal household use, the coating on mine is visibly deteriorating and crumbling away."

Aftertaste / flakesStraight from a 3-year owner: "they are chipping off into our food." And another: "As I have not actively witnessed the peeling, I am assuming it has come off during cleaning, or we have consumed it in our food."

4.1/ 10. A well-built pan wearing a consumable film, priced like an heirloom. You're paying for Gordon.

Tested 14 months

Our Place Titanium Pro. Style over substance.

The prettiest pan on this page. Also the one that made me the angriest, because I wanted it to work.

Sold on Amazon / in storesYes.

Price$195 for the Pro. Customers report $1,600 for full sets.

TitaniumIt's in the name. That's mostly where it lives. It's a layered steel pan with a coated cooking surface.

"Every non-stick pan has failed after a month or two. Which means even the titanium one has a non stick coating that wears off."Sara, Our Place customer

"I have two: the ceramic and the titanium, both are sticking so much after 6 months despite perfect care, by the book."Thomas, Our Place customer

GuaranteeDepends when you bought. One year for years, now three on some lines. Customers outside the window got "$30 credit toward buying another $150 pot." One man owned ten pieces and a three-year-old pot that chipped through. Same $30 credit. A woman who bought a full titanium set for the "lifetime guarantee" emailed three times over a month. No response.

Does it stick?Yes. And it has a design problem I hadn't seen before. Mine did the same thing. Oil pools at the edge, the egg sits on dry metal in the middle.

"The pan surface is higher in the center which means all the oil moves towards the outer parts of the pan, making it impossible to fry anything properly."Steffi, Our Place customer, Germany

How long it lastsSix months on mine before the surface went black and stayed black. Customers: "Style over substance. Lasted 6 months now everything sticks." "Good for a year maximum." "Within a year the paint was chipping off both of them." One person ordered green and found blue underneath the peeling paint.

AftertasteThis one has a direct quote from a batch cook.

"As soon as a second load of chicken goes in, it is like the non stick properties are gone and the pan goes black and it imparts a nasty flavour on food."Our Place customer, UK

Also: "The handles get SO hot you can't touch them." Mine too. Every time.

3.8/ 10. A design object. Put it on a shelf.

Tested 14 months

Siraat. It's not titanium. A material engineer proved it.

This is the one that made me buy a magnet.

Sold on Amazon / in storesNo. Direct only. Ships from Hong Kong, even though the site talks about the US and the EU. Customers only found out when the return label said "Worldwide Express to HK, $205."

Price$154 for one pan. Customers up to $786 for sets.

TitaniumHere's the review that ended it for me. A material engineer bought three Siraat pans and ran them under a calibrated XRF analyzer, the tool labs use to identify metals.

"It surprised me that the material of the cooking surface is STAINLESS STEEL grade 321... far from pure TITANIUM as stated on your company detail. The lower part of the pan is indeed STAINLESS STEEL grade 430."Olivier, material engineer, Siraat customer

Siraat's written reply admitted the pan is "a multi-layer bonded structure rather than a single solid metal." Then they offered him 50% off. My magnet agrees with his lab. It sticks flat.

GuaranteeThe site says "100-day trial. Use it, cook with it, see the difference. If it's not for you, we'll take it back." Now read what customers got. Refused because the pan was used. Offers of 15%, 20%, 30%, 50%, 60%, 70% back, keep the pan. One woman was told she'd get a full refund only if she updated her Trustpilot review first, screenshot required. She posted the email.

"How do you know how bad it is until you use it?"Mark, Siraat customer, Australia

Does it stick?Worst of the six. Mine turned brown on the first fry. Support says that's normal. It's not.

"I've had a restaurant, French cuisine, fine dining, for 10 years and I believe I know a thing or two about pans. This is by any standards THE WORST PAN I have ever had. Butter, ghee, oil, it burns the food with every single thing."Nico, Siraat customer, Sweden

How long it lastsThe stainless handle on mine had rust spots out of the box. "The low grade steel handle started rusting before I even used it once." On induction the pan buckles and hot-spots in the center: "Unless you cook with a gas hob, the pan is next to useless."

Aftertaste

"Food constantly sticks to the surface, and there is also an unpleasant metallic taste that transfers to the food."Bruce, Siraat customer, UK

2.2/ 10. Stainless steel in a titanium costume, sold with a trial they don't honor.

Tested 14 months

Taima. Decent pan. Good luck getting it.

Full disclosure: of the five competitors, Taima's pan was the closest to real. And I still can't recommend it.

Sold on Amazon / in storesNo. Direct only. The checkout is a wall of upsell videos. Several people ended up with orders they never confirmed. One woman received 14 packages after ordering one pan.

"This shopping cart process should be studied as an example of every single dark pattern of eCommerce design."John, Taima customer

Price$150 to $200 per pan. 14-piece set about $950. "A $200 pan that performs like a $10 pan."

TitaniumThey claim pure titanium and a 1,100°F heat range, which would rule out an aluminum core. My magnet slid off. I'll give them that. But I asked twice for the grade and got a copy-paste. Customers doubt it too: "cheap low grade thin pan, if the pan is made with any titanium, its a thin layer." I can't prove them wrong. Taima wouldn't either.

Guarantee25-year warranty on the page. Now what customers got. A $25 restocking fee on every return, plus you pay the shipping. One woman who cancelled the same day still got shipped a $950 set and paid $180 to send it back. A man who returned a defective item with proof of delivery: "8 to 10 months and more than 25 emails, I still have not received my refund." Ask yourself what year 12 of that warranty looks like.

Does it stick?With technique, it's usable.

"Food definitely sticks to it. It is better than stainless steel and safer than traditional non stick cookware. But it is not a miracle pan."Mary, Taima customer

How long it lastsThe pan body is fine. The parts around it aren't. Handle bolts loosened on mine in a week. "Every 5 days or so I have to ask my maintenance manager to tighten it again." "My pan cover is rusting because water keeps getting under the knob." Taima's fix for that one: go to a hardware store.

AftertasteNone reported by me or by customers. That's the one clean line on this card.

The real problemGetting the pan at all. The review page is a wall of people who paid in May and had a spatula by August. "Ordered a set of 10 pans in May. It is August and I have received 2." "Took over 6 months to receive order." Customer service is an email bot named Elizabeth. The phone number listed doesn't connect.

4.6/ 10. If it arrives, and the handle stays on, it's a middle-of-the-road titanium pan. That's a lot of ifs for $950.

Tested 14 months

Okura. "Japanese" pan. Ships from Hangzhou.

Sold on Amazon / in storesNo. Facebook ads only. Ships from China with tracking that "never gives the location."

"The same pan I bought is now at ALDI for $40. I bought it for $130 with 70% off, what a rip off."Kerry, Okura customer, Australia

Price$100 to $199 per piece. Everything is permanently 70% off. That's not a discount. That's the price.

TitaniumOkura put it in writing to a customer who asked.

"Our pots are not made entirely of 100% titanium. The cooking surface is 100% titanium. Beneath this layer is an aluminum core, and the exterior is stainless steel."Okura support email, posted by Warren, Australia

He asked what percentage. They declined to say. He asked for a material disclosure, a safety data sheet, any compliance document. "Not available at the moment." The box on the pot he received read "Titanium hammer pattern big belly pot. High quality stainless steel." Their own packaging. Another customer: "a magnet will stick to them."

Guarantee30-day return. To Hangzhou. At your cost. "Returns can be expensive and risky," their email says, right before offering 10% to keep it. One man's return sat in Chinese customs for two months. He got his money back from American Express, not from Okura.

Does it stick?Yes. "Eggs stick badly like it does to an aluminum pan."

"This pan cooks like a stainless steel pan. It's gotta be hot and a generous amount of oil. Definitely not an egg pan. It starts to work at about 450° and up."Roy, Okura customer

How long it lastsIt's thin. Mine rocked on the burner out of the box and warped worse by week six. "Pans quickly warped and no longer heat evenly. They are quite thin." Staining after two uses: grilled cheese, reheated pizza, a steak. Bar Keepers Friend became part of the recipe.

AftertasteNone reported. Gold-brown stains that won't come off, yes.

3.0/ 10. A drop-shipped aluminum pan with a titanium skin and Japanese fonts.

The pattern

Five brands. Five different stories. One pattern.

Every pan that failed had a layer. A coating, a skin, a "bonded structure." And a layer doesn't wear out. It wears away. Into the food, the sponge, the trash. Slower if you baby it. Never zero.

That's why the honeymoon is real and the divorce is on a schedule. Month 1 is a dream. Month 3 to 12 it turns. The brand blames your heat. You buy another one.

You didn't ruin those pans. They were designed to die.

Taiko is the only pan on this page with nothing applied. There's no layer to lose. So it asks you for 30 seconds of heat and a teaspoon of oil, every time, forever. That's the whole deal.

Coated pan cross-section versus solid Taiko titanium cross-section

What you're probably asking

"Titanium isn't nonstick, I read that."

Correct. Nothing real is. Nonstick was a disposable film. Taiko trades the film for 30 seconds of technique, and the release never fades because there's nothing on it to fade.

"Why isn't it on Amazon?"

Taiko sells direct, ships direct for free, and honors the 25-year warranty direct. HexClad voids its warranty if you buy from the wrong store. There is no wrong store here.

"How do I know it's actually 100% titanium?"

Same way I did. Fridge magnet. It won't stick. Then weigh it: a 12" Taiko is about 2.1 lbs, roughly half a steel or cast iron pan that size. Then, if you're stubborn like me, cut one in half.

"Isn't titanium expensive?"

On the restock sale one Taiko hammered pan is $99.95, against $180 for one HexClad pan that's going in the bin in a year. The full six-piece bundle costs less than a HexClad set. Over 25 years that's cents per meal. Over 25 years HexClad is a subscription.

"What if I hate it?"

30-day return window and a 25-year warranty. But here's the real answer: the reason people hate the other five is a coating that quits. Taiko has nothing that can quit. Give it the 30 seconds and it does the same thing on day 1,000 as day 1.

"Is titanium safe to cook on?"

It's the metal used in hip implants and dental posts for a reason. No PFAS, no PTFE, no lead, no cadmium. Nothing coats it, nothing reacts with your tomato sauce, nothing flakes into your eggs.

99 pans in my garage. One on my stove.

Most of them are going to a scrap yard. A few are going to a buddy who teaches a class on why nonstick fails.

The Taiko has been on my stove for 14 months and it looks like the day it arrived.

Buy the pan your grandkids will fight over. Or buy another coated one and I'll see you back here next year.

Shop the Taiko Restock Sale, 50% off

25-year warranty. Free shipping. Not sold on Amazon. Once it sells out, the pricing is gone.

Taiko Restock Sale, 50% off25-year warranty. Free shipping.

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