Titanium comparison 2

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.

Skip to the one that passed

Or read the whole thing. It's short. It's ugly.

Wade Merritt in his restaurant kitchen with the pans he tested

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.

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

Grill line at my dad's place at 16. My own steakhouse at 29. 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 every brand was saying the same words. "Titanium." "Nothing sticks." "Lasts a lifetime."

I didn't trust a word of it. So I bought them. All of them. 100 pans, $8,477, 14 months of brisket fat at 500°F, acidic wine braises, caramel to hard crack, steel wool, metal spatulas and the dishwasher. Plus a fridge magnet, a scale and a hacksaw.

Receipts and shipping boxes totalling $8,477

What I compared

HexClad · Our Place Titanium Pro · Siraat · Taima · Okura · Taiko

Sold on Amazon or in stores?And whether that helps or hurts you.
PriceWhat I paid, what customers paid, and whether the "sale" is real.
How much is actually titanium?Magnet test on every pan. Hacksaw on one per brand.
GuaranteeWhat the page says vs what customers got.
Does it stick?Day one, and month three.
How long does it last?In my kitchen and in 400 customer reviews.
Aftertaste or flakes?Metallic tang, black flecks, anything in the food that shouldn't be.

Tested 14 months

HexClad. Expensive Teflon with a famous face.

HexClad is not titanium. It's a nonstick chemical film with steel bumps on top. The company paid a settlement over its "non-toxic" marketing.

Amazon / stores: Yes, everywhere. Buy from the wrong store and the warranty is void. A sealed eBay set was refused.
Price: Customers report $699 to $850 for sets.
Titanium: 0%. They don't even claim it. Magnet: FAIL.
Guarantee: "Lifetime." Customers told sticking is a "care issue," not covered.
Sticks?: Great for 3 months. Then everything. Mine turned at week 11.
Lasts: Coating peeled at month 7 on mine. Customers: 3 weeks to 3 years.
Aftertaste: Customers report coating chipping into food.

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

4.1/ 10. 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.

Amazon / stores: Yes.
Price: $195 for the Pro. Customers report $1,600 for sets.
Titanium: It's in the name. That's mostly where it lives. Layered pan, coated surface. Magnet: FAIL.
Guarantee: Was 1 year, now 3 on some lines. Out-of-window customers got a $30 credit.
Sticks?: Yes. The surface is domed, so oil runs to the edge and the egg sits on dry metal.
Lasts: Six months on mine before it went black and stayed black. Customers: "good for a year maximum."
Aftertaste: Yes. See below.

"The pan goes black and it imparts a nasty flavour on food."Our Place customer, UK

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

Tested 14 months

Siraat. Not titanium. A material engineer proved it.

This is the one that made me buy a magnet.

Amazon / stores: No. Direct only. Ships from Hong Kong; returns cost customers up to $205 in postage.
Price: Up to $786 for sets.
Titanium: A customer XRF-tested his: stainless steel 321 on the cooking surface. Siraat admitted "multi-layer bonded." Magnet: FAIL.
Guarantee: "100-day trial, cook with it." Customers who cooked with it were refused and offered 15% to 70% back.
Sticks?: Worst of the six. Eggs welded on. Browned on the first fry.
Lasts: Handle rusted before first use. Hot-spots in the middle on induction.
Aftertaste: Yes.

"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.

Tested 14 months

Taima. Decent pan. Good luck getting it.

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

Amazon / stores: No. Direct only. Checkout is a wall of upsells; one woman received 14 packages after ordering one pan.
Price: $150 to $200 per pan. 14-piece set about $950.
Titanium: Claims 100%. Magnet: PASS. Asked twice for the grade, got a copy-paste.
Guarantee: 25 years on paper. $25 restocking fee, you pay shipping, refunds taking 8+ months.
Sticks?: Usable with technique. Better than stainless.
Lasts: Pan's fine. Handle bolts loosen weekly. Lid rusts under the knob.
Aftertaste: None reported. Credit where due.

"Ordered a set of 10 pans in May. It is August and I have received 2."Taima customer

4.6/ 10. If it arrives, and the handle stays on.

Tested 14 months

Okura. "Japanese" pan. Ships from Hangzhou.

Facebook ads, Japanese fonts, a permanent 70% off. That's not a discount. That's the price.

Amazon / stores: No. A customer found the same pan at ALDI for $40.
Price: $100 to $199 per piece.
Titanium: Okura in writing: "not made entirely of 100% titanium." Aluminum core, stainless outside, refused to give a percentage. The box says "High quality stainless steel." Magnet: FAIL.
Guarantee: 30-day return to Hangzhou, at your cost. One return sat in customs for 2 months.
Sticks?: Yes. "Definitely not an egg pan."
Lasts: Rocked on the burner out of the box. Warped worse by week 6. Stains after two uses.
Aftertaste: None reported. Permanent stains, yes.

"Eggs stick badly like it does to an aluminum pan."Zach, Okura customer

3.0/ 10. Drop-shipped aluminum with a titanium skin.

The pattern

Every pan that failed had a layer. A coating, a skin, a "bonded structure." A layer doesn't wear out. It wears away. Into the food, the sponge, the trash. That's why month one is a dream and month three is a divorce.

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

Coated pan cross-section versus solid titanium cross-section

The one that passed

Taiko. The only pan still on my stove.

I expected another Taima. Same look, same "100% titanium" claim, same brand you've never heard of. So I tested it harder than the rest.

The magnet testTitanium is not magnetic. Taiko: the magnet slid off like glass. Siraat and Okura: stuck flat.

The cut testHacksaw through one Taiko pan: solid titanium on the cooking side, no film, no paint line. The HexClad cut shows the coating sitting on the steel like paint.

Does it stick? Here's the 30-second trick.Cold and dry, yes. Same as stainless, cast iron, anything without a disposable film. Heat the empty pan 30 seconds on medium. One teaspoon of oil. Then the egg. It slides like it's on wet ice, and it works on day 1,000 like day 1 because there's nothing on the pan that can wear off.

TasteNothing. No coating to chip, no aluminum touching acid, no metallic tang on a 4-hour wine braise.

PriceRestock sale right now: the hammered pan is $99.95. The six-piece bundle costs less than the $699 to $850 HexClad customers are paying for a set. Once the restock sells out, the pricing doesn't come back.

Guarantee25 years. Every "lifetime warranty" above has a footnote about sticking. Taiko doesn't need one, because there's no coating that can stop working. Free shipping, 30-day returns, dishwasher and metal-utensil safe.

What their customers say4 stars on Trustpilot, the highest of any brand on this page, with over 1,244 five-star reviews. The 1-stars are about shipping times, not the pan.

★★★★★

"Eight months in. Skipped the oil the first week and it stuck. Did the 30 seconds and a bit of butter, haven't had an egg stick since. Steel wool after burnt caramel, not a mark. My HexClad was peeling at month 5."

Dale Whitaker, Tulsa, OK. Verified buyer

★★★★★

"Bought it after reading about PFAS. Lighter than my stainless, heats fast, tomato and wine leave no metallic taste. Ten months of daily use and the surface is smooth as day one."

Marianne Kessler, Asheville, NC. Verified buyer

★★★★★

"Line cook 12 years. Preheat, oil, cook. Half the weight of my carbon steel and it goes in the dishwasher. Induction, gas, grill, all fine. The wok is my favorite piece."

Ray Delgado, El Paso, TX. Verified buyer

The catchIt's not on Amazon. You buy from Taiko or you don't. And you give it the 30 seconds. If that's a dealbreaker, buy another $20 Teflon pan and set a reminder for next year.

9.4/ 10

Shop the Taiko Restock Sale, 50% off

25-year warranty. Free shipping. 30-day returns. Once it sells out, the pricing is gone.

99 pans in my garage. One on my stove.

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.

Only 1 of 6 passed14 months. $8,477. One pan left standing.

See which one