HexClad vs Made In: what's actually proven?

Last reviewed July 2026.

Reviews compare these two on sear marks and handle comfort. We compare them on the axis nobody photographs: whether the safety marketing is backed by anything published. On that axis: HexClad spans tiers — TerraBond ceramic line (2024+) at “Unverified — safety claims with no published proof”, Original hybrid line (as marketed Feb 2022 – Mar 2024) at “Contradicted — a public record disagrees with a claim”; Made In sits at “Verified — published third-party results”.

HexClad — Original hybrid line (as marketed Feb 2022 – Mar 2024): A California class action alleged the hybrid pans were marketed as non-toxic and PFAS-free while the nonstick layer was PTFE — which is itself a PFAS. HexClad settled for $2.5M (announced Feb 2025; preliminary approval 2025-04-22) and agreed to stop using "PFAS-free" on PTFE-coated products. A settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing; the agreed marketing change and the class period are matters of public record.

HexClad — TerraBond ceramic line (2024+): Press coverage reports Light Labs testing of the TerraBond line detected no PFAS, PTFE or PFOA — but HexClad does not publish the report itself and describes the full coating composition as proprietary. Reported-clean is not the same as published-proof; if HexClad publishes the report, this row moves to verified.

Made In — CeramiClad, Stainless Clad, Carbon Steel, Enameled & Seasoned Cast Iron: Made In publishes dated Light Labs results per collection: Stainless Clad passed 30/30 PFAS, 4/4 heavy-metal and 3/3 BPA tests (2025-09-25); CeramiClad 30/30 PFAS (2025-09-22); Carbon Steel and Enameled Cast Iron 30/30 PFAS (2025-02-14). Summary results are published on its site; full lab PDFs are not downloadable.

How to read this comparison

One of these surfaces is PTFE — which is itself a PFAS, so “PFOA-free” marketing on it is technically true and easy to misread: the PFOA/PFAS label trick. A PTFE pan plainly disclosed is a legitimate product; a PTFE pan marketed as PFAS-free is how brands end up in our “contradicted” tier.

“Verified” doesn't mean a better pan — it means the brand published the lab work behind its own claims, so you don't have to take marketing on faith. “Disclosed” brands mostly skip safety claims altogether, which needs no proof. The tier to treat with caution is claims with nothing published behind them. Method details: XRF vs leach testing.

The full claim-by-claim breakdowns: Is HexClad third-party tested? · Is Made In third-party tested? · or the full table.

We do not test cookware — we index published third-party lab results and public legal records, with attribution, and make no health claims. A verdict describes the state of the published evidence for specific marketing claims, not whether a pan is safe or dangerous. An allegation is not a finding; a settlement is not an admission; a lab report speaks only for the samples tested. If a brand publishes new evidence, the page changes — the source always wins.