Zwilling is a German manufacturer of cutlery. They are most famous for their Henckels line of knife. Recently, they have starter acquiring smaller companies. Some of which include Staub, Miyabi, Ballarini and Demeyre. With that many companies under their belt, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that they started their own line of cookware. One of which is the Sensation line. It uses a similar cladding technology that All Clad use. However, since All Clad is the inventor of this technology, how do they compare? In a battle of Zwilling vs All Clad, who is the winner?

Zwilling Sensation vs All Clad Quick Summary

Categories	Zwilling	All Clad
Performance	Great	Great
Colors	Polished Silver	Brushed and Polished
Brand Awareness	America and Europe	America
Weight	Mid Weight	Mid Weight
Country of Manufacturer	Belgium	America
Thoughts	A well designed pan. Handle is better than All Clad but the pan is more like a saucier. Not really a traditional Skillet.	Classic example of how a frying pan should be. Low sides and rolled lip to promote evaporation. Handle is still horrible.
Reviewed Cookware	ZWILLING Sensation 9.5-inch Skillet	All-Clad D5 10 inch Fry Pan

Zwilling Sensation vs All Clad D5 Skillet Design

Both the Zwilling Sensation and All D5 model uses a 5 ply layer. These layers adds extra heft to the pan and is designed for heat retention and searing. Giving similar weight and design, their thermal transfer properties should be very similar. You wont really notice much of a difference unless you compare a three layer pan to a 5 year pan. For example, All Clad D3 vs Sensation.

Zwilling Sensation Handle

The handles on the sensation pan is very well thought out. The finish on it is textured for improved grip. It wont get slippery even if your hand is wet.

On the base of the handle, there is a Y shape to act as a heat choke. This prevents heat from traveling and making it hot.

On the inside, there is no visible rivet. I assume they welded it on a brushed it so that its not visible. This rivetless is great for sauce and prevents food from getting trapped. A godsend when you go and clean it.

In terms of ergonomic, it tapers inward and it has a slight belly. This makes the handle ergonomic and comfortable to hold. This handle design looks and feel like the handle from All Clad Thomas Keller line.

All Clad D5 Handle

All Clad handle is notorious for its painful design. Its edge digs into your hand and will cause fatigue overtime. While it might not hurt initially, but if you cook all day, you will feel it.

Apparently there is a reason for this. Since the corner digs into your hand, you have a superior grip even when turning.

All Clad uses a traditional rivet to keep it in place. Food will get stuck in the corner of it and it will be difficult to clean. However, its durable and more likely to stay secure than a spot welded one.

I will say this, the All Clad handle is great for staying cool. I never needed to use a glove when cooking on the stove.

Comparing the two handle, the Zwilling Sensation is better.

Shape

The shape of the skillet affects how liquid evaporate and how easy it is to move food around. This can be a personal preference thing, but some pans are easier to use than others.

Zwilling Sensation Shape

The shape of their skillet resemble a shorter saucier. I love how the corner are soft and gradual, great for running a whisk through it. Other manufacturer have a very deep edge which makes it difficult when you make sauces. Other benefit to this design is that you can toss food with your wrist. Rolling and flipping things is a breeze. However, you do need some practice. The lip is also rolled so that you can pour liquid easily.

The main issue that I have is that this is suppose to be a frying pan. A Frying pan is supposed to have a low sidewall to promote liquid evaporation. Is should help in frying, not retain moisture.

The high sidewall also makes it difficult to flip food if you are using a spatula. Turning food with your wrist is only easy if you are skilled at it.

While this design is good in its own right, its not a great frying pan.

All Clad D5 Shape

The shape of All Clad pans should be considered a gold standard in the industry. It is one of the well designed skillet that I have used. The sides are low for easy turning and the lip is rolled for easy pouring.

This design promotes evaporation of liquid and lets you fry instead of steam. Obviously, you cannot toss food as well as the Zwilling sensation pan but its not designed to do that. As a skillet, All Clad is the clear winner in this category.

Exterior Finish

The exterior finish on the All Clad pan is a simple. You either get a brushed or polished finish. However on the Zwilling, they have a thing called the “Silvinox” apparently it prevents discoloration and it stays shiny longer. From what I gathered, they made it with a electro chemical treatment. It might be electroplated with a different metal. I cant really verify. Anyways, regardless of the finish. If you have burnt on grease, it will stain and darken overtime. I wouldn’t put too much into it.

Interior Finish

The interior finish on these two pans are also very different. For whatever reason, zwilling have decided to give it a brushed finish. I know that manufacturer like lodge, rough their surface so that it can hold a season better. But most people do not season the stainless steel cookware. All Clad on the other hand, does have a slight conical surface to it. Both have issues with sticking but I imagine that the Zwilling model will be worse.

For those of you who want to, you can technically season stainless steel pan. In that case, the Zwilling model will be better. Just be aware that it will dark and dirty. Something that put most people off.

Zwilling Sensation vs All Clad Thoughts

I think both pans are well designed. The handle on the Zwilling model is better and its quality is pretty good. But the issue is that its not a traditional frying pan. It looks more like a miniature saucier. For that reason, if you want a true Frying Pan, get the one from All Clad. However, if you need something for tossing food, get the Zwilling model. The lack of rivet makes it easy to clean.

I hope you enjoyed this Zwilling vs All Clad Cookware Review. If you would like to see more, please visit our Pots and Pans Review page.