The handy thing about purchasing from WM online is that you can simply return to the store for a refund if you don't like the pans. Free shipping on orders over $50, or you can have items shipped to your participating location, and pick up for free. Hopefully our induction will be up and running by the end of July, and I'm looking into the Tramontina line, too. Will likely do one of the above, depending on which piece(s) I decide on.

I like the Tramontina from Walmart, but even better is a brand I got on clearance at Kohl's. The pans are induction compatible and have a layer of copper in them. Sorry, I can not remember the brand and I did not keep any of the bigger pots & pans out when I packed up the kitchen prior to demo this week.

Thank you, both!

Javiwa, I won't buy from Wally World in solidarity to a SIL. She was part of 3 class action suits against them: failure to pay overtime, failure to pay same wage as her male counterpart and another about pay that I can't recall at the moment. I only went into the store to look at the cookware. And I still felt rather traitorous doing so. = )

Lucky you, oasisowner! I looked at Kohl's but looks like all their induction ready pots and pans are on-line sales only. Dang!

Lisa, do you/have you purchased from Amazon much? If you have Prime it's free shipping, and even without sometimes. Very easy returns too. Just a thought. Did a search, they carry that brand.

Thanks, Beth! Love Amazon Prime. Whoa, that is a great price! I thought BBB would be better because of the 20% off but Amazon still beats it. The only plus with BBB is that I can return an item, even if it's been used (rather amazing). That's not the case with Amazon.

"I can return an item, even if it's been used (rather amazing)"

Indeed, wow!

I have a mix of pots and pans, mostly All-Clad with several Calphalon Tri-ply. I bought two Tri-ply from BBB but I recently purchased one from Marshalls (or maybe TJ Maxx) for almost half the price I paid at BBB. I find the Calphalon Tri-ply cooks as well as my All-Clad. My All-Clad is a mix including their copper core.

I noticed that you can buy online from many stores and return to the store - you could buy Tramontina and easily return it if you don't like them. I did buy their enameled cast iron dutch oven but returned it because it was too heavy, but it was nice.

Thank you, alexamorrie! I'm glad to hear the Calphalon Tri-ply works well, too. It does get good reviews so I'm really not surprised to hear that, though.

Never thought to check Marshalls and TJ Maxx. I see a shopping trip in my near future.

I bought the 12 pc set of Members Mark from Sam's. They are a fantastic set (made by and stamped with Tramontina). I know you don't want to buy from Walmart so I assume Sam's is in the same category. However, I looked at a nice set from Costco that was their Kirkland's brand. I seem to recall reading that Tramontina made the Kirkland set as well but I can't be sure because it was stamped with Kirkland. If you have a Costco nearby you may want to take a look.

I have an eclectic set of cooking vessels - all clad, CIA, LeCr enamel,

LeCr SS, DeMeyere, ScanPan, Calphalon SS Staub, and probably missed a brand.

I buy a lot of introductory specials and filled in the gaps.

My Cuisinart fry pan warped but BBB took it back. I

Otherwise, they all work.

In a perfect world, I love my CIA and new LeCr SS but wish they came with glass lids(I have a glass lid from another pan that fits my 4qt CIA).

I was just on the BBB website and they list Tramontina but I don't know if they carry in the store. Somehow, I missed getting a Tramontina sample. LOL

Clarification and for others who may purchase Tramontina:

(not sure if they're only sold through Walmart and if people are supporting Walmart or not).

only regarding Tramontina (because I don't know about the other brands),

---> it's tri-ply ***ALL CLAD***.

There's a difference between just tri-ply (no clad) and ALL CLAD.

I recommend the Tramontina tri-ply ALL CLAD, for their performance and price point.

Amanda

not sure if they're only sold through Walmart

That's the only place that always has them, but you can occasionally find them at places like Tuesday Morning.

I have been cooking at my sisters house for over a year now as my kitchen is disassembled. She has an induction top and AllClad or le Creuset cookware. Generally speaking, I love the combination. I'm not familiar with the Tramontina, but I use CI recommendations all the time. Here's the thing. I'm young and strong (kayaker) and healthy now, thank God. But, again, God willing, I will be old one of these days. I don't know how I'm going to be able to lift any of this stuff in my much anticipated dotage. The weight of the cookware plus the weight of the food can be a workout for me even now.

The carbon fiber paddle I use in my kayak weighs less than my bikini. I wish there were great cookware that was equally light.

I 've collected a hodgepodge. Remember that all your black cast-iron and enameled cast-iron like Le Creuset and Staub will work. BBB carries what I think is a store brand called Denmark Stainless that is dirt cheap and though it is not marked as induction ready, it is – – or at least the ones that I bought were. I got the large multi-steamer for less than $50 with the ubiquitous 20% coupon, and the little asparagus pot for $15. A 5-qt sauté was hardest to find. I ordered a Cuisinart Green Gourmet from Amazon for about $90 and it was well worth it. But by far the best thing I scored was a two-pan set of Anolon Nouvelle Copper at Tuesday Morning. A 12" fry plus a 3 qt sauté with one lid. Must have been a promo set, because you can't buy it anywhere now unless you find it on eBay, which I have done on two occasions to give as gifts for new induction owners. Good luck and enjoy the hunt!

Yes, as huango pointed out, the Tramontina tri-ply clad is different than the tri-ply base. If you decide on this brand, get the tri-ply clad as opposed to the base, which is a disk on the bottom of the cookware. Both are induction ready, but the fully clad cookware is superior to the disk base.

Lo and behold, here is the Anolon set:

Anolon on eBay for $59.00

The shipping makes it a tad dear, but knowing now how much I like it, I would fork it over. It is not a very heavy set at all, but it does have the metal disc style bottom, which some people do not like.

seb225, we posted at the same time! Fully integrated is better, I think, and there is more of it on the market now than there used to be.

MizLizzie, I used cookware with the disk bottom for years before getting a set of Caphalon I adored (not induction compatible, unfortunately). I really liked cooking on the disk bottom set, especially because they were lighter weight than the fully clad ones I have now. I never used them on induction so I can't personally compare, but I'm glad to hear that you really like your set. Most information I found recommends the fully clad as preferable, but sometimes it's hard to know if that's a marketing generated preference or truly independent comparison. I may go buy one of the other style just to compare them myself. One thing I didn't care for with the disk bottom was the crevice that the disk created where it attached to the sides. It seemed to be an extra step to clean, especially since I can't seem to cook anything without a boil over!

Forgot to mention, my all time favorite saucepan is induction compatible and is a brand called Sarriette. I got it a few years ago at Marshalls and have never seen it again.

ditto on the Costco S/S pans if a store is near you. Macy's also sells Circulon Infinte (non stick) and I have found the Anolon Nouvelle Copper there.

Thanks, everyone! Lots of good information for me to sort through.

I've read that the Tramontina pans from Walmart aren't the same quality as Tramontina pans sold elsewhere. Is that just internet myth or true?

I was impressed with the quality of the Tramontina Walmart set. It really is good cookware for the price. Here's a good review comparing Tramontina to All-Clad, if you are interested: http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/08/equipment-the-all-clad-vs-tramontina-skillet.html

Thanks, alerievay1. I have seen that link. Good info there. Going back to look at BBB plus Marshalls, TJ Maxx and Tuesday Morning to see what bargains I can find.

I'm very happy with the Calphalon Tri-ply. I bought the 1 1/2 and 2 1/2 qt. saucepans at Marshall's, as well as a 6 qt. stockpot and the omelet pan. You have to keep checking because they only have one or two pans on occasion. I remember the 2 1/2 qt. was $40 and it's about $90 in regular stores. I need a 4 qt. saucepan but the Calphalon isn't available at a discount store, and the handle is too small for a 4 qt. and doesn't have the little helper handle. Feels unbalanced to me.

I also have an All-Clad fry pan that's great, but I refuse to pay hundreds of dollars for a saucepan. I've seen their frypans and an odd pan at Marshall's too.

We purchased our induction about 6 months ago and bought the Tramontina tri-ply CLAD set. It's fantastic! Very nice feel - the handles are comfortable and well-balanced for each pot. The pots are just plain pretty - someone called them jewelry for their stove and I agree. Food cooks evenly and I've never burnt anything in these pots.

We also have a Tramontina 8-qt. tri-ply BASE stockpot. It's attractive and functional, and that's it. It's not special in any way. It's also a much cheaper build. We use it for pasta and soup, and it's fine for those foods.

So if you buy Tramontina - get the CLAD set. And I believe the WM and Costco versions are the best deals. The single pieces I found at BBB were quite expensive compared to WM.

We also have some cheap carbon steel camp pans that work great, and some cast iron that I'm quickly learning to love.

I use Anolon Nouvelle Copper anodized for non stick - my goto pan is the 3 qt casserole which I use as a small chef's pan. Have one of their stainless steel tri-ply pans and was not happy. Work well on both gas and induction. The best induction pan I have is an old Food Network 5 qt chef's but those are no longer made.

I didn't care for the Tramontina line - somewhat for the same reason that I didn't like All Clad - the handles would rotate in my hand.

Emeril's stuff, also available at BBB and Amazon is made by All Clad but the handles are different and it's much lighter in weight. Sur La Table has their own line of tri-ply and some cast iron that seem like very good quality. I have some of their enameled cast iron, was cheap and has held up well (meaning I've been using it for three years and it's still perfect - even tho I sometimes use it on the 30k camp burners outside).

When I searched for affordable tri ply all clad (not the All Clad brand which was too expensive) induction cookware a couple years ago I read about the Tramontina from Walmart too. Unfortunately I also found that Canadian Walmarts do not carry it and I couldn't order it in from an American Walmart. I could have gone to the U.S. and shopped there but it wasn't practical. So if lisa_a happens to be from Canada it would be why she can't find it in Walmart. In doing research on it, it seemed the Walmart line is made in China whereas other Tramontina sets are made elsewhere (can't remember where). Some people don't trust materials etc. on stuff coming from China.

I ended up shopping Amazon.ca and getting a set of Quisinart French cookware for a very decent price. It is made in France (I don't think all of Quisinart is). It is triply and all clad as well so not just the bottom heats up. I have been happy with my cookware and feel I got something similar to the Tramontina I wanted. It has a lifetime warranty. There are other very similar sets of Quisinart available so you need to really watch to get the triply all clad ones.

Thanks, everyone!

bmore, I'm not crazy about All Clad handles either. That's one reason why I was hoping to find Tramontina in a store to try it out. But since that's not an option, I'll order it on line vja BBB and if I don't like the handles, I'll return the set.

I'm also going to pick up a few pieces of Calphalon tri-ply and Emeril's cookware at BBB. That way I can try several lines out and return what doesn't work. I don't care if all my cookware is the same line - never had that before in my life - so I'm willing to mix and match.

silken, I'm in the US (PNW) so there must be another reason why my local Walmart doesn't have the Tramontina tri-ply in the store.

I would never buy All Clad because I think the handles are extremely uncomfortable - they actually hurt my hands - not so the Tramontina!

I think it must be a love/hate thing with AC handles.

I stopped at Marshall's, Tuesday Morning and Home Goods yesterday and scored Calphalon Contemporary Tri-ply 8" and 12" fry pans, a Tramontina 3 qt sauce pan and a Tramontina 5 qt braiser for really good prices (less than they'd be from BBB with a 20% off coupon). I haven't decided if I'll keep these items or return them in favor of the 8-piece Tramontina set but at least I now know that I like the Tramontina handles and pans. And I may like them better than the handles on the Calphalon Contemporary pans. DH doesn't have a preference so he'll go along with whatever I choose.

Anyone own or use Zwilling Energy Ceraforce non-stick fry pans? The guy at BBB recommended these pans (I don't want Teflon) for induction cooking. I'd like at least one non-stick for cooking eggs.

I purchased a set of Circulon 'Symmetry' when I switched to induction. Works just fine. Love that it is dishwasher safe, handles are comfortable, glass lids and they are lightweight. I'm not going to be able to lift my LeCreuset in a few years! Way too heavy. http://www.circulon.com/cookware-bakeware/shop-collections-symmetry.html

Thanks, khinmn. I'll check these pans out at Macy's.