Circulon Acclaim Hard Anodized Nonstick Stir Fry Wok Pan, 12 Inch, Black

I use stir fry wok almost everyday, to prepare several dishes. Currently, I own 3 woks. Just counted, I bought 10 stir fry woks on Amazon since September 2002. Below is the list of what I bought.#1, 4 of Circulon Contempo Hard Anodized Nonstick 12-Inch Stir Fry Pan: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002CZQ7MQ#2, 1 of Calphalon Contemporary Stainless 13-Inch Flat-Bottom Wok: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007KQZ34#3, 3 of Meyer Circulon Open Stir Fry Pan 11”: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004S8CS . Basically the same thing as #1 above. It’s discontinued and replaced by #1.#4, 1 of Starfrit 12 inch Light Cast Iron Stir Fry Pan: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002EQA4XGRecently I tried the scan pan wok since I liked the scanpan 14” fry pan very much.#5, Scanpan Classic 11 in. Wok: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0067N7Z0CI also bought a T-Fal wok at local store. Didn’t like it. So never used T-Fal brand again.Below is my review for all the products above.#1 & #3. As you can see, I love the circulon nonstick stir fry pan.Pro:* The weight is perfect. Not too light, not to heavy. I can easily toss the contents in the wok, not just use the spatula to turn the food.* fast, even heating. Fast is important in stir fry dishes. Otherwise you’ll be cooking stew.* The shape of the wok is like a sphere not a upside down cone. So It holds more contents. I never thought this is too small, even for leafy vegetables* The non-stick works great. Non-stick is a must. Once, I tried to stay away from non-stick woks and use cast iron and stainless woks. It was miserable.* Please note that this item does not come with lid. But I already have too many 12” lids at home so it fits me perfect. If you don’t have any lid, it might be a con for you.Con:*The non-stick layer Dupont Teflon might be not healthy (the fume kills your bird etc), and might be not good for the environment (heard the rumor). That’s why I bought so many. As soon as the non-stick layer showed some damage, I bought new one. Also, I’m trying to use stainless pan as many as possible. To stirfry vegetables, you don’t need the non-sticker layer.Tips:* Use wood or bamboo spatula.* Do not cook something too hard like ribs. The bones might scratch the Teflon.* Use non-scratch sponge to clean the wok (like this one: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000SSS6AU .* DO NOT put in dishwasher. It’ll damage the surface. It’s not a big deal since it’s so easy to clean.#2. Own this wonderful wok since 2010. 15 years, still look great. This is the product last forever.Pro:* Healthy. No Dupont Teflon* Even heating because of the aluminum core. It heats slower than the #1 Circulon wok above. Just heat it a little bit longer before putting everything in—there’s no harmful fumes to worry about.* It holds a lot, 13". When you cook leafy vegetables, you need a big wok because of the volume of the raw greens.Con:* A little bit too heavy, I can’t toss the contents like a professional. Have to use spatula.* A little bit too big. It’s dishwasher safe but it’s hard to put in and it’ll definitely take the whole rack. It’s easy to clean though. See the tips below.* It sticks. I only use it to stir fry vegetables, make soup etc.Tips:* Better buy a 12” wok instead of 13” one: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003L0ZODE . I’ve never used the 12” one. From the picture. It looks the same. Hopefully it’ll have no cons.* Use stainless sponge, like this one: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003L0ZODE The sponge is dish washable. It makes the cleaning so easy.#4 iron cast wok. I kept it for a year then gave to my mom.Pro:* Not too heavy like other cast iron wok. The manufacturer claims that they use metal mold, not a sand mold, so they are able to reduce the gauge and offer a pan that is 50% lighter than traditional cast iron pans. It’s true.* Healthy. No Dupont TeflonCon:* It claims: Reinforced ceramic surface prevents rusting. Forget about the ceramic surface. It’ll be gone soon and it’ll rust. I sometimes left the wok on stove top after dinner and clean before go to sleep, I could see rust.* It sticks. Some people claim that seasoned cast iron wok=non stick wok. It didn’t work for me. If you don’t clean the wok immediately after cooking, it might rust. You have to scrub it and the seasoned layer will be gone. I gave it to my mom and she love it. She alway clean the wok as it is supposed to be.Tips:Clean the wok right after cooking. Then heat on stove for a minute or two, until water is evaporated.#5 Scanpan wokI bought a scanpan fry pan and love it very much. So I decided to try the wok. It didn’t work well so I don’t recommend it.Pro:* Healthy. It claims "PFOA-free Environmentally friendly aluminium. Improved ceramic titanium surface with non-stick allows use of any utensil, including metal utensils”. This is the reason I bought it. IHope it’s true as claimed. I still use bamboo spatular (No need to use metal ones. Plus I saw some review that the metal utensil damage the surface).* Heat even* Non stick works wellCon:* The size is 11”. The bottom is not as round as #3 so it’s kind of small. There’s no 12” wok available for now. I’ll consider a 12” pan if available. Consider it’s non-stick and healthy.* Heat even but not fast, which is the key for stir fry.* Heavier than #1 12” wok.Thank you for reading my review. If you find it useful, please vote “Yes” on “Was this review helpful to you”. I recently bought several really bad products with perfect reviews—turns out most of the reviews were: "I received these for free for my honest unbiased review.” So I decide to take time and post my own honest unbiased review, and I paid full price for the products. Please vote to help customers like you and me. Also, please post your honest review to help others and ourselves. Thank you.

I ordered this wok/pan to replace a similar size pan that literally fell apart ofter 25 years of every day use. This pan will last longer I am sure. I have two other Circulon pans I love so I felt secure in ordering this. I was not disappointed. This pan is much sturdier. On my old pan the handle attachment broke. This attachment is solid, so that won't happen. You can't see it in the pic, but there is a strong loop for hanging concealed in the end of the handle. Like all Circulon pans it cooks great and the non stick is part of the pan and will not wear out, scratch of flake off. I particularly like Circulon because they are sooo easy to clean. There is nothing to polish and the outside is the same color as the inside, so nothing to discolor like my old pan which looked pretty when new but was a mess when I threw it out.So why only 4 stars? I really would have liked a helper handle. My old pan had that. Perhaps they felt as it was only 12 inches it didn't need one, but even though it is well balanced, I do more than stirfry in it. I make lots of stews and sauces and when full it can be heavy. I also wish they offered a lid; even as an additional purchase. Still, it is one terrific all purpose pan.

I have no other cookware in my kitchen except for a 10" triply all clad non stick skillet that was a gift to me several years ago. I have purchased Calphalon, Circulon and analon , but when I relocated I lost many of my pieces. I can only say great things about this cookware, non stick, even after burning your food, just wait and peel it right off, or soak it for a few min, no need to scrub; you don't need your fire very high, med is good for all your cooking due to good heat conduction, unless it calls for high heat; life time warranted, good prices, remember you get more than what you pay for; no need to scrub, don't use metal spoons, you take care of it and it will certainly take care of you. I love this cookware so much I should do commercials. I'd love to have that Calphalon bronze new edition set, wow, but can't afford it

My sister wasn't kidding when she recommended this Circulon non-stick fry pan to me late last year. She bought one for my parents for Christmas, and I got to test it out. No joke: nothing sticks to this pan -- it's awesome! It's convenient to use and easy to clean.The only drawback is I wish it came with a lid, but I still enjoy using this pan. I've always used my stainless steel (with copper bottom) pans because the nonstick pans my parents used (hello, from like 20 years ago) were never as good. But times and technology have changed because this pan is the real deal. I've recommended this pan to other family members and friends. Granted, I've only had this pan for a few short months, but I have no complaints thus far. (I also never ever wash my pans in the dishwasher, even if they are "dishwasher safe", I always hand wash them, so that might help in prolonging the life of the pan).

I've always wanted to buy a wok but I needed a new pan too. This definitely fits the bill for both purposes. I stir fry a lot of food so the high sides is a must and this pan have served me well at least 5 days in a week. However, one thing I'm hesitant about an anodized pan is that apparently you're not supposed to use high heat. Thus far I've used medium high heat for stir frying and I haven't seen any problems yet so I'm hoping it stays this way.Edit: 3 years of use at least 3-4 times weekly and it is still chugging along. I dare say it still looks almost brand new!

The wok does not work on my induction kitchen. I will have to return as I can not use it.

Love it's shape, it's handle is a little bit thin.