If you are strong enough to lift a 4qt pan by the long handle don't get this version, get the one without the lip. Why? Because the loop handle prevents both the steamer and the double boiler inserts from seating firmly. They work, but it isn't as good as the non loop version. Now admitly using a 4qt pan for steaming is overkill, but if the 3qt version is in use, or you didn't buy that one too, you will wish you had the non loop version.

These pans are heavy, (Although not as heavy as pure copper pans)and a gallon of fluid is too, so that if you are small the extra loop would be beneficial for moving the pot from stove to sink, so like everything its a tradeoff.

33 of 33 found the following review helpful:

Attractive, Heats Evenly, and the Loop Handle Is Indispensable.  Dec 16, 2005
By mirasreviews
I owned a 3 ½-quart Calphalon Anodized Aluminum saucepan for about 12 years and had to get rid of it, because acidic foods had eaten away at the anodized surface, exposing shiny, softer aluminum underneath. So aluminum was getting in my food. I replaced that pot with the All-Clad 4-quart, because America's Test Kitchen rated the Calphalon Anodized and the All-Clad Stainless saucepans equally highly in heating up quickly and sautéing evenly without burning. The All-Clad has an aluminum core between layers of steel to distribute heat evenly. The exterior layer is magnetic stainless. The interior of the pot is 18/10 stainless.

This All-Clad pot doesn't impress me as being as indestructible as the Calphalon, and it isn't as heavy. But it has the advantages of a stay-cool handle and stainless surface that won't shed into my food. The loop handle doesn't stay cool, because it's short, but the long handle does. I can't get by without loop handles on my medium and large pots, so I was more than willing to pay extra for it. This pot weighs about 3 ½ pounds empty, but it weighs 10 pounds full of liquid. If you are small or suffer from arthritis or stress-injured wrists, the loop handle will save your wrists and enable you to pick up the pot when you otherwise could not. And no struggles to balance the pot or danger of tipping!

The pot's shiny steel surface is attractive, but it limits your options in cleaning products. All-Clad recommends a fine powder cleanser, nylon scrubbing pad, or a commercial stainless steel cleanser. I find that Soft Scrub works well. Steel wool will scratch terribly and ruin the surface, so don't try that. One thing I don't like about stainless steel pans is that they get a blue and/or brown discoloration in the bottom if they overheat. The interior of this pot turned bluish just from boiling vegetables in water, but that disappeared after a few washings. I guess there's no such thing as a perfect pot. Every metal -aluminum, steel, or copper- has its idiosyncrasies. But I'm generally pleased with the All-Clad's performance.

40 of 43 found the following review helpful:

This thing is EXACTLY 4 quarts  Nov 11, 2007
By Andrew
This thing is great. Be careful though. This thing is cold rolled. That means that the steel isn't quenched and tempered after it's been made into a saucepan as my understanding of cold rolling. And you can't temper this thing anyway since it's mostly solid aluminum bonded to stainless steel. I'm sure the two metals would just come apart due to their different rates of expansion.

I dropped in the sink a week after I got it and now there are two dents in them. They drive me crazy, but what are you going to do. I'm pretty sure All-Clad's lifetime warranty doesn't cover accidental abuse.

Beware. This saucepan is EXACTLY 4 quarts. I measured. Exactly 16 cups of water. That means that you'll never actually be able to cook 4 quarts of stuff in it because it'll boil over. This saucepan measures 3 quarts at the bottom of the clads. That means if you fill the saucepan to the bottom of the clads on the inside of the pan, you'll have 3 quarts of stuff roughly.

So keep that in mind when you're choosing a size. I thought this thing was too big for me originally because I only really wanted to cook 3 quarts of stuff, but the store I went to didn't have a 3 quart one so I got this instead. It turned out to be quite fortuitous since I ended up getting what I wanted. I didn't think about how a 3 quart pan wouldn't be able to cook 3 quarts of stuff.

So if you get a 4 quart saucepan, you'll have about 3 quarts of cooking capacity and if you get a 3 quart saucepan you'll have about 2 quarts of cooking capacity and so on. Keep that in mind when you choose the pan that's right for you.

6 of 6 found the following review helpful:

My go-to saucepan  Oct 09, 2010
By New Englander
I bought my first All-Clad pan a few years ago, and I've been a fanatic ever since. I had previously been a Le Creuset person. But I love the way these pans cook, and they really are worth the extra money. The 4-quart saucepan is the only all-clad saucepan I have so far. I love it. It's big enough to cook a pound of pasta. It's a good, big pot.

The lids will invert and set on the pan so you can stack your pans for storage if you need to. The handle is long enough that you can press against it with your forearm and get good control with only one hand (although it's heavy--especially with food in it--so I'm grateful for the short "loop" handle on the other side).

I don't have any issue with things burning or sticking to the pan, and it cleans well. I use Barkeeper's Friend, as you're supposed to with the All-Clad line. And even my first pans look good as new. I strongly recommend that you use the Barkeeper's Friend if you get the All-clad pans.

1 of 1 found the following review helpful:

A Good Pot  Jul 28, 2011
By PhillyFan
It is everything you would expect of All Clad. I love the extra loop; it makes the pot easier to lift with a full load.