I was pleasantly surprised at the look and feel of this saucepot. There is a thick 3/4 in baseplate at the bottom of the pot. I don't know if this will heat as evenly as a clad pot with a core that comes up the sides, but I guess time will tell.Heavy in weight and a tight fitting lid, it boiled water quickly and held the heat for a long time. The outer half of the metal handle seemed to stay fairly cool after the boil and no hot pad was needed.So far, I'd but another Pinzon pot at this price ($25 USD)