As all RV’ers and boaters know, storage space is always at a premium. So when we first bought our RV in 2010, one of our first purchases was a Magma Stainless Steel Nesting Cookware Set. We were already familiar with other Magma marine products, such as their grills (we have one on our boat),so we knew quality and support was very good.

When we bought the NuWave Portable Induction Cooktop, we knew that our original stainless steel nesting Magma set wouldn’t be compatible (high grade stainless steel is not magnetic). Darn, I loved my nesting set! Perfect solution from a storage perspective. But then again I also loved the 9″ Duralon Ceramic Fry Pan we recently acquired with the NuWave. Perhaps this home cook really needed (and really deserved) an entire set of non-stick and easy to clean ceramic lined cookware. It was obviously time to not only see if there was a Magma induction compatible set but one that was ceramic as well.

Good news! There is! But at nearly $200 on Amazon, we balked at the price initially (btw non-Ceramica sets are less expensive). Consider though the cost of buying each of these pieces individually, ceramic cookware isn’t cheap! Being as good as we are at rationalizing any expenditure and hubby did after all want to keep his favorite cook happy (and therefore keeping his tummy happy), we bought the set, figuring we could sell our original Magma set and recoup some of the cost.

Magma offers twelve variants of the 10 piece nesting set. Each of the versions below come in standard or induction compatible:

• Plain stainless inside and out
• Stainless outside, teflon non-stick inside
• Stainless outside, light gray Ceramica non-stick inside
• Cobalt Blue outside, plain stainless inside
• Cobalt Blue outside, teflon non-stick inside
• Cobalt Blue outside, white Ceramica non-stick inside

They also offer a 7 piece set in plain stainless inside and out in both standard and induction compatible. See the Magma website for all the model numbers. It can be confusing when searching for prices online, so if you order one use that number to make sure you are getting what you want.

This review focuses on the A10-366-IND induction compatible, Stainless outside/Ceramica inside version that we purchased. Realize though that many of the features described apply to all versions of the Magma Nesting Cookware.

So what do I love about this set? Oh, boy, where to begin?

First of all, this 10 piece set includes the basic cookware necessities:

• a 5 qt. stock pot
• a 10 in. diameter saute/frying pan
• a 3 qt. sauce pan
• a 2 qt. sauce pan
• a 1-1/2 qt. sauce pan
• a lid that fits all saucepans
• a larger lid that fits the saute/frying pan/stock pot
• two ergonomic removable handles with thumb release
• a convenient “Bungee” storage cord to keep the set together and perhaps to keep the set from rattling. I don’t use it but it would be useful if the set was stored in some position other than upright.
• a set of three non-skid pot protectors (also sold separately on Amazon for $9.99) to keep the non-stick surfaces from sustaining any damage while the set is nested.

One of the biggest selling features of all Magma nesting cookware is that all of the pieces “nest”, allowing it to be stored in less than 1/2 cu. ft. of cabinet space. Perfect for an RV, camper, boat or even a small apartment. In our Entegra Aspire, our set fits perfectly in a large drawer under the dining settee.

On the outside the set pretty much looks the same as my original one with the bright, shiny, 100% mirror-polished stainless steel finish but, unlike my original set which was all stainless steel, on the inside, the pans have a heavy duty Ceramica® light gray non-stick coating. Trust me, in the few months I have been using them, absolutely nothing sticks and I mean ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Not recommended for the dishwasher, but who cares – cleaning is just so easy peasy!

For those of us who are environmentally conscientious and concerned about the impact of some of these products on our health, another nice feature of the Ceramica® non-stick coating is that it’s earth-friendly, non-toxic, PFOA and PTFE-free. Begone nasty chemicals!

And best of all, the coating unlike previous iterations of Teflon supposedly will not stain, peel, blister or flake. I say supposedly because we haven’t had the set long enough to know if that is true or not. Sure hope that is true – we have had the coating on our older Teflon pans start to chip. Nothing worse than finding nasty little black pieces of Teflon in your food! YUK! Be sure though to follow the instructions – similar to Teflon and other non-stick surfaces, even thought the ceramic is a hard coating, do NOT use metal or sharp utensils with the pans.

If you don’t have an induction cooktop, realize that these pans (as well as any of the other Magma nesting sets) will also work on standard gas, regular electric or ceramic cook tops and are oven safe. I’ve only used ours on our induction cook top so far so I can’t really comment on how they perform on those other cooktops. I can say that with the ferromagnetic outer layer and the heavy duty encapsulated triple-clad (stainless steel / aluminum / stainless steel) milled flat bottoms, they work great on our NuWave induction cooktop, heating up quickly with even heat distribution. So far I haven’t experienced any hot spots or issues with the set.  Need to pop one of the pans into the oven? No problem as the set is oven safe up to 500° F (except for the handles).

One thing I haven’t mentioned yet is the overall quality of the Magma set. As anyone who has ever shopped for pots and pans knows, there is a big difference in the feel of a pan which usually relates to its durability and ability to heat evenly. A pan can feel lightweight while others, usually the more expensive ones, feel much heavier, are a lot more sturdy and have thicker bottoms. The Magma set definitely falls in the heavy duty, more robust classification. Last year we bought a Stansport 7 piece stainless steel  nesting set for significantly less money ($48) to be used on our boat’s conventional electric cooktop. Although a decent enough set for the price, it wasn’t quite as robust as the Magma. But my biggest concern with the Stansport set is the detachable handle (only one was included) which is a little difficult to attach/detach, seems less sturdy and doesn’t lock in as securely. My sense is there is some risk of the handle detaching from the hot pan especially if tilting the pan like you would to drain pasta. On the other hand, the Magma handles with the thumb release are easy to detach or attach and with the locking mechanism there is a solid connection with no risk of the handle accidentally detaching.

Of course, now that the plan is to use the NuWave Portable Induction Cooktop on the boat too, the Stansport set won’t work either. But no sense buying another expensive set – our new Magma set will become portable and will be shared between our two “homes”.

Do I have any complaints about the Magma set? No. The only comment I would make is that although it did have all the basic pans, it didn’t have all the pans that I wanted. Even though the Magma has a 10 in. saute/frying pan, it is 3″ deep and has straight sides so is not as convenient (at least for me) to use for items where a slope sided pan is preferable, such as eggs, omelets, etc. So a shallower slope sided 10″ ceramic fry pan has been our only other addition.  It didn’t nest but that’s okay, we still have the room for a few additional pans.

And last but not least I should mention that Magma cookware has been selected for Practical Sailor Magazine’s “Gear of the Year & Editor’s Choice” awards and the Good Sam’s Club “Product of the Month” award. As a full time RV’er and part time boater, I know it certainly has my vote!