Review on Fortessa Royal Pacific Slotted Spoon: Durable Stainless Steel, 10-Inch Length by Andrew Holman

Before commenting on the Fortessa Royal Pacific flatware, you need to know what motivated my purchase. I have a 20-pc. Hampton Forge set of bamboo-themed flatware that has served me very well for 15+ years, but when I was in the process of "refreshing" my modest dining room, I was either going to get a new set of HF flatware (current set is starting to show it's age), or consider an "upgrade". Knowing that I needed only two place settings, I figured I could cost-justify something a bit more expensive. The two place settings of Fortessa ended up costing me a little over $70 - which was only a few dollars more than what a (granted) 20-pc. HF or comparable set would have cost - and I don't need an extra 10 pcs. of flatware to just sit in a drawer or cabinet.So, is the Fortessa an actual "upgrade"? Well, when opening the first box and removing the knife from the plastic sleeve, my immediate reaction was "Wow! That's heavy" - and not meaning that it was TOO heavy (i.e. cumbersome), just that it had substantially more heft to it than what I had become accustomed to for the past 15+ years. The knife is reasonably larger than the HF knife; the forks are comparable in length, however have a bit more girth (width across the tongs); the spoons, however, are smaller than the HF spoons (this would have been a detraction for me for "everyday" flatware, as I prefer a larger tablespoon in particular, but for my use, this is not a negative). I'm very pleased with the overall appearance of this set, and think it makes a very nice presentation. So, IMO, yeah . . . this set was definitely an "upgrade" to what I currently have.As to "value" and whether that upgrade was worth the price differential . . . hmmmm . . . for me - yes; would I have paid that same price difference (2x the cost of HF or comparable) if I was buying a 20-pc. set - probably not. However, my opinion may change after I use this flatware for a few months and can gauge it's durability.