The main reason I chose this item. The Bayou Classic 1144 44-Quart is because the very first "Very Old" review By Alexander J. Graham "Grahamboat"on August 22, 2010 said it was 20 gauge. Showed oldest review first for some reason. WELL, 20 gauge is 0.0375" inches (0.95 mm) which is slightly thicker that 1/32". A big different from what this pot actually is. I would have gave it 5 stars if it were thicker. Actually 4 stars is being slightly generous, but it does have good design and $87 is what my wife spends on a hair cut and comes home with wet hair and happy at the price. Go figure!

As a Machinist, I miked both the pot and the basket. The pot mikes .023" (56 mm) or 25 Gauge on the stainless steel gauge thickness chart. This equals between 1/64" and 1/32" wall thickness. Very thin for an outside boiling pot. A thin pot will loose heat quicker. Especially outside when the wind is blowing much at all or if it's cold. I'm hoping it is as good or better than my old aluminum pot which lost/transferred heat quickly on windy days. The pot does feel fairly sturdy, because of the ribbed indention near the top of the pot. It is a nice looking and nice feeling pot and basket.

The strainer basket mikes slightly thinner at .019" just a bit thicker than 1/64" (48 mm) or 26 Gauge on the stainless steel gauge thickness chart. However is feels sturdy and is not much of an issue since it's inside the pot. The basket has no legs for stand off at all on the bottom as one of the reviews stated it was 3". For me, this is good although I would have liked at least 3/8" or 1/2". No loss of capacity this way.
"But Wait" I stand corrected. It does have a 3" stand off from the bottom because the basket is supported from the ribbed indention near the top instead of resting on the bottom of the pot. This basket is larger than my old 35 quart basket though. 3/4" wider and 1-5/8" taller so I don't expect a capacity loss unless you counted on the head space were you to over fill the basket. Since the basket rests on the rib, it acts as a seal NOT allowing stuff to over flow and get between the basket and the pot. My old one did that if I filled it to much. I like this since I often didn't find the OVER FLOWED craw fish or shrimp etc. until the next day. Pee Yew if it was 3 days.

The pot handles are welded vs. riveted, but it is an actual weld bead (On One Side Only) and not just spot welded. I can't tell is they are solid or just stainless tubing with the ends capped. Handles are 3/8" diameter. I suspect they are tubing, but appear sturdy enough although I haven't lifted it when filled with water yet.

I haven't used this pot yet. Will try to update my review after I do.

P.S. When I put " as in .023", I am referring to the symbol for inches.

Update 4-20-15
I used it to boil 17 lbs of crawfish this weekend. It worked well. Had room for more. The handles do not come out far enough though. Can only grip it underhanded. No room for fingers between pot and handle. They may do that on purpose so you don't burn yourself. Still, they don't come out far enough to get a comfortable good grip even under handed. All in all, I am happy with this pot.

Perfect size for my Cajun shrimp boil for 12

Great quality. Although the indented lip created to keep the basket off the bottom causes the lost of 3.7" of headroom. I'd rather a loss of only 3/4" to 1" and a taller basket.

This was really bigger than what I was thinking it would be. But it is worth it.

This is a great pot for steaming out side. Used it for doing some Oysters and Crab legs and it works out so nice. Best part is its stainless steel. Have used other ones that have been aluminum and the bottom and sides get all eaten up from the Oysters and are very hard to clean. NOT this one. The pot and strainer cleaned up with just some soap and water. Used it out side on a Bayou Classics Signal Burner and it still looks brand new. Just slight discoloring on the very bottom where the flame hits it but cleaned up with a SOS Pad to look like new again. I am now looking for more things to cook outside with it because it that nice of a pot and know i can cook, steam, etc more in it because it did not get ruined like the aluminum ones. You would only use it for doing that one thing after just one use with a aluminum pot. This is also a great price, Check it out and I know your are seeing a wide difference in prices. I did the same and just went with this one and i have not been more happy with it. Just love it. Could not see spending like 90 to 150 dollars for a pot just to do some steaming of shell fish, this was a great price and is just as good of a quality pot as the others are.
This is a update, May 2016.
I have had this pot for some time now and have used it a lot. It works great. The last time i used it was 3 months ago. I forgot to fully clean it out and it was 3 months outside and boy did i think i ruined it. There was some left over water and Crab and Oysters mess left in it as well. The inside was now a mess. What ever that mess was was not fully coming clean with some soap and water. i got off all the slime stuff but there was a black ring and what looked like surface rust, Not sure on that, Still on the bottom of the inside. Well i went back to my SOS pads and it cleaned up like new in about 20 minutes. Did have to put some elbow grease into it but it looks like brand new again. I have seen a few reviews about holes in it and the entire bottom melting. Well let me tell you that is just plane crap. The user is at fault for all that, the only way this pot will ever melt is if there is no water on side and you leave it on the burner. Then yes it will melt. The holes in it is just someone making a bad review for some reason, Most likely paid way too much for one and are upset. This is a great pot and steamer, if i did not wreck it this time there is none thing you can do to wreck it.