I'm no gourmet. Most of my time in the kitchen is prepping meals as a solo dad for my two daughters (2.5 and 5). My favorite blood sport is seeing how complex a meal I can make with their 'help.' Does this skillet perform better than other comparable pans? I don't know and I don't really care. It's not why I bought it. I bought it because I wanted cast iron that I could cook with for the next 20 years and hand down to my girls. And I wanted to teach them the value of hand-crafting. And maybe someday they'll be able to teach the same lessons to their kiddos. Some may see an overpriced hunk of iron. I see a work of art created with passion to be used/loved/somewhat abused before it's handed down with memories of working together in the kitchen. I can't put a price on that.

Smooth Iron skillet is a must. exactly as I hoped.

This skillet has surpassed our expectations in every way. It was virtually non-stick directly out of the box. Zero complaints.

If I could only own one pan it would be the Heather. There is not another cast iron skillet that can hold a candle to it! It’s worth every bit of the price. Love it!

I have now cooked on the Heather three times. The third was cooking a 1 1/2 sirloin steak. I have followed you recommendation of warming the pan before each usage. The steak cooked perfectly. I couldn’t be more pleased. The weight is incredibly light compared to other less expensive cast iron pans. This purchase has been well worth the price and I would recommend the Heather to others.