GSI Outdoors GUIDECAST Frying PAN 12"

I got the 10” version for camping and I loved it so much I use it all the time and got the 12” version too. These are my go to pans for cooking at home and at camp.

This is pan is pretty much perfect. I bought it for use in the house, on an electric glass top range. I need a pan that won’t warp and wobble all over the cooktop, but I also need a pan that won’t scratch the glass. Non stick coatings wear off over time, and are dubious when it comes to your health. My go to is cast iron because it seasons, holds heat and is very unlikely to warp, but it is heavy and it definitely does have a tendency to scratch.The Guidecast series of pans are advertised as a lightweight version of cast iron, so I was really hoping for the best of all worlds here; sturdy but lighter, with the non stick qualities of cast iron. I wasn’t sure how much of a reduction in weight to expect, but let me tell you, this pan is way, way lighter than regular cast iron. My 12” standard cast iron is a beast that I need two hands to lift. This 12” pan is easily maneuvered with one hand, even full of food. It is also much smoother than standard cast iron, on both the outside and the inside of the pan. The outside has a matte black satin texture, while the inside is shiny and almost polished.I did not test the factory seasoning, but I did immediately use the recommended oven method with some flax oil to season. One treatment and it performs like a teflon surface. Nothing sticks! Standard cast iron can be pretty good if you maintain the seasoning, but this version beats it hands down. Or up, since you can actually lift this pan!So far, through the oven heat and some heavy stove top use, it has not warped at all. It sits perfectly flat and doesn’t seem to scratch, or at least not more than a steel pan would.One minor difference I was worried about is that the cooking surface of the pan is rounded and sloped up the sides, so it does reduce the total area available for cooking compared to my straight sided 12” pan. In practice, I think it makes it easier to get utensils under the food, and the surface area is still large enough for a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches or steaks.The handle is long enough for maneuvering the pan but not so long that it gets in the way. This doesn’t come with a silicone handle cover so I will invest in one of those, but the handle doesn’t seem to get unduly hot when the pan is in use.Overall, I am a huge fan of this pan! It fulfills all my needs and exceeded my expectations. I would recommend it to anyone.

Can't wait to use it at camping this weekendThe pan looks so nice and sturdy!

Love cooking with my traditional heavyweight 12-inch cast-iron pan - until the cooking requires lifting and holding the pan one-handed off the burner while the other hand is busy with a spatula. This 12" Guidecast pan is about 50% lighter than my heavyweight 8lb. cast-iron skillet, making it easier to lift and hold the pan off the burner one-handed while flipping eggs and omelets with a spatula, or safely scraping or sliding cooked food from the pan's gently-curved sides onto a dinnerplate one-handed without risk. The Guidecast pan comes unseasoned and its interior pan surface is almost polished smooth, making it a bit of a challenge to achieve a durable non-stick seasoning that consistently adheres to the pan. After several failed seasoning attempts using different oils and baking temperatures, I sanded the interior surface back to bare metal and finally achieved excellent results using multiple applications of extremely thin layers (merely an "oil-sheen wipe" for each layer applied using a folded paper towel) of grapeseed oil baked at 500F for 30 minutes for each layer. Is the lightweight Guidecast pan an all-purpose replacement for a traditional heavyweight cast-iron pan? No. The thicker and heavier cast-iron pans cook much more evenly across the pan surface and are superior for browning or scorching meat. But a well-seasoned Guidecast pan is a perfect teflon-pan replacement for light-duty fare like eggs, omelets, pancakes, etc. Highly recommended!

Quality camping pan for the entire group