Anyone who has cooked with cast iron knows that it's the best! I was in the market for a cast iron dutch oven to use while camping. A key feature, in my opinion, that this unit has that I have not found in many others is a flat surface on the inside of the lid. I wanted to be able to flip the lid over onto coals and be capable of cooking pancakes without the batter running toward the center of a concave lid. I've used this dutch oven to cook a cobbler dessert at altitudes from ~1000 ft to ~8600 ft above sea level and 40 degrees to 90 degrees using the same configuration of coals and achieve very similar results. This is the perfect size dutch oven if you're looking to cook single pot dishes for a family of 4-5. Be sure to follow typical cast iron cleaning methods.Not at tall as I expected, but the larger capacity allowedfortwotritips and all the fixing with no issue.there is nothing extraordinary about a cast iron dutch oven...except that they cook on the stove top, in the oven, over a fire, or embedded in coals equally well. and the thing will outlive me and probably survive nuclear war. so that's cool. not a 5 star rating because work horses never get 5 stars. this will get the job done more than admirably every time.everyone should have one of these in their kitchen. it's on the same level in terms of usability, durability and overall classiness as anything All Clad manufactures. having cast iron around the kitchen says something about one's ability in the kitchen, so don't consider this a 2nd class kitchen item. I really bought this pan because a lot of the meals I make require searing meat, using the meat juices to start a sauce, and then cooking time. with the dutch oven I can do all of this in one pan and the meal has more character than a crock pot can ever dream of matching.sure you have to take care of cast iron, but you can't let a set of alpine race skis, your climbing rope, your dog or your Range Rover go without some attention from time to time, either.this size dutch oven easily holds 5 big chicken breasts plus lots of veggies or 6 lbs of brisket (cut into two pieces and stacked) with room to spare. so it's big. and the lid doubles as a frying pan, which just makes this thing even more reliable. if I were cooking for less than 5 people, i may prefer the smaller dutch oven. but this size allows for over production, leaving tasty leftovers for the work week.if you're still on the fence, consult The Joy of Cooking or your mama about the wisdom of owning cast iron.This pan is heavy! We always take it camping and it is very handy for meals in our big group of 8-16 people. It came already seasoned so we could use it right away, and it has gotten better with each meal. Food never sticks badly. When some does, we use a nylon scraper to get it. I don't usually wash this too thoroughly, because I don't think you're supposed to get all the oils out...works best when there is a layer of dark oils. If it looks dirty, I soak it with plain water and use the lodge cast iron scrub brush. Then rinse with really hot water, spray with pam, and set upside down over my gas grill on high for 10-15 minutes. Do the same cleaning with the lid if needed.Cooking:We cook eggs and meat in the lid over the grill or over the fire on a grate for breakfast...works great!We hang the covered oven from our tripod and cook just above the coals. Amazing even cooking without burning food--ever! I just pour in some olive oil and add almost any food. Our favorite is sliced potatoes with left over brats and hamburgers sliced up into chunks. Add a chopped onion and your favorite seasonings...yum! We always cook too many brats and hamburgers at lunch so we can make this for supper. Once we are done with lunch, we start this and let it hang above the fire all day. 3-5 hours, then raise it up out of heat or set it on the far edge until ready for supper. Food stays hot and flavors are amazing! Cook corn on the cob in husks over the fire to go with it!I was looking for an oven with legs and found this one with bottom legs and on the lid as well. It works perfectly for stacking my other oven on top when I need two ovens. The lid legs also allow the lid to serve as a skillet.The seasoning is very durable. I wanted to use flax oil to season so I tried to burn off the factory seasoning. I won't try that again! I should have used it as is!This oven has a thermometer port which is a huge advantage. On Amazon, I found a 4 channel electronic thermometer so I put one probe into the meat, one into the oven space. This allowed me to keep the lid on until I knew my chicken was perfect (fall off the bone and moist ).I also procured a 10" stainless steel pizza plate to put under the oven to keep my coals right where they should be.I added a wire rack inside to keep the bird off the bottom. The gravy was delicious!The included lid lifter fits inside so I wrap all these accessories in a clean, dry hand towel (protects the finish) along with a pair of leather gloves.I plan to add another of these so I can triple stack them.Aunque aun no la uso ya estoy acomodando todo para poderla estrenar con una buena barbacoa a la leña. Incluye su abre tapa para evitartener accidentes con lo caliente.Después de tanto esperar el adquirir este producto, me lleve una mala impresión al notar que la olla no es tan robusta y gruesa como la tapa, se nota la diferencia en grosor y peso entre los dos, no la puedo regresar porque ya la utilice si no la regresaba y adquiría otra marca, al cocinar en ella me percate que no retiene tanto el calor por ser un más delgada a la mayoría de su clase, la tapa otro nivel, mucho mejor construida no entiendo que siendo de la misma marca tenga tanta diferencia entre ambos artículos siendo de la misma marca el control de calidad final no cumple con lo establecido.I purchased a 12" oven and sadly the unit I received had a faulty lid which cracked while being used as intended. I contacted Camp Chef customer support directly and I have to give them credit, they were exceptional. Not only did they send me a replacement without any issues, but I was able to keep my original oven which is still partially functional, even with the damaged lid, just not as a skillet. Not only that but they sent me a 14" as a replacement! A very nice upgrade for my camp kit that I was not expecting. Now I can stack the 12" on top of the 14" comfortably! Thanks Camp Chef!The product works great, I have made countless meals in it over the past month or so while working in a bush camp. It cooked a 10x5" roast perfectly, I was even able to do 5 layer fully loaded nachos! in fact everything I have tried to cook in it has been a dream - there's no limitations to camp fire cooking with this Camp dutch oven!Durch einen Kollegen darauf aufmerksam gemacht und mittlerweile oft genutzt. Internet und Kochbücher bieten viele Rezepte und etliche wurde mittlerweile im Garten oder auch auf Musikfestivals ausprobiert.Dieser bietet nicht nur den Topf mit Füßen, sondern auch den Deckel. Diese Bratpfanne habe ich leider noch nicht probiert.P.S. Am Wochenende gibts zum x-ten Mal Hähnchenschenkel auf Rosmarinkartoffeln aus dem Dutch Oven.Der Dutch Oven von Camp Chef ist nicht mehr aus meiner Grillecke weg zu denken, regelmäßig wird dieser befeuert.Der Oven kam schon fertig Angebrannt an so das es sofort losgehen konnte (Traditionell Schicht Fleisch ). beim sauber machen darf man auf gar keinen Fall Spülmittel benutzen da sonst die Schutzschicht verloren geht. Die ersten 2 male ist noch etwas angebrannt doch wenn man nach den Auswaschen den Dopf wieder einölt ( ich benutze normales Rapsöl ) wird die Oberfläche immer Glatter und es haftet nichts mehr an. Von mir gibt es eine klare Kaufempfehlung.