Side by Side Comparison of: Lodge vs Norpro

I have both the rectangular version and the round version of this press and have no issues with either. Yes, it does require assembly which takes 5 minutes with a screw driver and crescent wrench. I was initially concerned about the handle after reading some of the reviews, but I did not find it to be hot to the touch. Of course, I was using it in a cast iron skillet and not on a grill. I use a hot pad most of the time regardless because I am usually using a cast iron skillet. This was a quick rinse to clean up. I haven't had any issues with the handle loosening.If you are using this or any other press on a grill, i would recommend a hot pad no matter what the product is.

This big-ol' thing will flatten a lot more bacon (or whatever) than the smaller rectangular model Lodge makes, and it covers most of the bottom of a 10 1/2" frying pan--the size we all have one or ten of. Slap it together and cook some bacon. It's as simple as that.

This IS the real deal right here.If you ever thought you had true cooked bacon on an iron skillet, you haven't experienced a thing until you try it with this.The weight and heat retention on a cast iron skillet (well-seasoned, of course) make for the finest cooked bacon known to man.Do bear in mind, however, that the cooktop temperature should be reduced even lower with this, and there is a bit of a learning curve. But you will make some phenomenal bacon with this and I can't wait to try it with other meats.

5 star rating as with all Lodge products so far, mine has a black painted spring hand grip instead of the chrome plated or stainless one illustrated on Amazon but that's ok by me. this press fits my Lodge 9" skillet perfectly, one review stated that the skillet had to be 10", perhaps not a lodge. i would prefer it to be one piece cast iron though and not have screws holding the handle on so grease could not accumulate in the screw recesses, cool to the touch is a nice idea but when i cook with cast iron i always have a potholder

This simple kitchen tool makes easy & phenomenal 0 sodium, 0 fat tortillas. Knead golf ball sized dough balls from water and white, whole wheat or corn flour. Play Dough texture. Refrigerate. Place in the middle of a seasoned cast iron griddle or 10" diameter cast iron fry pan. (WARNING: DO NOT DO THIS NEXT STEP ON YOUR STOVETOP. YOU MAY BREAK IT!) Place the press on the ball and push hard. Flatten the ball. I use a twisting motion as well sometimes. Lift the press. The dough might lightly stick to the press. It peels off easily with a metal spatula. Put the griddle or fry pan with flattened dough ball on a burner and heat it up. When one side is done, flip it and finish the other side.No more transferring dough from a tortilla press to the fry pan. No more tearing and breaking. No more extra oil and flour to keep the dough from sticking. (My biggest problem)My doctor has me on a low sodium, low fat diet. Your homemade tortillas will have no salt, no lard, no baking soda or baking powder. They will be about 80 calories (depending on the flour and size). They are soft, pliable and chewy. Wonderful! I will never eat bread again.

We bought this to make paninis the low tech way at home and it works wonderfully! The handle actually stayed cool enough so that we didn't even need any pot holders to handle it. It didn't require us to hold it down constantly because it's got a nice weight to it. Unlike some of the other reviewers I loved this small size as I don't have much storage options so it's nice that it doesn't take up too much space and it works nicely with my small pans. As for the maintenance of the cast iron, it's not rocket science. You oil it after you wash it and wrap it up with some paper towels to protect it from dust and there should be no rust problems.

Great for burgers and small steaks. Helps prevent burgers from shrinking.

Best I have ever used. Nice size and weight.

seasoned surface is too light but good product

Well seasoned press. Have used it for a coupl months. Great for burgers, grilled sandwiches and of course...BACON! Fits most pans except my small 8 inch round pan. The handle does get warm but so far hasn't burned my hand. I do usually use a hot pad but just because... Hubby doesn't and never been a problem. I would imagine is you use it for an extended time it would get hot. As always wish it were larger. It was as described would definitely recommend.

I use this product almost every day to make bacon. It is of high quality and the handle remains cool when cooking, so you don't need a mitt to remove it. The only thing I'd change is if the screws holding the handle on didn't go all the way through to the other side. But, that hasn't caused any issues thus far.

When you grow up with flat bacon, nothing else is good enough. So I made the plunge and bought this press for the sole purpose of cooking flat bacon in my cast-iron cookware. That makes this an expensive uni-tasker for me (which, along with the screws, is why I only gave it 4 stars), but I still think it was a good purchase.The construction of the press seems high-quality. It is indeed heavy, but I have no concerns about the handle coming off or anything like that. You do need to assemble it, requiring a flathead screwdriver and an adjustable wrench or pliers, but it isn't difficult. The screwheads sit in an indentation on the bottom of the press and are exposed to the food/cooking surface. The hygiene implications of that might be a problem for some, but those people would probably not like cast-iron anyway. However, the screw indentations are deep enough so that the screws aren't capable of scratching the cooking surface. Cleanup means wiping with some warm water and using a stiff bristle brush if necessary. Dry off and coat with a thin layer of oil.Use is quite simple. I can't imagine using the press on steaks or burgers since that would press all the juice (not necessarily fat) out of them and make them dry, but it's perfect for bacon. With extened use the wire handle will get warm, but never necessitated the use of mitts or gloves. One thing I noticed while using the press is that you will want to use a pan at least somewhat larger than the press. When I used the press with my cast-iron pan with a 7" bottom, the fat from the bacon had nowhere to go and would end up rising up and over the sides of the press, pooling on top of it.Overall, it's a well constructed press with the only real downside being the exposed screws on the bottom. The handle stays cool and my bacon stays flat. A bit of a luxury, but worth it for me. Also, if you are going to use this for bacon, do yourself a favor and save the bacon grease to cook with or to season other cast iron vessels with later.

I like it, but I suggest wrapping it in aluminum foil with each use. the screw holes can be difficult to clean well, and it rusts rather quickly if you done wipe it with a little oil after washing

I got this to help cook our bacon while camping better. What I found out is the bacon sticks to this thing like crazy and doesn't come off easily. I am going to stop using it for that and maybe I will try it on some homemade burgers to keep them flat. If that doesn't work I have an expensive paper weight. I don't understand why it is sticking to things none of my other cast iron stuff sticks. Only thing I can think of is the finish on the underside of this is very rough when compared to any of my cast pans.

Screws securing the handle attempt to rust. Otherwise the product is of good quality.

We had to add some hardware to get the screws secure enough that the handle didn't wobble. However, since then, it has been working well to make paninis in my cast iron pan. It heats faster and more effectively on its own burner, rather than in the pan. I would recommend this to others (just make sure you have a couple extra washers).

This is well made and the only negative aspect is its size. It is only 7 inches. I've been looking for at least a 9 inch bacon press and thought the ad said this was 9 inches, but I was mistaken.The pros of this item is it has a flat bottom making it easy to clean. Also, you can remove the handle if you wish to ad to clean up the screw holes easier. I wonder if anyone will ever make one of these with a "flat" bottom that is larger than 7 inches.

I really like this product. Because it's round, it fits into any skillet or griddle, and like all Lodge products, it's made well. When I put the handle on, however, I apparently didn't screw it tight enough, it fell off, and I lost one of the screws. I thought about buying it again, having my husband tighten it, but then I wondered if tightening the screws would be an ongoing problem. I have many Lodge products, and I think they are great.

The handle loop holes were not lined up with the screw holes and one area where the screw goes through the loop, the loop was too small and I had to get tools and almost never got it to fit. So frustrating that they don't have quality control. The handle is made of very strong wire and I had to use vice grips and every muscle in my body to make it work (and I'm A6 foot tall strong guy). I can't imagine a female ever getting this to work unless she's a bodybuilder. Once I got it on the handle is tilted somewhat sideways but I can live with that. It's almost too strong to straighten out so whatever...Other than it coming in"what I would call damaged" the weight is very good and I think overall it will be a good product now that I put my Blood Sweat and Tears into fixing it

Rectangular ones are half the price and good for the grill or grittle.Round ones are for pans. This acts like a recessed lid and never touches the food, on all but the largest of pans. They should make them much smaller to fit inside the bottom of smaller pans.

Poorly designed, can not assemble as screws are too long. Nuts should have been open on both sides (a regular hex nut). Not acorn types as sent, screw can only go in so far with an acorn, because only one side is open. Not deep enough to tighten completely.

Is not heavy enough. I had to buy a larger, heavier press. The handle gets hot, so I used a towel or my grilling gloves.

Its too small. The idea is to use as a bacon press it really only covers 2 or 3 pieces of bacon, I have a large pan that i cook the bacon in. It works fine it just needs to be bigger closer to 10 inches would be better, I cant find a bigger one...

I received the item. The item itself was what I ordered but unusable as shipped.The screws included were to long and the caps/nuts that bare visable on the user side bottom out on the "to"long screws and leave the handle loose.The required fix was to purchase screws at the local hardware store that then had to be cut and modified to work.I would not recommend this item for someone without technical abilities.If your willing to pay full price for an item and then spend additiona time and money to make it work-then it's a great product.

The screws are on the side that touches your food and they rusted immediately! Certainly not something I'm going to use on my food. Very disappointing quality.

Not easy to use - you have to fasten the handle and it keeps coming unfastened as I use it. Wouldn't recommend.

This item was described as 1 unit containing 6 presses. The price reflected saving $156.00, yet only one press was delivered. Seems like false advertising to me.

This was neither pre seasoned nor even shipped in oil. The iron was rusted out of the box. Now are brown with rust and oxidation. I oiled and fired it every day, only washing with hot water first. I'm a chemist and cook, so I know how to treat iron. These cast iron products must have set in a damp warehouse for months. Do not buy them.

First the method of attaching the handle is shoddy and not hygenic at all. they screw a bolt through the rings on the handle and into a nut/washer on the cooking side of the press. This mean you have a flat screw head on the cooking side that is slightly recessed and holding the handle on. This means junk collects in and around the screw. The handle is not held securely by the screw either. Bad design. wish I had bought the press with the one piece press and handle.

Whatever you may think about this product, DO NOT CRITIZE IT. The crazy come out. Don't buy it. It is not worth the money.