Lodge ups their game

[DTro]

Now made in the USA-

https://www.lodgecastiron.com/product/usa-enamel-cast-iron-dutch-oven?sku=U3ID100

[Panhead John]

I couldn’t get the link to open so I went to their website and found this on their home page…….🧐 🤷♂️

“Creating heirloom-quality cast iron cookware in Tennessee since 1896.”

[DTro]

Previously, I believe their enameled pieces were made in China.
Fixed the link- thanks.

[Draznnl]

The link worked for me.

[yakima]

Their Chinese product is very good; much better price point. I wonder if they will be discontinuing the Chinese models?

[DTro]

A friend of mine has an older lodge enameled dutch oven. He keeps it on his stovetop because he uses it almost daily. The quality is not bad at all for the price point. The new ones are much more expensive.

[Oak Smoke]

Wow at that price point they’re competitors with some really good stuff like le Creuset. They had better have their quality up to the test.

[Panhead John]

The Lodge Gods must not like me, the corrected link above won’t go anywhere for me…again😳 anyway, in October of last year I got the Lodge 6 qt. enameled Dutch Oven for $69.90 How much is it now?

[texastweeter]

$350 for the 7.5 qt Panhead John

[Panhead John]

If we’re talking about the same thing, the 7.5 qt. enameled is only $100. on Amazon…. texastweeter and my 6 qt. is now $79.90

Lodge 7.5 Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven with Lid – Dual Handles – Oven Safe up to 500° F or on Stovetop - Use to Marinate, Cook, Bake, Refrigerate and Serve – Caribbean Blue https://a.co/d/7hKnlNd

[Panhead John]

I finally got to their website. You guys are right. It looks like they’re charging out the yazoo for their U.S.A. Enamel cast iron, with a new design, while the older style stuff, NOT labeled U.S.A. Enamel is MUCH cheaper! I’m assuming this is the Chinese made stuff? Anyway, I like the looks of the older style much better myself. Chinese made or not, I love the Lodge 6 qt. I’ve got, it cooks great and cleans up easy.

[Hulagn1971]

I paid $100 for my red enameled 7.5qt Lodge CI Dutch oven about 5 years ago and it is still going strong. There is no way I'd pay $250 more for a made in USA model. That's just not smart. Would I pay a little more for USA made? Sure, just not hundreds more.

[Panhead John]

I feel the same way.

[Oak Smoke]

+1 At that price point I feel like I’m paying Cadillac prices for a Chevy.

[jfmorris]

I think that is a pretty huge premium over the USA made non-enameled dutch oven of similar capacity... does enameling in the USA really triple or quadruple the price? The USA made 7qt dutch oven is currently $84.95.

[Oak Smoke]

I can’t speak to new cast iron Dutch ovens but my older ones cook just fine. The wife gets a new Lodge enamel Dutch oven every few years because the interior bottom quits coming clean on her old one. That’s not a problem on a bare CI Dutch oven.

[yakima]

I read somewhere that there is a new generation of the family running Lodge. Introduced the Blacklock line, which I like; carbon steel, which I like; and bought Finex, keeping some operations in Portland, OR, but moving casting to Tennessee (no personal experience with Finex).

Chinese enameled dutch ovens are showing up at Marshalls, a discount retailer, which makes me wonder if they are being liquidated.

[Spinaker]

Sierra Trading Post is also a great spot to look if you have one near you. They always have Lodge stuff at crazy prices.

[ofelles]

I don't see Lodge buying Finex as a good thing. Quality will suffer.

[Richard Chrz]

I’m not sure how Lodge can suddenly sell for more than a le cruiset. A quick search found plenty of Le Cruset 7.5 at for 299, the lodge is 350 ish?

Im glad I picked up my 6 qt lodge a few years back, it takes my abuse quite fine. On sale I feel like I spent 60 dollars, maybe… if I were buying a 7.5 and considering that price point, it would be Le Cruset without hesitation.

[Bkhuna]

Made in the US, sold for French prices. That's just be what the mean when they say "part of our history-making USA Enamel™ collection".

[rlozinak]

I have an older Lodge and love it. It is just hard to keep clean...;.

[Panhead John]

It’s not an enameled one is it rlozinak ?

[rlozinak]

Panhead John yes it is

[Panhead John]

Hmm, ok. Mine is only about a year old, but one of the things I like most about it is how easy it is to clean, maybe that’ll change as time goes by, hopefully not.

[CaptainMike]

I bought one about 8 months ago for $249. It's my first enameled DO so I splurged. When it showed up I gave it a quick handwash and cooked a casserole with it. As I was cleaning it afterwards (with my readers on this time) I noticed a couple of blemishes in the enamel. Very minor, but noticeable with magnified vision. I started a claim with Lodge, sent them a couple of pics, and had nice new, unblemished replacement a week later. They said to do what I wanted with the original so I gifted it to one of my best friends for her birthday.

Yeah, overpriced for what it is (what isn't these days), but a dang nice piece of cookware that I, and now my friend, really enjoy. And Lodge CS was outstanding!

Would I buy another one at that price? Probably not, but I have no regrets on my purchase. Now, ask me if have any regrets about the POS new Ram pickup I bought last year and that's a different story...

[PNWBrandon]

Lodge is only one of two companies making enameled cast iron in the United States as far as I know. The other company being Borough Furnace. I bought a enameled Borough Furnace DO and I do love it. But I also am one to spend more if it’s American made and of good quality.

With the exception of lodge traditional cast iron, USA made iron ware seems to tend to come at a premium.

https://boroughfurnace.com/collections/dutch-ovens/products/5-5-qt-enameled-dutch-oven

[Buck-i-Guy]

I’ll be curious if they’ll sell factory seconds at the shop at the factory in Chattanooga. I’ve been there before (absolutely worth a visit) and they had great deals on things with really minor blemishes. I think I picked up 8 small cast iron skillets (great for individual cobblers) for less than $20 total. Just minor blemishes in the seasoning that were easily fixable. At the time I asked if they sold seconds on the enamel and was told they didn’t because they only sold products that were made there in Chattanooga.

[jfmorris]

I’ll bet the do. Unless they have a way to strip and redo the enamel for defects.

That said, Lodge is actually in South Pittsburg, about 30 miles west of Chattanooga. I’ve driven through there many times, but always at hours Lodge was closed.

Just throwing that out there so no one goes looking for the factory store on their next trip to Chattanooga….