Olvida 13 Inch Nickel Plated Cast Iron Skillet

I really wanted to love this item
I ordered this based off a few positive reviews at other websites, and that a few websites advertised it as being virtually indestructible. However, everytime I use it I notice that more and more small holes appear on the nickel plating. I also just noticed a small spot of rust on one of the holes. I baby all my pots and keep an infrared thermometer to closely monitor their surface temperatues, so I was disappointed. The concept or idea behind this product is great; unfortunately the quality is not!

It does have all the qualities associated with cast iron cookware, but I don't have faith in the quality of the nickel plating.
Great Pan
I own a ridiculous amount of cookware. 27 cast-iron pieces (mostly LODGE cast iron), 32 enamel-cast-iron (all but 8 are Le Creuset, the others are Mario Batali and Rick Bayless), a set of stainless steel with copper bottoms, a set of anodized aluminum, a set of copper pans with stainless still lining, plus many others (paella pans, woks, stock pots, griddles, etc.) ... I enjoy cooking a lot.

I didn't get this pan because I needed it, but as a present about a year ago. I don't like to write a review until I have use the thing I'm reviewing for some time.

After one year owning this pan, I found myself using this pan a lot more than similar pans made of other materials. It works like cast iron with several advantages. Like regular cast iron, the pan works really well if you heat it slowly for several minutes until it heats all the way through, and the pan distributes and maintains heat very well.

If you heat the pan to a moderate-high heat, and add a bit...
Do not purchase
Cooks Illustrated reviewed this product favorably and was the catalyst for my purchase. To have something with all the benefits of cast iron and the benefits of stainless steel was worth the extra expense.

It's pretty disappointing that these expecations were never met.

The skillet arrived with a "hole" in the cooking surface about the size of a pinhead. I was very concerned about this and tried to contact Olvida directly about it. Turns out Olvida is just a marketing label and this product is turned out by a small plating foundry in the Eastern United States. After expressing my concern about the hole, I was told not to worry about it as the nickel plating was 100% covered and was safe to use.

Still not convinced, I cooked up a pair of cheap pieces of meat just to put it through a single use cycle. Olive oil, pork, spices - it cooked evently but was an absolute pain to clean. The finish was marred, discolored and showed very uneven heating...
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