They go to a lot of effort to test stuff in real world situations and usually recommend the best value.
Its kind of a Consumer Reports for cooks (no ads)
From the Cook’s Illustrated September & October 2007 issue "Cast Iron vs Non Stick"
"Our first goal was to see how the cast-iron pans stacked up against our favorite nonstick skillet, the All-Clad Nonstick 12-Inch Skillet ($159.95), and our favorite stainless-steel skillet, the All-Clad Stainless 12-Inch Skillet ($134.95), in a battery of cooking tasks." ( We own one of these and it ROCKS
)
"One of the primary reasons to own a nonstick skillet is to cook eggs, so we started by rating each pan for sticking and ease of cleaning when cooking scrambled eggs. Next, we baked corn bread to test evenness of browning and oven performance. We pan-seared steak to test searing ability and made tomato-caper pan sauce with the resulting fond to see whether the cast iron would react with the acid in the sauce. We also shallow-fried breaded chicken cutlets while wiring the pans with a thermocouple to measure their responsiveness, conductivity, and heat retention-all reflecting their ability to evenly and crisply fry chicken."
"In the egg test, the nonstick skillet was the runaway winner; the performance of the cast-iron pans ranged from mediocre to poor. The cast-iron pans were clearly superior in the corn bread tests, producing the brownest, crispest crust. They were on par with the stainless-steel pan in the steak and chicken tests. Though not unexpected, the results were somewhat disappointing."
"However, we noticed that most of the cast-iron pans improved their ability to release food as our testing progressed. The seasoning (whether done by the manufacturer or us) was becoming thicker and more reliable. We decided to try the egg test again and were surprised by the dramatic improvement. Pans that had performed poorly in the first egg test did a decent job, and the preseasoned pans were now nearly as good as the nonstick pan in this test. Given such dramatic improvement over just a few weeks, we were not surprised when the cast-iron pans continued to become more "nonstick" with time."
"At this point, we concluded that a cast-iron pan can combine the best traits of both nonstick and traditional cookware: You could make eggs and sear steak in the same pan. However, this endorsement comes with two important caveats—you must choose the right pan, and you must be willing to care for it."
"We tested eight cast-iron skillets, each approximately 12 inches in diameter, along with our top-rated nonstick and stainless-steel skillets. We compared the performance of these pans in a number of cooking tests."
Criteria:
"MATERIAL: Metal and finish of pans.
PRICE: Retail price at Boston-area stores or online cookware sites.
COOKING SURFACE: Diameter of interior cooking surface measured
(in inches) across the bottom of the skillet and thickness of pan bottom (in
millimeters)."
"WEIGHT: Weight of skillet."
"EGGS: We prepared scrambled eggs in each pan as the first test (after seasoning pans that required it), noting degree of sticking and ease of cleanup. We did it again after completing all other cooking tests, to observe whether pans became more seasoned during testing.
Rating reflects performance in the second round."
"STEAK: We pan-seared steaks and prepared a tomato-based pan sauce in each pan. We preferred pans that provided a well-browned crust and a good fond that led to a complex, flavorful pan sauce."
"CORN BREAD: We put the pans in the oven; we preferred those that made
corn bread that released easily from the pan and had a crisp, golden crust and moist interior."
"CHICKEN: We looked for shallowfried breaded chicken cutlets that were
crisp and golden brown outside and moist inside, preferring pans that retained heat well, even when food was added, and did not get crowded."
"DESIGN: We considered design features such as helper handles, weight,
and shape, and performance features that helped make the pan easy to use and clean. Pans that required strong arms lost some points."
Winners:
"Lodge Logic 12-Inch Skillet
MATERIAL: Cast iron, preseasoned
PRICE: $26.95
COOKING SURFACE: diameter 10";
bottom thickness 5.66 mm.
WEIGHT: 7.2 lb."
"Classic shape provided “plenty of room” in steak and chicken tests, but small handle made pan feel heavy when lifted. Eggs stuck “considerably” and took “tons of scrubbing” to clean the first time around but barely
stuck and cleaned up easily the second time.
Corn bread was crusty, with perfect release."
"The Camp Chef SK-12 Cast
Iron Skillet
BEST BUY
MATERIAL: Cast iron, preseasoned
PRICE: $17.99
COOKING SURFACE: diameter 9 3/4";
bottom thickness 10.37 mm.
WEIGHT: 9.2 lb."
"Heaviest and thickest pan in the lineup was “a beast” to handle, but its heft made it shine in our cooking tests, where a consistent heat and deep sear were desirable.
Right out of the box, we made scrambled eggs that didn’t stick and corn bread that browned well and released perfectly."
One of the also runs was a $110 Le Crusset:
"Le Creuset Round Skillet, 11-Inch
MATERIAL: Enameled cast iron with
matte-finish black enamel interior
PRICE: $109.95
COOKING SURFACE: diameter
9 3/4"; bottom thickness 10.26 mm.
WEIGHT: 6.5 lb."
“Pretty” pan was well proportioned and easier to handle than others. Sloping sides made eggs and sauce easier to scrape up.
Achieved “beautiful crust” on steak and corn bread. On first test, eggs stuck ferociously, but results improved dramatically in second round, with minimal sticking.
Can’t use metal utensils or stack anything inside without damaging enamel finish."
)