Thick, heavy cast iron holds heat better

Yes. Weight directly determines heat retention. More mass means more stored thermal energy.

A heavy pan (say 8+ lbs for a 12-inch) acts like a thermal battery. When you drop a cold steak in, the pan temperature doesn’t crater because there’s enough iron to keep pumping heat into the meat. That’s the whole point of cast iron—steady, even heat that doesn’t flinch when you add food.

Lighter cast iron (thinner walls, often vintage or cheap imports) heats up faster but also cools down faster. It’s more responsive, which sounds good, but for searing you want the opposite. You want the pan to stay hot. Light pans drop temperature when you add protein, and then you get gray, steamed meat instead of a crust.

The downside to heavy: it’s a pain to handle. You can’t flip it with one hand. It takes longer to get to temp. And if you have a weak stove or glass-top, the extra weight won’t help you—it’ll still have hot spots if the burner can’t heat the whole thing evenly.

For most cooking, a standard Lodge (thick, heavy, cheap) is fine. But if you’re neurotic about heat retention for searing, get the heaviest you can lift. There’s a reason competition cooks use big, thick, heavy skillets.

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