Lodge Camp 12-Inch Dutch Oven Tote Bag - Heavy Duty Carrying Case for Cast Iron Cookware - Perfect for Camping, Outdoor Cooking & Picnics

This Dutch oven is a win! The lid fits securely, the carry bag is excellent and the recipe book has some delicious sounding meals. A one pot breakfast meal has already been made and it was enough for a big group and tasted great. Perfect addition to all of our camping gear.Whenever we go camping, our Lodge dutch oven is certainly on the trip with us. Finding new recipes and fixing interesting camp dinners has always been one of the many highlights during these excursions. Over the years, the original box that the 12 inch oven was stored in has slowly worn away and I don't think duct tape can hold it together anymore. I recently purchased a 10 inch oven as well and decided to look for some travel gear that would accommodate the two. After looking over several options here on Amazon, I decided to stick with a Lodge product and purchased two of these bags, one for the 12 and the other for the 10 inch. My dutch ovens have the campfire legs and I decided to heed the advice of some of the other reviewers and support the bottom of both bags a little more and help prevent the legs from poking a hole through the material. While the bottoms of the bags are padded, a little extra support certainly wouldn't hurt.I began measuring out some plywood in order to create a circular base for the bottom of the bag and that is when I noticed that the bottom of the 12 inch bag was not sewn together very well. I could actually see light peering through the bottom stitching in several places. My trusty old cardboard box was in better shape than this. I can just imagine unpacking this from the back of the truck and having the bottom fall right out on me. Bye bye camping trip and hello hospital. While I was in the garage, I ended up digging through my camping gear and retrieved my sewing kit and spent about an hour stitching up the bottom of the bag. I probably would have never notice the shoddy sewing job if I hadn't been working on building a base to insert into the bottom of the bag. Checking over the 10 inch, that bag appeared to be in better shape but I still threw a couple of extra stitches in places for good measure.The bags do not offer any extra padding around the sides or top of the bag. I also wish that the handles to carry the bag incorporated a velcro strap to hold them together. The zipper seems decent enough but I'm a little worried about the longevity of it as well. Once I got the plywood base in the bottom of the bags, it seemed to offer a more evenly distributed weight system throughout. I cut cardboard strips from the box that the bags were sent in and wrapped them over the oven's edges in three places and put the lid on upside down. This will allow the oven to "breathe" will being stored and I'm able to stack both ovens safely.Storing both ovens in these bags certainly takes up a lot less room when compared to the boxes that they originally came in. I'm disappointed in the bad sewing job around the base of the bags and do recommend that you closely inspect yours upon arrival. Both bags offer plenty of room for their sizes and there is some extra space at the top where one might include an oven mitt if needed.I was happy with the quality of the bag construction and materials of the Lodge Camp 12" Dutch Oven Tote Bag The handles are very sturdy. The lining material seems like it will hold up well to an oiled Dutch oven, without leaking oil. It does not appear to be a material that would hold up to heat all that well. I'm not sure why the bottom is padded slightly unless it is to protect anything you might set the oven on from the oven's feet.That being said, unlike the picture on Amazon and the packaging, the zipper is YELLOW, not ocher, but more like Big Bird. I know it doesn't impact the usability of the tote, but it stands out like a sore thumb, with no other yellow accents in the stitching or on the Lodge tag.I also was not the biggest fan of the actual depth of the tote. There is too much height in the bag for my 12" Lodge camp oven, particularly when you lift it by the handles. Although, it fits the circumference nicely. I hope there is a bigger oven that most people use this for, because it looks saggy on top when my oven is in it. I actually wouldn't mind the extra room if there was a pocket in the top of the tote, but not a mesh one. I could store camp accessories (i.e. the scrub brush), cooking utensils, etc.Overall I am happy with the tote, because it is serves it's stated purpose. I'm just not in love with the yellow zipper or saggy depth. I'd buy it again, but I'd probably try and get one with a black zipper from a store.I have 3 camp dutch ovens that I use regularly. Sometimes at home but mostly out in the woods meaning I have to travel there and lug my cast iron with me.While Lodge makes extremely durable equipment, losing a $70 piece of equipment to damage from banging around in the back of a truck is not something I want to chance. These bags offer excellent protection while improving portability.The construction and build quality is excellent. Zippers are rugged and hold up to abuse. The extra room I have in the bags I use with my shallow ovens means I have added storage space for utensils and other items.If you got a dutch oven for Christmas (or any other occasion for that matter), spend the extra few bucks and get one of these. You will be glad you did.Really worth having, cast iron is surprisingly breakable (doesn't seem like it would be but it is). These cases are padded. Each size case is generously sized for the DO that goes into it, so it's "frustration free packing." Not a hassle. I believe the padding also acts as insulation, though I've never put a hot DO in it. I think a warm one would likely be fine, so that would be perfect for transport. For me, lifting merits comment too. The DO is centered in it so it's a balanced carry-along. The legs don't seem to poke through, making you paranoid that it's going to rip. Well constructed. Not sure if it retards moisture for rust, but I think a DO would be better off in one of these than stored naked. Definitely worth having if you take your iron with you camping or to meets. Last but not least, it makes you feel like you're respecting your cast iron, snuggling it into a good case. And those of us who pamper and season our iron over the course of years... well, iron pieces deserve all the respect we can give them. I like vintage iron personally, but vintage DOs are hard to find, and Lodge makes pretty darned good DOs, considering. Yeah, I think you ought to buy one. It's really not a fru fru purchase. See how good I am a rationalizing spending money?I wanted to try getting more adventurous with campfire cooking, like stews and breads, so invested in a Dutch oven. I got the 12” deep to be able to accommodate larger batches and breads. It is super heavy of course, but I also got the carrying case which makes it a lot easier to carry. Thus far it seems to hold heat beautifully (even over a campfire, I haven’t tried charcoal yet as a lot of places we camp don’t allow charcoal) and cooked food nicely. I haven’t tried bread yet - next trip I hope. I couldn’t believe how quickly and easily the pre-seasoned interior cleaned up - better than my nonstick fry pans! The only reason it got 4 stars instead of 5 was that some of the seasoning was chipping off the lid so it will take a bit of effort to bring it up to snuff. Otherwise very happy with the purchase and can’t wait to experiment some more.This is a great bag. I bought the 12 inch one for the 10 inch Dutch Oven. It was cheaper, and then the oven has handles. I wasn't sure about the 10 inch bag handling of the handles (LOL) . As well you might want to put some extra items in there, and the larger bag is a bit better. The main purpose is not to protect the oven, it is cast iron after all - it is to prevent the loud, banging noise during transport.Es buena la bolsa pero sugiero que la base tenga mas protección o este mas gruesa, yo le puse un cartón recortado ya que la olla es pesada y cuando la ponía en el piso se empezó a desgastar por las patas y se quizo romper, es muy comoda para cargar la olla se hace menos pesada y el cierre se ve resistente, con el tiempo lo vere.La recomiendo para guardarla y para cuando sales al campo trasportarla.Se siente bien la calidad de los materiales, las agarraderas se sienten firmes a pesar que le puse uno de 12 y uno de 10 al mismo tiempo. Es más fácil de transportarlos ahoraGood bag. Zipper access is easy, keeps the soot off of your clothes and vehicle. I can put a lid lifter in the bag as well as my 12 inch Woods dutch oven.