1) The first thing that stands out is the heavy duty nature of the pot and the way it is constructed. The way the large wingnuts clamp down over the lid means there is no marring or pocking of the lid surface whatsoever. That was a serious issue on the pots from Harbor Freight that directly affected the life of the pot. The material is about 2-3 times heavier than a pot from HF.
2) The heavy wingnuts are super secure, but do take longer to tighten down properly. The ball joint on the left, labeled as an "out", was included and already installed on the lid. There is also an 80psi safety valve installed and a separate screw-type pressure release valve.
3) There is no paint tube to remove and that is a 2-way diverter installed on the inside of the lid. By itself, the lid feels almost as heavy as the entire pot from HF.
4) One of the best features of this pot is that the paint liner is removed before they ship it. This gives a nice, flat bottom to allow for maximum use of the pot's volume.
Also included are 4 heavy casters with all the required hardware to attach them. About the only thing I can find to be critical of is that removal of the giant hook in the middle of the lid would not prove an easy task. It's not in the way but I just don't like it there.
Cost? $305USD...3 times the cost of the Harbor Freight pot we all know. Worth it? Absolutely! The nature of the lid clamps on the HF pots give them a life of about a year or so, assuming you use them regularly. I can see this pot lasting at least 10 years or more.
Hope this review will give some folks a reason to pause and consider investing a little more into your pots.
-Steve
