Gear

Everything on this site was built with a short list of equipment. No gym membership. No machines. No equipment rack taking over a garage. This is what I actually use — and what to upgrade to if you want to.

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Cast Iron Skillets

A properly seasoned $25 Lodge will cook 95% as well as a $175 machined skillet. The premium brands buy you lighter weight, a smoother cooking surface, better aesthetics, and the satisfaction of supporting small US foundries. That is the honest framing. If you are starting out, buy Lodge. If you already cook daily in cast iron and want something better, the upgrade tiers below are worth knowing about.

Budget (Under $60)

Lodge 12-Inch Cast Iron Skillet — Pre-seasoned, indestructible, under $30. Every recipe on this site was tested in this pan. The 12-inch is the right size for batch cooking protein for the week. If you only own one piece of cookware, this is it.

Lodge 10.25-Inch Cast Iron Skillet — For smaller batches, eggs, and sauces. Not essential if you have the 12-inch, but useful for cooking two things simultaneously on a Sunday.

Lodge Blacklock 12-Inch Skillet — Lodge’s premium line. Triple-seasoned, thinner walls, lighter than the classic. Around $50-60. The smart middle ground — noticeably better than the standard Lodge without artisan pricing.

Value ($150-225)

Machined-smooth cooking surfaces from US foundries. Lighter than Lodge, faster to heat, and closer to nonstick out of the box. The price premium is real. The performance difference over a well-seasoned Lodge is incremental, not transformational.

FINEX 12-Inch Cast Iron Skillet — Portland, OR (now owned by Lodge). Octagonal shape pours from any angle. Stainless steel coil-spring handle stays cooler longer. Machined-smooth interior. Heavy — these are thick, solid pans. The spring handle is polarizing: some love it, some find it awkward. Around $195-225. The easiest premium skillet to buy on Amazon.

FINEX 10-Inch Cast Iron Skillet — Same build in a more manageable size. Around $150-175. Good single-serving size for shakshuka and egg dishes.

Stargazer 12-Inch Cast Iron Skillet — Small-batch foundry in Allentown, PA. One of the smoothest cooking surfaces in the premium space. Thin walls, heats fast, lighter than most cast iron. Distinctive flared rim for clean pouring. Around $155-175. Not on Amazon — direct from Stargazer only. Frequently sells out. This is the “if you know, you know” pick.

Field Company No. 10 Skillet (11.75") — Designed in NYC, made in USA. About 4.5 lbs vs Lodge’s 5+ lbs at comparable size. Machined-smooth surface with a longer-than-usual handle and clean minimalist aesthetic. Around $185. Not on Amazon — direct from Field Company.

Collectors ($200-350)

Smithey No. 12 Skillet — Charleston, SC. Polished interior with probably the best fit and finish in the premium space. Well-executed helper handle. They also make a chef skillet with taller walls that works well for braises. Around $200-220. Limited Amazon availability — primarily direct.

Butter Pat “Joan” 12-Inch Skillet — Handmade in Pennsylvania. The most expensive production skillets on the market at $250-350. Extremely thin-walled, light for cast iron, closer to carbon steel in feel. Limited production, often sold out. The performance advantage over a $160 Field or Stargazer is marginal. Beautiful objects for people who appreciate the craft.

Dutch Ovens

For braised proteins — chuck roast, pork shoulder, turkey breast — a Dutch oven is the right tool. Enameled cast iron is the better choice here: the enamel handles acidic ingredients (tomatoes, wine, vinegar) without stripping seasoning, never needs re-seasoning, and the light interior makes it easy to monitor browning.

Budget (Under $90)

Lodge Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven (6 Qt) — Around $70-80. Gets 80% of the way to Le Creuset at 20% of the price. The enamel is not as durable long-term and the lid fit is less precise, but for weekly batch cooking it works. The honest recommendation for most people.

Tramontina Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven (6.5 Qt) — Brazilian-made, around $60-75. Comparable to Lodge in performance. Slightly different shape — wider and shallower — which some prefer for browning. A solid alternative if Lodge is out of stock.

Value ($250-350)

Staub Round Cocotte (5.5 Qt) — Made in Alsace, France. Black matte enamel interior hides staining. Self-basting lid with spikes that continuously drip condensation back onto the food. Around $300-350. Slightly heavier than Le Creuset. Less flashy, more functional. The better value of the two French brands.

Collectors ($380+)

Le Creuset Signature Round Dutch Oven (5.5 Qt) — Made in Fresnoy-le-Grand, France since 1925. Lifetime warranty. Light-colored interior makes monitoring fond easy. The enamel quality is the benchmark everything else is measured against. Around $380-420 retail, $280-320 on sale. The brand tax is real, but the warranty backs it up.

Specialty Cast Iron

Lodge Pro-Grid Reversible Griddle/Grill — Spans two burners. Flat side for pancakes, griddled proteins, and batch cooking eggs. Ridged side for grill marks. Around $35-45. Useful for Sunday batch cook sessions where you need more surface area.

A note on cast iron woks: Lodge makes one. Skip it. Cast iron is heavy and slow to respond to temperature changes — the opposite of what wok cooking requires. Buy a $30 carbon steel wok instead. It will outperform any cast iron wok at any price.

Training Equipment

A kettlebell and a pull-up bar is a complete gym. The only real variable is how much you want to spend on the bell. Cheap kettlebells work. Expensive kettlebells work better in your hands — smoother finish, more consistent handle diameter, better knurling. The movements are the same.

Budget (Under $80)

Amazon Basics Cast Iron Kettlebell (24kg/53lb) — Around $45-55. Single-cast, enamel coated. Gets the job done. The handle finish is rougher than premium bells and the coating chips over time, but 24kg is 24kg regardless of what is stamped on the side.

Amazon Basics Cast Iron Kettlebell (16kg/35lb) — Same build in the starting weight. Around $30-40. If you are buying your first kettlebell and unsure about commitment, start here.

Iron Gym Pull Up Bar — Fits standard door frames, no screws. Pull-ups are half the Rite of Passage program. A pull-up bar and a kettlebell is a complete upper body gym.

Value ($80-150)

Kettlebell Kings Powder Coat Kettlebell (24kg) — 24kg is the starting weight for the minimum effective kettlebell program. Powder coat grip, flat bottom, single cast. If you can strict press it for 5 clean reps, this is your bell. If you can’t, start with 16kg. Around $100-130.

Kettlebell Kings Powder Coat Kettlebell (16kg) — Starting weight if 24kg is too heavy for clean presses. No shame in honest weight selection. The guy who masters 16kg for six months will always beat the guy who grinds ugly reps with 24kg. Around $80-100.

Collectors ($150+)

Rogue Fitness Kettlebell (24kg) — Made in Columbus, OH. Single-cast, no welds, no fillers. The handle finish and dimensional consistency are the best in the market. Around $150-175. Not on Amazon — direct from Rogue only. If you are going to own one bell for the next decade, this is the one. Rogue also makes a 16kg at around $100-120.

Rucking Gear

Budget (Under $60)

Any backpack with a laptop compartment and a weight plate wrapped in a towel. Seriously. The movement is walking with weight on your back. A $20 thrift store pack and a 20 lb ruck plate gets you 90% of the benefit. Start here before spending $200+ on a dedicated ruck.

Value ($100-150)

5.11 Rush 24 2.0 Backpack — 37L, 1050D nylon, MOLLE webbing, padded shoulder straps. Not designed specifically for rucking but handles it well. Laptop compartment holds a ruck plate flat against your back. Around $100-130. More versatile than a dedicated ruck — doubles as a travel bag.

GORUCK Ruck Plate (20 lb) — Flat, dense, sits flush against your back. Start with 20 lbs. When that feels like nothing, move to 30. Works in any pack with a laptop-style compartment.

Collectors ($200+)

GORUCK Rucker 4.0 (25L) — Built for rucking, not hiking. Ruck plate pocket, padded hip belt, 1000D Cordura. Overkill for walking around the neighborhood. Exactly right for serious rucking protocol. Around $245. Lifetime SCARS warranty — they repair or replace anything, forever.

The Books

These aren’t recommendations in the usual sense. They’re the source material for the protocol. If you want to understand why the training and nutrition are designed the way they are, read them.

Gift of Injury — Stuart McGill & Brian Carroll — McGill rebuilt a world-class powerlifter from two ruptured discs. The book documents the spine biomechanics that explain why kettlebell swings are spine-safe and most conventional loading is not.

Enter the Kettlebell! — Pavel Tsatsouline — The Rite of Passage program comes from this book. Clean & press ladders with pull-ups between rungs. Simple, progressive, and effective enough to build real pressing strength with a single bell.

The Armor Building Formula — Dan John — The Armor Building Complex (double clean, double press, double front squat) comes from Dan John’s work. Not on Amazon — available direct from Dan John University.

Beyond CRON — Roy Walford & Lisa Walford — The original calorie restriction with optimal nutrition framework. Walford’s Biosphere 2 research and his approach to maximizing nutrient density per calorie is the foundation of every recipe on this site.