I put some extra oil on it and heated that up for good measure, but it did come preseason. It doesnt stick. After the 1st sacrificial waffle, they were all lovely and it cooked evenly. Everyones stove is different, but here is what worked for me: 1/2 cup batter, medium heat, 1 minute each side, with sides preheated between each waffle. The waffles come right out with a regular fork and look lovely.Its quicker than an electric waffel maker, but I need to stand at the stove and use some muscles. The only thing I'll miss about the electric is sittling lazily at the table and making them. So, it's not as social. You have to be attentive for this thing and at the stove at all times- it's a quick production. But, it takes up less space, there is no teflon and it will likely last longer than me. Its engineered well - It stands open without closing or wabbeling. Its heavy.I could fool myself and say I'd use it for camping or power outages- but I'd rather stick to something simple in both of those instances like fruit and cheese or bagels. I'm into convenience camping these days and leave the gourmet cooking for home.It makes a thin waffle, which we like better - but be warned on this. Belgian waffle lovers need to keep searching. The youngsters enjoyed the shape and the leftovers froze just fine.Please do yourself a favor - if your going to go to the trouble to make waffles with this thing, spend the extra 10 to 15 minutes the night before to mix up a big batch of yeasted waffle batter that needs to sit in the fridge overnight. It's so worth it. King Aurthor has a good recipe on their site as does Cooks Illustrated, the difference being that King Author recipes are free.Now, to collect our other waffle irons - and we have a few- and put them in the donation pile for family, friends and finally the thrift store. For us, this is it. We might keep the chintzy, cheap Mickey mouse one just because it's so great with boxed brownie mix in it. grin. But for most purposes, this is it.