So the idea of “buy it for life” is to buy items that are durable and last for a long time, things you could buy once and have your whole life, which can save money and be good for the environment
What are some of the top items you recommend for this?
The smoothness of the pan means nothing. Whatever oil you use should be sufficient to keep anything from sticking, and it’s not like .2mm of height difference is going to change the conductive properties of a honking great slab of metal to a honking great slab of meat.
I used to think the same thing, then I tried it with one of my crappiest pans for shoots and ladders. It’s my best pan by far and probably won’t need to buy another one.