I just got this pot for Christmas, so I haven’t used it yet, but I love this form factor. This is similar to the Le Creuset “round wide” 6.75 dutch oven (my favorite LC piece). I have both pots, and they have about the same searing surface area. The LC pot is 10” diameter circular cooking surface, the Staub is a 9” x 11” oval surface area (measuring the bottoms). So this Staub oval is wider and rounder than the typical Staub 31cm oval. The reason I prefer this one to the normal oval is that I’m on an electric glass top stove, so maximizing surface area on my round hob is preferable to the taller sides. It makes it more versatile for me. It of course can do the longer cuts of meat and battard bread loaves that a 31cm oval will do, but it will also handle a couple extra chicken thighs or short ribs compared to the typical oval. It will also work great for soups or one pot meals that need that extra browning. TLDR: This pot is for anyone who likes ovals, but wishes they had a little more surface area for browning. I might actually make a post comparing the pots Answer from EatinSnax on reddit.com