Although it is made of steel, it is very light. The ring is useful to keep the oil from spitting out of pan, but if the food has some water in it, the oil will spit out of the pan. The thermometer is great to keep the right temperature. It heats oil quickly. The cleaning the pan is easy. I love the black and red color. and this pan made my deep frying easier.
It's beautiful :) I saw this in a youtube video by ochikeron and had to have it. Especially since it has a thermometer with it. I have a smaller one, too, and it heats up so well :D