Cast Iron Griddle for Outdoor Cooking

I love my Camp Chef Explorer 2-Burner stove. It is the best stove for car or group camping. I'm just hugely disappointed with this cast iron griddle that Camp Chef sells as a product line accessory. Despite what other reviews may indicate, this cast iron griddle has terrible heat distribution and retention, and this is what cast iron cookware is all about. I bought this griddle for one reason... PANCAKES! When I am camping, I cook a lot of pancakes. When I have a group of hungry co-campers, I want each camper to be able to eat the same quality pancakes at roughly the same time as everyone else in the group. So I bought this Camp Chef cast iron griddle in hopes of having a griddle that can cook 8 pancakes uniformly at one time... but that ain't gonna happen with this griddle. First of all, the dimensions aren't true, especially when you subtract the grease trap and the handles from the griddle's useable cooking area. I can really only get 6 decent-sized pancakes on at a time. On top of the useable area, I can really only cook on one-third of the griddle's area at a time. The heat distribution is so terrible that while the middle third is cooking properly, the left third is burning instantly, while the right third isn't cooking at all. I figure that this is caused by two issues: 1. This griddle isn't heavy enough. 2. This griddle doesn't fit directly over the burner. It's just a bit offset, and it's the side further from the burner that doesn't get as hot. After a disastrous first outing with this griddle, I decided to give this griddle a second chance. I mixed an entire box of pancake mix, preheated the griddle to low for 20 minutes, then started experimenting, 6 pancakes at a time, then to medium-low for 20 minutes, then 6 more, then to medium, 20 minutes and 6 more. At the best setting of medium-low, I was barely able to get all six pancakes poured before I had to hastily flip the hot third, then I had to remove them before the middle third needed to be flipped for the first time. Then after the middle third were finally done, I had move the cooler third over and cook them all, basically from scratch, all by themselves... This defeats the whole purpose of my buying this larger grill for better and more uniform mass production of pancakes. I will not be wasting any more pancake batter on this griddle. I may keep it around for when some of my co-campers want a steak over-done and blackened, while some want theirs bloody raw... all done at the same time... Otherwise this griddle was a waste for me. As for the other complaints that I've seen in some of these review. • The Price of this griddle is great. • It cleans up easily. • It came seasoned. • It didn't rust after washing (and drying). • It hasn't cracked (yet). It just doesn't cook well, and that's the only reason why I bought it... to cook well.