Short answer: The best torch for borosilicate is the one that delivers enough heat for the size of work you actually do, fed by an oxygen supply that can keep up. Boro softens at much higher temperatures than soft glass, so it needs an oxygen/fuel flame with real punch, not a gentle bead flame. For entry boro (pendants, small sculpture), the GTT Bobcat ($275) is the standout value. For small and detail boro, the GTT Lynx ($525) is the precision pick. Stepping up, the GTT Cheetah ($645) and Nortel Red Max ($894) add heat and range. For large boro and production, look at the GTT Mirage ($1,975) or the Bethlehem Champion ($1,916), and budget for the oxygen those big two-stage torches demand.
If you’re still weighing the bigger decision, glass type, oxygen, fuel, budget, start with the complete glass torch buyer’s guide. This article zooms in on the boro-specific question.
Why boro demands more from a torch
Borosilicate (“hard glass,” roughly 33 COE) works at significantly higher temperatures than soft soda-lime glass. Schott’s datasheet for DURAN, a borosilicate 3.3, puts its softening point at 825 °C (about 1,520 °F) and its working point at 1260 °C, well above where soda-lime softens. That’s why boro work is done on an oxygen/fuel torch rather than an air/fuel flame: pure oxygen produces a much hotter flame, and it also gives you control over the flame’s oxidizing or reducing chemistry, which matters because many boro colors react to leftover oxygen in the flame. Source: Schott, DURAN tubing datasheet.
Two practical consequences follow:
- Torch size tracks the size of the boro. The makers rate their torches by the solid boro they can bring up to heat: GTT puts the Lynx at up to 2 inches and the Cheetah at up to 3, so a bigger piece needs a bigger flame, not just more patience.
- Your oxygen supply becomes the real constraint. A hotter, bigger flame burns more oxygen per minute. Underfeed a boro torch and you get a weak, dirty flame no matter what the torch cost.
For the full material comparison, and whether boro is even the right glass for what you want to make, see soft glass vs boro vs quartz.
The oxygen question behind every boro torch
Before comparing models, size the oxygen. Small single-stage boro torches can run on oxygen concentrators: GTT says the Bobcat runs well on a 5 LPM concentrator and is optimal around 8 LPM. Big two-stage torches are a different animal: Bethlehem lists its Champion at 40 LPM of tanked oxygen at 20 psi at full flame, which is far beyond any single concentrator. That’s why large-work studios run tanked or stacked-concentrator oxygen, and why the torch decision and the oxygen decision have to be made together. Sources: GTT, Bobcat, Bethlehem Burners, Champion.
The details live in how many LPM does my torch need and oxygen concentrator vs tanks for lampworking.
Entry boro: GTT Bobcat, about $275
The GTT Bobcat is the value pick for getting into boro. It’s a single-stage, 7-jet standard surface-mix bench torch (GTT’s patented Triple Mix starts with the Lynx) that GTT rates from a 2-inch pinpoint up to a 9/16-inch by 13-inch flame, enough for 1.5-inch solid boro and boro pendants to about 3 inches without changing anything on the torch. Just as important for a first boro setup, it runs on a 5 LPM, 5 psi concentrator (optimal at 8 LPM, happy on 10 LPM or tanks), so your oxygen bill stays sane. It’s pitched at beginner-to-intermediate makers and handles soft glass too, which is why it also anchors our best beginner glass torch guide. If your boro ambitions are pendants, marbles, and small sculpture, start here. Source: GTT, Bobcat.
Small and detail boro: GTT Lynx, about $525
The GTT Lynx is the precision option: a single-stage, 7-jet pinpoint Triple Mix torch that intermediate and advanced artists favor for fine detail, stringer work, and small boro. It isn’t a heat monster, it’s the opposite, a tight, controllable flame that puts the heat exactly where you point it, though GTT still rates it for solid boro up to 2 inches. That makes it a superb detail torch for boro line work, and the same Lynx fire is the center stage of GTT’s larger torches (including the Mirage below), so the flame behavior you learn transfers upward. If you’re choosing between it and the Bobcat, our Lynx vs Bobcat comparison walks through it: range leans Bobcat, precision leans Lynx. Source: GTT, Lynx.
Step-up boro: GTT Cheetah and Nortel Red Max
GTT Cheetah, about $645
The GTT Cheetah is GTT’s “a lot of heat in a small torch” burner: a single-stage Triple Mix torch with 13 ports total, a 3-port center fire inside a 10-port outer ring. Its flame is broader and bushier than the needle-fine Lynx, better for soaking a boro prep in heat. GTT rates the flame from pencil width up to 3/4 inch wide by 20 inches long and the torch for solid boro up to 3 inches. If you want one single-stage torch with more thermal headroom than a Bobcat, this is the step up; the flame-shape trade-off against the Lynx is covered in Cheetah vs Lynx, and the Bobcat vs Cheetah comparison prices the jump. Source: GTT, Cheetah.
Nortel Red Max, about $894
The Nortel Red Max is the versatile two-head alternative: a surface-mix bench burner whose lower head Nortel labels 45-port (its own ring description, 16 plus 27, adds to 43), with a flame up to 1.25 inches wide, plus a swappable top burner (Minor, Mega Minor, or a premix head). Our catalog lists it for soft glass and boro; Nortel’s page names no glass and publishes no oxygen figure, so size the supply with Nortel before you buy. The two-flame arrangement is genuinely useful for boro: bulk heat below, a smaller working flame on top. It’s a generalist rather than a boro specialist, but a capable one. Source: Nortel, Red Max.
Large boro and production: GTT Mirage and Bethlehem Champion
GTT Mirage, about $1,975
The GTT Mirage is GTT’s large-work two-stage torch: a Lynx 7-jet center fire wrapped in two outer rings, 40 jets total, delivering flames from a soft bushy soak to a hard driving flame. It’s an advanced, large-boro and production torch, tubing, big sculpture, and pipe work, where our picks for borosilicate pipe makers tier the decision by oxygen supply first. The four-stud manifold feeds the center and outer fires separately, and GTT’s instruction sheet sets fuel at 10 psi and oxygen at 35 psi. Because the center is a Lynx, you keep a true detail flame inside the big torch. Source: GTT, Mirage.
Bethlehem Champion, about $1,916
The Bethlehem Champion is the other serious large-work contender: a two-stage, stainless steel surface-mix bench burner with separately controlled inner and outer flames (one gas and one oxygen valve per stage, four-port manifold), a redesign of Bethlehem’s long-running PM2D. The standard Champion puts a 6-jet center fire inside a 30-jet outer fire on a 1 1/8 inch face. Its low-velocity flames stay gentle on the glass across a wide range of fuel mixtures, and it works both soft and borosilicate glass. Plan tanked oxygen for full-flame work: Bethlehem lists propane at 5 psi and 8 LPM and oxygen at 20 psi and 40 LPM. Source: Bethlehem Burners, Champion.
Quick comparison: boro-capable torches
Prices are catalog figures from each maker’s own list. GTT oxygen figures are estimates from GTT’s Flow Rate Chart at the largest usable flame on propane; the Bobcat line is GTT’s concentrator guidance and the Champion figure is Bethlehem’s full-flame number. Confirm current configurations and numbers with the maker before you buy.
| Torch | Stages | Mix type | Best boro fit | Oxygen | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GTT Bobcat | 1 | Surface (standard) | Entry boro: pendants, small-to-medium work | Runs well on 5 LPM; optimal at 8 LPM | $275 |
| GTT Lynx | 1 | Surface (Triple Mix) | Detail to medium boro, solid to 2 in | ~9.5 LPM | $525 |
| GTT Cheetah | 1 | Surface (Triple Mix) | Step-up single-stage heat, solid to 3 in | ~13 LPM | $645 |
| Nortel Red Max | 2 heads | Surface | Versatile generalist that runs boro | Not published | $894 |
| Bethlehem Champion | 2 | Surface | Medium-to-large boro, soft-flame control | 40 LPM tanked at full flame | $1,916 |
| GTT Mirage | 2 | Surface (Triple Mix) | Large boro, tubing, production | ~26 LPM | $1,975 |
Which should you buy?
- First boro torch on a home-studio budget: Bobcat. Real boro capability on a single concentrator, at the lowest price here.
- Detail-focused boro (line work, small sculpture): Lynx. Precision over raw heat.
- One single-stage torch with maximum headroom: Cheetah. More heat, bushier flame.
- One versatile bench torch across soft glass and boro: Red Max. The two-head range is hard to beat at the price.
- Large boro, tubing, or production: Mirage or Champion, and price the oxygen system alongside the torch, because at this scale it can cost as much as the burner.
Two narrower cuts of the same question have their own guides: if the work is specifically functional glass, see the best torch for borosilicate pipes, which sorts the picks by tier and oxygen need; if you are moving off a first bench torch rather than choosing one outright, see the intermediate step-up torches.
Don’t forget fuel and safety
All six torches run propane or natural gas with oxygen; if you have natural gas plumbed, see propane vs natural gas for torchwork before choosing regulators. And boro’s higher temperatures raise the safety stakes: flashback protection matched to your torch and supply, boro-rated eyewear (ask the lens maker what’s right for the boro work you do), and strong ventilation are non-negotiable. The full checklist is in the glass torch safety setup guide.
Key takeaways
- Boro needs more than soft glass: higher working temperatures mean an oxygen/fuel flame with real output, and a torch sized to your work, not just your budget.
- Entry boro: GTT Bobcat ($275), genuine boro capability on a 5 to 8 LPM concentrator.
- Detail boro: GTT Lynx ($525), the pinpoint precision pick.
- Step-up: GTT Cheetah ($645) for single-stage heat; Nortel Red Max ($894) for two-head versatility.
- Large work: GTT Mirage ($1,975) or Bethlehem Champion ($1,916), plan tanked oxygen at this scale.
- Buy the oxygen and the torch as one decision. A modest torch fully fed beats a big torch starved for oxygen.
Sources
- Schott, “DURAN tubing datasheet”: https://www.schott.com/-/media/project/onex/products/d/duran-glass-tubing/downloads/datasheet/schott-tubing-datasheet-duran-english.pdf
- GTT, “Bobcat”: https://www.glasstorchtech.com/bobcat
- GTT, “Lynx”: https://www.glasstorchtech.com/lynx
- GTT, “Cheetah”: https://www.glasstorchtech.com/cheetah
- GTT, “Mirage”: https://www.glasstorchtech.com/mirage
- Nortel Manufacturing, “Red Max”: https://www.nortelglass.com/red-max/
- Bethlehem Burners, “Champion”: https://www.bethlehemburners.com/torches/champion/
Editor’s note: specs and prices come from the makers’ own pages and instruction sheets where we have them, and GTT oxygen figures are labelled estimates. Nortel’s US-dollar prices are conversions of its Canadian list and move with the exchange rate. Confirm current lineups, specs, and prices with the maker before purchase.