Short answer: The Bethlehem Bravo and the GTT Phantom are both two-stage surface-mix bench burners that handle soft glass and borosilicate, and either can anchor a serious studio. The practical divide is oxygen appetite and flame character. The Bravo’s 18-jet flame drinks about 30 LPM of oxygen at full flame and rewards you with a quiet, soft, low-velocity fire with a very wide range, plus four fuel options (propane, natural gas, hydrogen, butane) at a $1,171 list price. The Phantom’s 22-jet flame tops out around 16.5 LPM on GTT’s flow chart, uses GTT’s Triple Mix design (which users describe as a crisper, more driving flame with fine chemistry control), runs propane or natural gas, and lists at $1,425 for the standard four-stud bench torch. If you want maximum flame at minimum oxygen and a sharper working flame, the Phantom argues for itself. If you want the gentlest big flame in the room, four fuels, and a lower price, the Bravo does.
Two production burners, two design philosophies
Bethlehem Burners and Glass Torch Technologies both build American bench burners, and these two models sit at similar points in their lines: two-stage torches a step below each maker’s largest three-stage burners.
Bethlehem’s approach is classic low-pressure surface mix. The company states that all of its burners keep gas and oxygen separate until they leave the face of the burner, running at deliberately low pressures. The Bravo is the current stainless-steel evolution of that idea: Bethlehem describes it as an improved replacement for the discontinued Barracuda, with stay-cool knobs, a swivel base, and a lifetime warranty.
GTT’s approach is its patented Triple Mix technology. In GTT’s own framing, the torch surrounds the fuel with oxygen and also injects oxygen directly down the fuel stream, so the fuel burns more completely for a hotter, cleaner flame, with chemistry adjustable from fuel-rich reduction through over-oxidizing without changing tips. That is the manufacturer’s description of its design, and it is the defining trait of the whole GTT line; we cover it in depth in GTT Triple Mix technology. The Phantom is a two-stage expression of it: a Lynx 7-jet center fire wrapped in a 15-jet outer ring, 22 jets total.
Both are surface-mix designs in the broad sense (no premixed chamber; see surface mix vs premix torches), but they behave differently at the glass, which is what the rest of this comparison is about.
Bravo vs Phantom at a glance
Editor’s note: figures below vary by source, fuel, and configuration. They were compiled from manufacturer materials (Bethlehem’s Bravo page and operating instructions, GTT’s Phantom and Triple Mix pages and flow rate chart) and are stated as published; always defer to the current manufacturer manual for your torch before setting pressures.
| Factor | Bethlehem Bravo | GTT Phantom |
|---|---|---|
| Stages / jets | 2 stages, 18 jets (6-jet center + 12-jet outer) | 2 stages, 22 jets (7-jet Lynx center + 15-jet outer) |
| Face | 1 inch | Not published as a single figure |
| Mix design | Surface mix, two independent burners in one barrel | Surface mix with Triple Mix internal oxygenation |
| Fuels | Natural gas, propane, hydrogen, butane | Propane or natural gas |
| Oxygen at max usable flame | ~30 LPM (tanked, 8 to 20 psi) | ~16.5 LPM (35 CFH, propane figures) |
| Gas pressure | 2 to 5 psi; runs household gas at 1/4 psi for smaller flames | 10 psi fuel / 35 psi oxygen at the largest usable flame (GTT flow chart, propane) |
| Concentrator use | Yes, at 7 psi, smaller flames | GTT’s Phantom page describes a concentrator on the center fire with tank oxygen for the outer fire |
| Notable hardware | Stainless body, stay-cool knobs, swivel base, lifetime warranty | Four-stud intakes (foot-pedal ready), Standard or Snub Nose, hand-torch variant |
| Skill fit (catalog) | Beginner to intermediate | Intermediate to advanced |
| List price | $1,171 | $1,425 (standard four-stud bench; GTT’s switch, compressed-air and hand-torch versions list higher) |
Both oxygen figures are maximum usable flame consumption, not minimums. Either torch idles and does small work on far less; the numbers tell you what feeding the whole flame costs.
Oxygen appetite: the practical divide
This is the single most consequential difference, because it decides what oxygen supply you have to buy and keep feeding.
The Bravo’s published full-flame figure is about 30 LPM of tanked oxygen at 8 to 20 psi. Bethlehem also states the Bravo runs on oxygen concentrators at 7 psi, but at smaller flames; no minimum LPM is published. In practice that means the Bravo’s full outer fire is tanked-oxygen territory, with concentrators covering the lower part of its range. If you plan to lean on the whole 18-jet flame regularly, budget for tanks or a generator; see oxygen tanks vs concentrators for lampworking for the running-cost math.
The Phantom’s maximum usable flame is about 16.5 LPM (GTT’s flow table lists 35 CFH oxygen with 12 CFH propane; on natural gas the fuel consumption runs roughly 2.5 times higher). That is a strikingly small ceiling for a 22-jet, two-stage burner, and it is the payoff GTT claims for Triple Mix: more heat extracted per liter of oxygen. GTT’s own Phantom page describes the practical split: a concentrator feeding the center fire and tank oxygen for the outer fire. Its chart lists 35 psi oxygen at the largest usable flame, above what concentrators deliver, so the Phantom’s very top end wants tanks as the Bravo’s does.
Neither number is a minimum, and the honest caveat cuts both ways: the Bravo is not “unusable without tanks” (Bethlehem explicitly supports concentrator operation at reduced flames), and the Phantom still needs a real oxygen system, not a single small medical unit, to reach its top end. Work through your own numbers in how many LPM does my torch need.
Flame character and control
On paper both are two-stage surface-mix torches. At the bench, community accounts describe them very differently, and this is community knowledge from Lampwork Etc. threads, not measured fact.
The Bravo inherits Bethlehem’s house character: a quiet, soft, low-velocity flame (see quiet glass torches for why that matters in a shared or home studio) with low backfire tendency, and users describe it as heavy, solid, and nearly indestructible, with one of the widest flame ranges going, from needle sharp to big and bushy. That gentler flame is friendlier to soft glass colors and to uneven beginner technique, which matches the catalog’s beginner-to-intermediate skill rating.
GTT flames are described in the same threads as more thrusting, penetrating, and hotter, a crisp driving flame that moves boro fast. The trade-offs users mention: some find GTT torches less happy at very tiny flames, and the Phantom’s extra valve (a consequence of its independent oxygen circuits) adds a learning curve for finding a true neutral flame. Once learned, that same valve layout is the point: GTT’s claim is chemistry control across the whole reduction-to-oxidizing range without swapping tips, which color workers prize.
If your work is mostly soft glass, sculptural boro at a relaxed pace, or teaching, the Bravo’s flame is the easier one to live with. If your work is production boro that rewards a hard, hot, precisely tuned flame, the Phantom’s character is the draw.
Fuel flexibility and gas supply
The Bravo is the more flexible torch by fuel list. Bethlehem’s operating instructions cover natural gas, hydrogen, propane, or butane, and the torch runs household natural gas at 1/4 psi for smaller flames, with 2 to 5 psi covering the normal range. Hydrogen capability matters to a minority of workers (some scientific and fuming applications), but if it matters to you, only one of these two torches has it.
The Phantom runs propane or natural gas. GTT’s own flow rate chart lists the Phantom at 10 psi fuel and 35 psi oxygen at its largest usable flame on propane, and GTT’s Delta, Mirage and Phantom instruction sheet gives the same 10 and 35 lbs, adding that 5 lbs fuel and 10 lbs oxygen is a floor that gives reduced results. The quarter-psi fuel floor GTT is known for belongs to its smallest models (the Cricket, Bobcat, Scorpion and Sidewinder), which are the GTT torches built around an unboosted household natural gas line (about 7 inches of water column). Whether a Phantom gives its full flame on a house line is a question to settle with GTT and your gas installer before you buy, and a booster is the likely answer for the full flame. On house gas specifically, then, the Bravo has the documented edge at smaller flames, on top of its two extra fuels.
Set pressures from the manufacturer’s manual for your specific torch and fuel, not from this or any other article, and never substitute figures between fuels; the manuals differ for good reasons.
Build, ergonomics, and extras
The Bravo’s hardware story is comfort and longevity: stainless-steel body, Bethlehem’s swivel base so the flame comes to your posture rather than the reverse, stay-cool knobs, and a lifetime warranty. A Sharp Flame variant (Bravo Sharp Flame) exists for workers who want a tighter center fire.
The Phantom’s hardware story is configurability: a four-stud design with two oxygen and two fuel intakes that supports an optional foot pedal for hands-free flame changes, a powder-coated steel base, Standard or Snub Nose face options, and even a hand-torch variant with a thumb switch for the outer flame. If you see a foot pedal or a specialized configuration in your future, GTT’s plumbing is built for it.
Price and value
Both figures are the makers’ own list prices as our catalog records them: $1,171 on Bethlehem’s Bravo page and $1,425 on GTT’s store for the standard four-stud Phantom. Prices change; confirm current pricing with the maker before budgeting.
The roughly $250 gap understates the real cost difference in one direction and overstates it in the other. If you intend to run either torch near full flame, the Bravo’s 30 LPM appetite can mean an ongoing tanked-oxygen bill or a larger generator, while much of the Phantom’s range can be fed by concentrators you buy once, with tanks for its very top end. If you will mostly live in the lower half of either flame, the Bravo delivers the cheaper package and the broader fuel list. For context on where the Bravo sits inside its own family, see Bethlehem Alpha vs Bravo vs Champion.
Which should you buy?
- Soft glass, mixed work, shared or home studio, gentler learning curve: the Bravo. Quiet, low-velocity, wide-ranging flame, four fuels, swivel comfort, lower price.
- Boro production, chemistry control, concentrator-based oxygen: the Phantom. Maximum heat per liter of oxygen, a crisp driving flame, and Triple Mix adjustability, at the cost of a steeper tuning curve and a propane/natural-gas-only fuel list.
- Hydrogen or butane requirement: the Bravo, full stop; the Phantom does not list them.
- Most of the flame on a concentrator budget: the Phantom, whose lower oxygen flow suits concentrators below full flame; at the very top end both want tanks.
Related guides
- GTT Triple Mix technology
- How many LPM does my torch need?
- Oxygen concentrator vs tanks for lampworking
- Bethlehem Alpha vs Bravo vs Champion
- Surface mix vs premix torches
- GTT Cheetah vs Bethlehem Bravo
- Nortel Red Max vs GTT Phantom
Sources
- Bethlehem Burners, “Bravo”: https://www.bethlehemburners.com/torches/bravo/
- Bethlehem Burners, “Bravo operating instructions”: https://www.bethlehemburners.com/resources/operating-instructions/bravo-operating-instructions/
- Bethlehem Burners, “Technical information”: https://www.bethlehemburners.com/resources/technical-information/
- Glass Torch Technologies, “Flow Rate Chart” (fuel and oxygen psi and flow at the largest usable flame, tested on propane): https://www.glasstorchtech.com/_files/ugd/0f433e_940fa1536d544665a118116eb9542e62.pdf
- Glass Torch Technologies, Delta, Mirage and Phantom instruction sheet (fuel and oxygen settings): https://www.glasstorchtech.com/_files/ugd/0f433e_841587b99d6b47e6874cd464bb19219a.pdf
- Glass Torch Technologies, “Phantom”: https://www.glasstorchtech.com/phantom
- Glass Torch Technologies, “Triple Mix torches”: https://www.glasstorchtech.com/triple-mix-torches
- Lampwork Etc., “Bravo vs GTT” archive thread (community impressions): http://www.lampworketc.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-206662.html