Short answer: The GTT Bobcat and the Carlisle Mini CC are both entry, single-stage, surface-mix bench torches, and either one is a sound first oxy/fuel burner. The Bobcat (about $275) is the more versatile choice: its 7-jet flame ranges from a fine pinpoint up to a flame big enough for 1.5-inch solid boro, and it scales up cleanly if you feed it more oxygen. The Mini CC (about $330) trades some of that range for a hot but bushy, gentle flame that is unusually forgiving of beginner rotation. Pick the Bobcat if you expect to explore borosilicate and want headroom; pick the Mini CC if soft-glass beads and a calm, easy flame are the priority.
Both are true bench torches, so both need an oxygen source (a concentrator or tanks) plus fuel, and both reward matching that oxygen supply to the torch rather than overbuying. If you are still deciding whether a bench torch is your first step at all, the best beginner glass torch guide frames that choice, and the complete buyer’s guide covers the whole system.
The two torches at a glance
The figures below come from each maker’s own pages where we have them, and are labelled as estimates where they are ours. Oxygen numbers in particular are rough estimates, not precise buying specs. Configurations and prices change, so confirm the current spec with the maker before you buy.
| Spec | GTT Bobcat | Carlisle Mini CC |
|---|---|---|
| Reference price | ~$275 (entry) | ~$330 (entry) |
| Jets | 7 | 7 |
| Mix type | Surface mix | Surface mix |
| Mount | Bench | Bench |
| Oxygen (estimate) | ~8.5 LPM | ~7 LPM |
| Fuel | Propane / natural gas | Propane / natural gas |
| Glass | Soft + boro | Soft + small boro |
| Skill level | Beginner to intermediate | Beginner |
The prices sit close together and both land in the entry price band. This is not really a budget decision between them; it is a decision about flame character and how far you expect to grow.
Both are surface mix, and why that matters for a first bench torch
Neither of these is a premix torch, and neither uses GTT’s patented Triple Mix (that starts higher up GTT’s line, at the Lynx). Both are standard surface-mix burners: the fuel and oxygen stay separate until they meet at or just past the torch face, rather than being blended inside the head. For a first bench torch that matters in two practical ways.
First, surface-mix flames are generally quieter and slower-moving than premix flames, which makes them calmer to control while your hands are still learning. Second, the mixing behavior shapes the safety gear conversation. Because the gases are not premixed upstream, makers treat surface-mix burners differently from premix on the question of flashback protection. Fit the flashback protection your torch and gas supply actually call for, and follow the manufacturer’s own guidance rather than any one-size-fits-all rule, since several makers explicitly caution against blanket arrestor advice for their surface-mix burners. Our flashback arrestors guide walks through what goes where and why placement matters. For the broader trade-off between the two mixing styles, see surface mix vs premix torches.
GTT Bobcat: what the 7-jet surface-mix flame does
The GTT Bobcat (from Glass Torch Technologies) is a single-stage, 7-jet surface-mix bench torch. Its defining trait is range. GTT describes the flame as reaching from a roughly 2-inch pinpoint for detail work all the way up to a 9/16-inch by 13-inch flame capable of working 1.5-inch solid boro, and it will handle boro pendants up to about 3 inches. That is a lot of spread for an entry torch, and it is the main reason the Bobcat gets recommended as a burner you are unlikely to outgrow quickly.
That range is tied to how much oxygen you give it. GTT says the Bobcat runs well on a 5 LPM, 5 psi oxygen concentrator, is optimal on 8 LPM, and does extremely well on 10 LPM or tanked oxygen. In other words, a single modest concentrator lights it and works soft glass fine, and the flame simply gets bigger and hotter as you add oxygen, which is what lets it reach into larger boro. On the fuel side, GTT torches run on pressures as low as 1/4 psi on natural gas or propane, which is part of why they work on unboosted household gas.
The Bobcat ships with male B fittings and in-line filter screens for grade T hose, and a stainless base drilled with four holes so you can bolt it to your work table. It is a straightforward, single torch to stand up: hose, oxygen, fuel, mount it down, and go.
Carlisle Mini CC: totally surface mix, the forgiving bushy flame
The Carlisle Mini CC (from Carlisle Machine Works) is a 7-jet surface-mix burner built as seven stainless-steel tubes set in a brass body. One point is worth stating clearly, because it is easy to get wrong: the Mini CC is totally surface mix. It is not a hybrid or premix torch. The full-size Carlisle CC family (the CC, CC+, and CC++) are the ones that run a premixed center fire inside a surface-mix outer, but the Mini CC shares only the family name, not that combination design. If you have read that “the CC” has a premix center, that is the big torch, not this one.
Where the Bobcat sells range, the Mini CC sells forgiveness. Carlisle describes the flame as extremely hot but very bushy and gentle, and that gentleness is exactly what makes it beginner-friendly: when your rotation is uneven, a bushy soaking flame spreads the heat, so wobbles cause less uneven heating and less scorching than a tight, high-velocity flame would. It suits both soft glass and hard (boro) glass, though its comfortable ceiling on boro is smaller than the Bobcat’s. Community reports on Lampwork Etc. echo the maker’s framing: the Mini CC turns up again and again as a forgiving beginner work horse.
The Mini CC’s stand sets the head at 45 degrees on a ball joint that allows plus or minus 15 degrees of adjustment in any direction, so you can angle the flame to your seat and your hands rather than the other way around.
Oxygen and fuel: what each needs to run
Both are bench torches, so neither runs off a fuel canister alone the way a Hot Head does. You will need an oxygen source plus fuel for either one. The two burners sit in a similar demand range, but they get there differently.
- GTT Bobcat: lights and works soft glass on a single 5 LPM concentrator, is happiest around 8 LPM, and keeps scaling on 10 LPM or tanked oxygen. Fuel pressure can be as low as 1/4 psi. Our catalog carries the Bobcat’s oxygen as an estimate of about 8.5 LPM at the larger usable flame; treat that as the appetite of a bigger flame, not a floor.
- Carlisle Mini CC: Carlisle lists average consumption around 1.5 LPM propane and 7 LPM oxygen, with recommended pressures of 2 psi gas and 5 psi oxygen. Our catalog records its oxygen estimate as about 7 LPM.
The takeaway for a first setup: both are realistic on a single decent oxygen concentrator, but the Bobcat rewards more oxygen with a noticeably bigger flame, while the Mini CC is content in a narrower band. If you are sizing a concentrator, the oxygen concentrator LPM guide covers how to match output to a torch. Always defer to the manufacturer’s manual for pressures and setup on your specific torch and gas supply; never substitute a number from an article for the maker’s own figures.
Which one for which beginner
There is no single winner here, only a fit question.
Choose the GTT Bobcat if: you already suspect you will want to work borosilicate, you want a single flame that goes from fine detail to genuinely large, or you want a torch that keeps giving you more as you add oxygen. Its wider range and slightly higher intermediate ceiling make it the “won’t outgrow it fast” pick, and it is the cheaper of the two at the reference prices.
Choose the Carlisle Mini CC if: your focus is soft-glass beads and small work, and you value a calm, forgiving flame over outright range. The bushy, gentle flame is kind to the exact mistakes new lampworkers make, which can shorten the frustrating early stretch. It costs a little more here, and its comfortable boro ceiling is lower, but for pure soft-glass learning many artists consider the forgiveness worth it.
Put plainly: the Bobcat leans toward versatility and headroom, the Mini CC toward forgiveness and calm. Both are honest entry bench torches from respected makers, and neither is a mistake.
Where the Cricket and full-size CC fit around them
Two neighbors are worth knowing so you place these two correctly in each line.
Below the Bobcat, GTT offers the Cricket, its most economical 5-jet surface-mix bench burner, aimed squarely at soft glass. It is designed to get the best out of a single economical 5 LPM concentrator, which makes it the most oxygen-conservative entry point in GTT’s line. Community reports tend to describe the Cricket’s flame as more pinpoint and precise than the Mini CC’s bushy one, so if you want a very oxygen-frugal soft-glass starter, it is worth a look. GTT publishes no set price for it, so confirm current cost with the maker.
Above the Mini CC, the full-size Carlisle CC is a different and much larger class of torch: a hybrid combination burner with a premixed center fire inside a surface-mix outer, priced well into four figures and aimed at intermediate work like goblets and stemware. It is not a beginner purchase, and it does not share the Mini CC’s gentle-flame character. Mentioning it only underlines the earlier point: the Mini CC’s “CC” name does not make it a small version of that combination torch.
Editor’s note on prices, oxygen, and confirming specs
Editor’s note: The reference prices here (Bobcat about $275, Mini CC about $330) are the figures we have on file and both land in the entry band, but they move with time and configuration. The Mini CC figure in particular comes from a compiled price capture rather than a fresh reading from Carlisle’s live store, so treat it as a reference point and confirm the current price with Carlisle before you buy. Oxygen figures are estimates at the larger usable flame, not precise buying specs, and different sources may state them differently; where numbers vary we have given the maker’s own where we have it. For pressures, fittings, and setup, the manufacturer’s manual is the authority for your torch and gas supply. Community observations (for example on Lampwork Etc.) are framed as community knowledge, not measured fact.
Related guides
- Best beginner glass torch
- Surface mix vs premix torches
- Flashback arrestors explained
- Oxygen concentrator LPM guide
- How to choose a glass torch
Sources
- Glass Torch Technologies, Bobcat product page: https://www.glasstorchtech.com/bobcat
- Carlisle Machine Works, Mini CC bench burner page: http://carlislemachine.com/as_benchburners/minicc.php
- Glass Torch Technologies, Cricket product page: https://www.glasstorchtech.com/cricket
- Lampwork Etc., beginner bench-torch discussion (community knowledge): https://www.lampworketc.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-235087.html
- Wikipedia, “Lampworking” (surface-mix background): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lampworking