Short answer: The GTT Bobcat and GTT Cricket are the two entry burners at the bottom of GTT’s line, and both are standard surface-mix torches, not Triple Mix. The Bobcat is the 7-jet model with the wider flame range and a bit more boro reach; the Cricket is the 5-jet, most economical bench burner, tuned to squeeze the best flame out of a small oxygen concentrator. If you are starting in soft glass or teaching an intro class on a tight budget, the Cricket is the leaner, cheaper option. If you already suspect you will want to sculpt small-to-medium boro, the slightly larger Bobcat is the one you are less likely to outgrow.
Neither one is a Triple Mix torch. That matters because GTT’s marketing centers on Triple Mix, and it is easy to assume everything GTT makes uses it. Triple Mix starts higher up the line, at the Lynx. The Bobcat and Cricket are single-stage surface-mix burners, and that is a fair description of what they are, not a knock on them.
What the two torches share
Before the differences, it is worth being clear about how similar these two are. They are siblings from the same corner of the catalog:
- Both are standard surface mix. The fuel and oxygen stay separate until at or just past the face, which gives a calmer, more forgiving flame than a premixed torch. Neither has the second oxygen injection that defines Triple Mix.
- Both run very low fuel pressure. GTT rates the Bobcat down to 1/4 psi on natural gas or propane, and the Cricket runs on 1/4 psi fuel gas and 3 psi oxygen per GTT’s own page. That low-pressure design is why GTT torches work on unboosted household natural gas.
- Both are concentrator-friendly. They are built to make a usable flame on a single oxygen concentrator rather than demanding tanked oxygen or a booster.
- Both run propane or natural gas and mount to a stainless-steel bench base with four holes for securing the torch to your work table.
- Both are single-stage (one set of gas and oxygen valves), which keeps them simple to light and tune.
So the choice between them is not soft-glass-versus-boro or cheap-versus-good. It is a narrower question of how much flame you need and how small an oxygen supply you want to feed it.
Jets, flame, and glass capacity
This is where the two actually separate. The Bobcat carries seven surface-mix jets to the Cricket’s five, and the extra jets buy a wider flame range and more top-end reach.
GTT describes the Bobcat flame as running from a roughly 2-inch pinpoint for detail work up to a 9/16-inch diameter by 13-inch flame that will work 1.5-inch solid boro, and it handles boro pendants up to 3 inches. The Cricket works 1-inch solid boro and up to a 2-inch boro pendant, plus larger soft-glass pieces, and GTT notes it works both soft glass and boro. So both can touch boro; the Bobcat simply reaches larger pieces before it runs out of flame.
| Spec | GTT Bobcat | GTT Cricket |
|---|---|---|
| Mix type | Surface mix (single stage) | Surface mix (single stage) |
| Jets | 7 | 5 |
| Mount | Bench (4-hole stainless base) | Bench (4-hole stainless base) |
| Fuel | Propane or natural gas | Propane or natural gas |
| Solid boro (worked) | Up to 1.5 in | Up to 1 in |
| Boro pendant | Up to 3 in | Up to 2 in |
| Oxygen (estimate) | ~8.5 LPM | ~5.5 LPM |
| Price | ~$275 (reference) | GTT’s most economical bench burner |
The jet counts and glass-capacity figures above come from GTT’s own Bobcat and Cricket pages. The oxygen numbers are estimates derived from GTT’s flow table at the largest usable flame, not hard specs, so treat them as a rough sense of appetite rather than a buying criterion.
Oxygen and fuel: matching the torch to your supply
Oxygen is the quiet deciding factor between these two, because the Cricket was designed around a small supply and the Bobcat wants a little more.
GTT says the Cricket was built to get the best possible performance out of an economical 5 LPM, 5 psi oxygen concentrator, though it is not limited to one and also runs well on 10 LPM concentrators or tanked oxygen. The Bobcat runs very well on a 5 LPM, 5 psi concentrator, is optimal on an 8 LPM concentrator, and does extremely well on 10 LPM or tanked oxygen. In plain terms: if a single 5 LPM concentrator is all you have and all you plan to buy, the Cricket is engineered for exactly that, while the Bobcat will light and work on it but shows its best flame with a bit more oxygen behind it. If you are still sorting out your oxygen supply, the oxygen concentrator LPM guide walks through sizing.
On fuel, both are undemanding. The Bobcat runs as low as 1/4 psi on natural gas or propane, and the Cricket runs on 1/4 psi fuel gas with 3 psi oxygen. GTT also notes the Cricket makes an extremely clean flame with no carbon on the torch when it is run properly, which is a nice trait for a first bench torch where tuning habits are still forming.
Editor’s note: oxygen LPM figures here are estimates converted from GTT’s flow table at the largest usable flame, and glass-capacity numbers come from GTT’s product pages. Configurations and published figures change, so confirm the current spec with GTT before you buy.
Price and availability
The Bobcat carries a reference price of about $275 from GTT’s own online store, which makes it one of the more affordable bench torches from a premium maker.
The Cricket is described by GTT as its most economical bench burner, but GTT does not publish a set price for it the way it does for the Bobcat, so we will not put a dollar figure on it here. Read it as positioned below the Bobcat on cost, and confirm the current number with GTT directly. The Cricket has its own product page with the specs GTT does publish.
Which one should you buy
The decision comes down to your glass and your oxygen.
Choose the Cricket if you are a beginner focused on soft glass, you are outfitting an intro class, or your oxygen supply is a single small concentrator and you want a torch designed to make the most of it. It is the cheapest way into a real GTT bench torch, and its clean-running flame is beginner-friendly. You give up some top-end flame and boro reach, which most soft-glass beadmakers will not miss.
Choose the Bobcat if you expect to work small-to-medium boro, want a wider flame range from pinpoint detail up to a 13-inch flame, or plan to grow your oxygen to an 8 LPM concentrator or tanked supply. It costs a bit more and asks for a bit more oxygen at its best, but it is the more versatile starter of the pair and the one you are less likely to outgrow quickly.
If your shortlist also includes torches from other makers, our head-to-heads on the Bobcat versus the Nortel Minor and the differences between surface mix and premix fill in the rest of the entry-level picture.
Where they sit in the GTT line
The Bobcat and Cricket are the on-ramp to GTT, the two models below the point where Triple Mix begins. GTT calls the Lynx “the first Triple Mix Torch developed by GTT,” and everything from the Lynx up the line adds the second, independently controllable oxygen injection that surrounds the fuel with oxygen and then injects more directly down the fuel stream for a hotter, cleaner, wider-range flame. The Bobcat and Cricket have no such second injection; they are single-stage surface mix, which is the honest and correct way to describe them.
If you want to understand what changes when you step up, see GTT Triple Mix technology explained and the direct Lynx versus Bobcat comparison, which cover what the jump above the entry pair actually buys you. For the whole family in one place, the GTT torch lineup lays out where each model sits.
Related guides
- GTT Lynx vs Bobcat
- GTT Triple Mix technology explained
- Surface mix vs premix torches
- GTT Bobcat vs Nortel Minor
- Oxygen concentrator LPM guide
- GTT torch lineup
Sources
- Glass Torch Technologies, Bobcat product page: https://www.glasstorchtech.com/bobcat
- Glass Torch Technologies, Cricket product page: https://www.glasstorchtech.com/cricket
- Glass Torch Technologies, Triple Mix torches: https://www.glasstorchtech.com/triple-mix-torches
- Lampwork Etc., community discussion of GTT entry torches: https://www.lampworketc.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-92795.html