GTT Lynx vs Bethlehem Bravo: Which Mid-Tier Boro Torch Wins?

Short answer: The GTT Lynx and the Bethlehem Bravo are two of the most cross-shopped mid-tier bench torches for borosilicate, and they answer different questions. The Lynx is a cheaper, single-stage, seven-jet Triple Mix torch built around a tight pinpoint detail flame, with two independently controllable oxygen streams that let you tune flame chemistry without changing tips. The Bravo is a pricier two-stage surface-mix bench burner with an eighteen-jet face (a six-jet center fire inside a twelve-jet outer fire), a broader and softer flame, and more fuel flexibility. Both are surface mix. If your work lives in fine detail on a modest budget, lean Lynx; if you want one versatile two-stage bench torch with room to open up, lean Bravo.

If you are still mapping the larger decision, start with the complete glass torch buyer’s guide; this article zooms in on these two specific models.

Specs at a glance

Figures below come from each manufacturer’s own pages and manuals where we have them, and are labelled as estimates where they are ours. Oxygen numbers in particular are estimates on different bases (see the Oxygen section). Configurations and prices change; confirm the current spec with the maker before you buy.

The ~$525 Lynx price is for the standard bench version; GTT sells a Lynx hand-torch variant that is priced separately, so do not read $525 as covering both. Sources: GTT Lynx, Bethlehem Bravo.

How the two flames mix: Triple Mix vs standard surface mix

Both torches are surface mix, which means fuel and oxygen stay separate until they leave the face of the burner and combine at the surface, where they burn. That design gives the quieter, gentler, highly adjustable flame that both makers build around. This is the first thing to get straight: both run surface mix, not premix. Bethlehem’s entire line is surface mix, and GTT’s Triple Mix is a variety of surface mix, not a separate premix category. For the broader distinction, see surface mix vs premix torches.

GTT describes Triple Mix as surrounding the fuel with oxygen and then injecting oxygen directly down the fuel stream, so the fuel burns more completely for a hotter, cleaner flame. The two oxygen streams are independently controllable through the green and blue valves, which GTT says gives a wider flame range and lets you adjust chemistry without changing tips or torches. GTT frames the Triple Mix chemistry range as spanning a fuel-rich reduction flame, a neutral flame, an oxygen-rich oxidizing flame, and an over-oxidizing flame. That is the company’s own framing of the technology; we present it as GTT’s claim rather than a measured fact. The deeper explanation lives in GTT Triple Mix technology. Source: GTT.

Bethlehem, for its part, describes the Bravo as surface-mixed and “whisper-soft,” with gas and oxygen kept separate until they leave the burner face. So both torches share the surface-mix foundation; the difference is how GTT stages the oxygen and how each maker lays out the jets. Source: Bethlehem Bravo.

Flame character and what each is built for

The Lynx is a seven-jet, single-stage torch built around a pinpoint detail flame. GTT calls it the first Triple Mix torch it developed, and positions it as hot and penetrating for boro up to roughly two inches of solid work, while staying soft and clean enough for delicate soft-glass colors. In practice that makes the Lynx a precision instrument: stringer work, dots, fine boro line work, and detail that a broader flame would swamp. It is a specialist that concentrates heat where you point it. Source: GTT Lynx.

The Bravo is a two-stage, eighteen-jet bench burner, and the layout is the point. Bethlehem builds it as two independent burners in one barrel: a six-jet center fire inside a twelve-jet outer fire on a one-inch face. That gives you a small, controllable inner flame for detail and a larger surrounding bush for bulk heat, and you can run them together or lean on one. The Bravo replaced the discontinued Barracuda in Bethlehem’s line and ships with a swivel base and a scroll pedestal. Where the Lynx is a pinpoint tool, the Bravo is a broader, more scalable flame that opens up for larger or thicker work while still throttling down for smaller pieces. Source: Bethlehem Bravo.

The honest read: for pure detail on smaller boro and soft glass, the Lynx’s tight flame is exactly what it is built for, and a bigger torch does not automatically do fine work better. For range, the Bravo’s two-stage design gives you more flame to grow into on one bench torch. If your center of gravity is thick sculpture or larger boro, see best torch for borosilicate for where each fits the wider field.

Controls: independent oxygen streams vs a four-valve inner and outer

This is where the two designs diverge most in daily use.

On the Lynx, GTT’s Triple Mix gives you two independently controllable oxygen streams, the green and blue valves, on top of the fuel. That is the control story GTT sells: you adjust flame chemistry (reducing through oxidizing) by balancing those two oxygen inputs, without swapping tips. For artists who chase specific flame chemistry for colors and reduction effects, that independent oxygen control is a real, distinguishing feature. Source: GTT.

On the Bravo, Bethlehem uses four modular valves on the side of the barrel: the larger-diameter valves work the outer fire and the smaller-diameter valves work the inner fire, with a red knob indicating the gas connection and a green knob the oxygen. The mental model is simpler and more physical: you are dialing an inner flame and an outer flame, each with its own gas and oxygen, rather than blending two oxygen streams into one flame. Neither approach is objectively “better.” The Lynx trades a slightly more involved chemistry adjustment for finer control of a single flame; the Bravo trades independent oxygen-stream tuning for the straightforwardness of running two separate fires. Source: Bethlehem Bravo operating instructions.

Oxygen appetite and gas supply

Here is the caveat that matters most, and where a lot of comparisons go wrong. The oxygen figures for these two torches are estimates on different bases, and you should not line them up as a clean apples-to-apples spec.

• The Lynx estimate of ~9.5 LPM is derived from GTT’s own flow-rate table at the largest usable flame on propane. It is a working-flame reference for the top of the torch’s range, not a minimum.
• The Bravo estimate of ~30 LPM is Bethlehem’s full-flame tanked-oxygen consumption, again a ceiling at full output rather than a floor.

Editor’s note: these two oxygen numbers are estimates drawn from different manufacturer bases (GTT flow table at largest usable flame on propane vs Bethlehem full-flame tanked-oxygen consumption), so treat them as rough guidance, not a directly comparable buying spec. Oxygen is the juice you feed the torch, not the headline buying decision; confirm current figures with the maker.

What the numbers do tell you honestly is that the two-stage, eighteen-jet Bravo can consume a lot more oxygen at full flame than the seven-jet Lynx, which is what you would expect from the larger burner. That has practical consequences for your supply. If you plan to run either torch near its top end, size your oxygen accordingly; for the method, see how many LPM does my torch need.

On low-pressure gas, both makers document flexibility. GTT torches run on fuel pressure as low as about 1/4 psi, which is why they work on unboosted household natural gas. Bethlehem states the Bravo can operate on household gas at about 1/4 psi and on oxygen concentrators at about 7 psi, calls propane the preferable gas, and instructs lighting the gas flame first and adding oxygen slowly, and never exceeding 25 psi on any feed. Those pressures come straight from the makers, and the manufacturer manual always takes precedence over anything you read here; set your regulators to what your torch’s own documentation specifies. The Bravo also carries more fuel options in Bethlehem’s materials, listing hydrogen and butane alongside propane and natural gas, where the Lynx is documented for propane and natural gas. Sources: GTT, Bethlehem Bravo operating instructions.

Whatever you run, use the flashback protection your torch and gas supply actually call for, rather than a blanket rule; the makers differ on this, so read flashback arrestors explained and follow your own torch’s guidance.

Price and what you get for it

The Lynx sits in the mid price band at about $525 for the standard bench version. The Bravo sits in the high band at about $1,171. That is more than a two-to-one gap, and it lines up with what the two torches are: a single-stage, seven-jet detail burner versus a two-stage, eighteen-jet burner with a swivel base and scroll pedestal included.

You are not paying more for the Bravo and getting “the same torch but nicer.” You are paying for a second full burner stage and a larger, more scalable flame. Whether that is worth roughly double depends entirely on whether you will use the range. A detail-focused artist may get more real value from the cheaper Lynx and put the difference toward oxygen and safety gear. An artist who wants one bench torch that covers small detail through larger boro may find the Bravo’s two stages earn the premium. Remember the Lynx’s $525 is the bench price; the separately priced hand-torch version is a different product.

Which one fits you

• Detail-focused work on a mid budget: Lynx. The seven-jet pinpoint flame is built for stringers, dots, and fine boro, and the independent oxygen control is a genuine tool for chasing flame chemistry. You spend less and can steer the difference into your oxygen supply.
• Beadmaking and soft-glass color work where a calm, precise flame matters: Lynx leans this way too, given GTT’s soft-and-clean framing for delicate colors, though the Bravo’s throttled inner fire is also perfectly capable here.
• One versatile two-stage bench torch with room to open up: Bravo. The inner and outer fires give you detail and bulk heat in one barrel, plus the widest fuel flexibility of the two.
• Larger or thicker boro as a regular part of your work: Bravo, with the caveat that its full-flame oxygen appetite is meaningfully higher, so plan your supply.

Neither is “the better torch” in the abstract. The Lynx is about precision at a lower price; the Bravo is about range and a second stage. Both are surface mix, both are respected mid-tier boro tools, and both come from makers who publish their own specs. Match the torch to the work you actually do, not to the bigger number.

Related guides

• GTT Triple Mix technology
• Surface mix vs premix torches
• How many LPM does my torch need
• Best torch for borosilicate
• Flashback arrestors explained

Sources

• GTT, “Lynx”: https://www.glasstorchtech.com/lynx
• GTT, “Triple Mix Torches”: https://www.glasstorchtech.com/triple-mix-torches
• Glass Torch Technologies: https://www.glasstorchtech.com/
• Bethlehem Burners, “Bravo”: https://www.bethlehemburners.com/torches/bravo/
• Bethlehem Burners, “Bravo Operating Instructions”: https://www.bethlehemburners.com/resources/operating-instructions/bravo-operating-instructions/

Editor’s note: model names, specs, and prices reflect public manufacturer information as of 2026, and the two oxygen figures are estimates on different bases; verify current lineups, specs, and prices with GTT and Bethlehem before purchase.