Short answer: The Ninja and the Samurai are the closest pair in GTT’s whole lineup. Both are $4,000 three-stage Triple Mix bench torches with 72 jets total, both share the same 7-jet Lynx center fire, and both slot into exactly the same rung between the Kobuki and the Delta Mag. The one real difference is the middle fire: the Ninja carries a Phantom-style 15-jet middle, the Samurai a Mirage-style 33-jet middle, and each shapes heat differently. The Ninja concentrates its middle stage into a tighter, hotter band suited to fast melt-ins and rapid gathering; the Samurai spreads its middle stage into a broader, softer flame better for wide soaking. Same money, same jet total, same core: you are choosing the flame character you already prefer, scaled up with more heat behind it.
Ninja and Samurai at a glance
Both torches are production-tier GTT bench models built on the same three-stage architecture. The table below pulls the shared specs straight from the catalog.
| Spec | GTT Ninja | GTT Samurai |
|---|---|---|
| Model | Ninja | Samurai |
| Total jets | 72 | 72 |
| Stages | 3 | 3 |
| Center fire | Lynx 7-jet | Lynx 7-jet |
| Middle fire | Phantom-style, 15 jets | Mirage-style, 33 jets |
| Outer fire | 50 jets | 32 jets |
| Mix type | Surface mix | Surface mix |
| Mount | Bench | Bench |
| Fuels | Propane or natural gas | Propane or natural gas |
| Oxygen | Not published by GTT | Not published by GTT |
| Price | $4,000 | $4,000 |
Editor’s note: GTT does not publish an oxygen flow figure for either the Ninja or the Samurai, so the catalog carries no oxygen number for them and neither do we. Treat oxygen as a rough estimate you size to your own supply, not a spec. The prices are GTT’s list for the standard Phantom-inner (Ninja) and Mirage-inner (Samurai) configurations; snub-nose and compressed-air versions are priced separately.
How the three stages are built
Glass Torch Technologies builds its bench torches as a ladder, and every rung wraps more jets around the same 7-jet Lynx center fire. The Ninja and Samurai are three-stage torches, meaning three separately controlled fires: a center, a middle, and an outer, each on its own valve so you can bring stages in and out as the work demands.
The center fire is identical on both: the Lynx 7-jet core that runs up the entire GTT line. That is the pinpoint detail flame, and on both torches it behaves the same way.
The middle fire is where they diverge. On the Ninja, the middle stage is a Phantom-style ring of 15 jets. On the Samurai, the middle stage is a Mirage-style ring of 33 jets. This matters and it is easy to garble, so to be precise: the standalone Phantom is a 22-jet torch (7 Lynx plus a 15-jet ring) and the standalone Mirage is a 40-jet torch, but inside the Ninja and Samurai only each one’s outer ring, 15 and 33 jets respectively, serves as the middle fire. The center Lynx is shared, not doubled.
The outer fire then makes up the balance to the same total. The Ninja pairs its 15-jet Phantom middle with a 50-jet outer, and the Samurai pairs its 33-jet Mirage middle with a 32-jet outer. Both land at 72 jets total. So the two torches spend their jet budget differently: the Ninja puts fewer jets in the middle and more in the outer ring, the Samurai puts more in the middle and fewer in the outer. That split is the whole story of how they behave.
Phantom-style vs Mirage-style middle: what the difference does
The distinction the Ninja and Samurai are built around is the same one that separates the standalone Phantom from the standalone Mirage, which we cover in Phantom vs Mirage. At the same power, a Phantom-size flame is tighter and more concentrated, and a Mirage-size flame is broader and softer. Wrap those two characters around a bigger outer stage and you get the Ninja and the Samurai.
Per GTT, the Ninja is designed for workers who love the Phantom-size flame but need more heat for fast melt-ins and rapid heating on production work. The Samurai is described the same way for those who love the Mirage-size flame. In practice, that framing points at two production styles. A tighter middle fire, the Ninja’s, drives heat into a smaller area, which is what you want for melt-ins, packing color, and gathering quickly on a defined spot. A broader middle fire, the Samurai’s, spreads that heat across a wider footprint, which is what you want for even soaking of larger tubing and warming a big piece uniformly before you commit to a move.
Neither is hotter than the other in any total-output sense; both carry the same jet count and GTT lists them at the same price. The difference is where the heat concentrates. We deliberately do not quote flame-diameter or temperature numbers here, because neither GTT nor any independent source we trust publishes measured figures for these two. The honest statement is qualitative: the Ninja focuses, the Samurai spreads, and the right pick is the character your hands already know.
Where they sit in the GTT lineup
The Ninja and Samurai occupy one rung, sized exactly between the Kobuki below and the Delta Mag above. The Kobuki is a 49-jet three-stage torch; the Delta Mag is an 88-jet three-stage production torch. At 72 jets each, the Ninja and Samurai fill the gap, giving GTT two flavors of the same size class rather than one.
They also relate directly to the standalone torches whose flames they borrow. If you have worked a Phantom and wished for the same flame character with a heavier outer stage behind it for production, the Ninja is that torch. If you have worked a Mirage and wanted the same broad flame with more capacity, the Samurai is that torch. GTT also describes both as designed to be compact and easy to work behind, so the body does not block your line of view at the bench, which is a real consideration on a torch this size. Both are bench torches, not hand torches.
Triple Mix and flame chemistry
Both torches use GTT’s patented Triple Mix, which is a surface-mix system, not a separate mix category. In GTT’s own description, Triple Mix surrounds the fuel with oxygen and then injects oxygen down the fuel stream through independently controllable valves, producing a flame range from fuel-rich reduction, through neutral, to oxygen-rich oxidizing, and on to over-oxidizing. That is the manufacturer’s framing of what the design does, not an independent measurement, but the mechanism is real and shared: whatever Triple Mix does on one of these torches it does on the other. We walk through how the mixing scheme works in GTT Triple Mix technology explained.
Because the mixing, the center fire, the fuel flexibility, and the flame-chemistry range are identical across the pair, none of them separate the Ninja from the Samurai. Both are surface mix in the catalog, and both should be labeled that way; Triple Mix is GTT’s name for the technology, not a third mix type. The only thing that separates these two torches is the middle-fire character described above.
Oxygen, fuel, and setup
This is the part to be careful about. GTT does not publish an oxygen flow figure for either the Ninja or the Samurai, so we do not print one. Oxygen on these torches is best treated as a rough estimate you size to your own supply, and at 72 jets with three stages fully open, both are firmly in tank or large-concentrator-bank territory rather than a single small concentrator. If you want to reason through supply sizing, our guides on how many LPM your torch needs and concentrators vs tanks cover the math and the trade-offs. Do not read a specific number into these torches that GTT has not published.
On fuel, both run propane or natural gas, consistent with the rest of the GTT line. GTT offers a single- or two-stage foot pedal to control the middle fire and the outer fire, which frees your hands during production runs, and both torches ship with hose and adapters with filter screens to fit standard 1/4-inch ID grade T hose on each stud. As always, the manufacturer’s manual takes precedence over anything written here for pressures, fittings, and setup; confirm the current configuration and requirements with GTT before you buy.
Which one should you choose?
These are both advanced, pro-band production torches, and the choice is unusually clean because so much is held equal. Same $4,000 price, same 72 jets, same Lynx center, same three-stage Triple Mix, same size class, same fuels. You are choosing a middle-fire character, not a tier.
- Choose the Ninja if you love the Phantom-size flame and your production is heavy on fast melt-ins, packing, and driving heat into a focused spot. Its tighter 15-jet middle and larger 50-jet outer concentrate heat where you point it.
- Choose the Samurai if you love the Mirage-size flame and your work leans toward broad, even soaking of larger tubing and warming big pieces uniformly. Its wider 33-jet middle spreads the heat across a bigger footprint.
If you have no strong prior and cannot try both, the deciding question is simple: does your production want heat concentrated or heat spread? Melt-ins and spot work point to the Ninja; broad soaking and large even warming point to the Samurai. Neither is a compromise, and neither costs more. This is one of the lower-risk decisions in high-end torch buying, because the failure mode is not a bad torch, it is picking the flame character that fights your natural style. For the step above this rung, see Mirage vs Delta Elite on where the larger production torches take over.
Related guides
- GTT Triple Mix technology explained
- GTT Phantom vs Mirage
- GTT Mirage vs Delta Elite
- How many LPM does my torch need?
- Oxygen concentrator vs tanks for lampworking