Every day, I bring you an item on Amazon that I personally use or that has been purchased by many members of the audience and I have researched enough to recommend.

Special Note – The video at the bottom of this review includes some additional information not in the write up.

Today’s TSP Amazon Item of the day is the Gagiter Propane Torch Weed Burner. Last fall, I invested in my first really high-power weed flamer and chose the Flame King Propane Torch, and I almost instantly regretted it.

While it worked, it began to literally fall apart almost immediately. I limped it along for a season and a half and simply didn’t recommend it because I knew it wasn’t up to par. Honestly, after buying it, I was unwilling to recommend another brand until I tried it. The Flame King at the time was well-reviewed and well-regarded. The review system has since caught up with it, but it did make me skeptical of trusting reviews.

This year, I decided to try an upgrade and found the Gagiter Propane Torch Weed Burner. I was a little skeptical given that it actually costs significantly less than the Flame King—about 25% less. But based on reviews on Amazon and YouTube, for only 40 bucks, I gave it a shot. I am very pleased with my choice.

Right out of the box, the thing is well-made and heavy, like “beat someone to heck with it” heavy. Not so heavy that you won’t want to use it, but you can tell it’s quality metal when you pick it up. The Flame King felt cheap from day one; in a few weeks, the igniter fell apart, and several weeks later, I had to zip-tie the handle on. If you look at the reviews for it, you’ll see I’m not alone. (This is the one place I’ll link to the Flame King so you can see those reviews – I don’t want anyone buying this total POS by mistake due to me.)

Okay, let’s stop kicking the crappy one and talk about the Gagiter Torch, which is, in a word, awesome. Again, out of the box, it just feels quality when you pick it up. Next, on performance, it has an igniter that is a “spark generator igniter,” meaning no batteries are required. That means no corroded batteries when you forget to remove them for storage and no dead battery when you are working.

Next up, power—this is a BEAST. You can feel the heat like crazy when you crank it up hard, with 1.8 million BTUs of power at your disposal. Yet at “idle,” it is just a gentle flame, and you have control over how much you apply, so it isn’t all or nothing. It does a great job and seems like it will last a long time.

It ships in a rather short box—so short I didn’t even realize it was here. My wife set it on the dining room table, and I assumed it was something else since I was expecting a 3-4 foot box. It’s only about 2 feet long, which I am sure saves on shipping and hence cost. It’s a two-piece torch that you simply screw together. It also comes with a very well-made gas hose that attaches to standard grill propane tanks, along with a storage bag for when it’s not in use. You can break it down and put it away in about a minute flat.

So, what can you do with it? As the title indicates, most are purchased to flame weeds and garden beds before planting. A key with this is you don’t “burn off” weeds; you flame them, effectively roasting them like wilting greens in a pan. They turn bright green, the cells rupture, and a few hours later, they are dead, wilted, and mostly lying flat. I explain their use extensively in my cover crop course for terminating covers before main crops.

Another use is for people who use weed blocker fabric for gardening. You can simply heat up the bell and then melt perfect holes in your fabric wherever you want to drop in plants. They are the perfect size for typical 4-inch nursery pots or smaller, and also perfect for those of you, like me, who use red Solo “party” cups as starting pots.

Then, of course, you can use it for all sorts of burning and fire-starting. When we do fires in the pit, I do not mess around – 30 seconds of this thing blasting it, and it will all burn, and really, really burn. Lighting up that charcoal grill? Forget lighter fluid and charcoal chimneys – just hit that lump or briquette charcoal with this guy, and you will soon have flaming coals. And when I make biochar, I always light my kilns with this. Sometimes getting a kiln going enough to deal with the initial oxygen deficiency can be a pain, well, not with one of these.

Finally, what red-blooded American doesn’t want a powerful blow torch just on principle! Seriously, folks, this is a great tool that will last a long time if you take care of it. For 40 bucks (current sale price), you won’t ever regret picking one up. So check out the Gagiter Propane Torch Weed Burner, and if something needs burning, I promise you it will get the job done!

Check Out the Video of this Torch in Action Below

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