Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I live in the Pacific Northwest, an area with a mild climate, plenty of rain, and lots of sunshine in the summer. In short, weed nirvana. It takes only a month or two for a vegetable or flower garden to become overrun with weeds. Further, the soil at my house is a very dense clay, so once a weed gets rooted, it is a serious struggle to remove it. Since I am not a real fan of herbicides, time for modern methods. === The Good Stuff === * It is about the most fun I have ever had weeding a garden. Some weeds (like certain thistles) almost explode when you torch them, which I admit is somewhat gratifying. (Might want to wear eye protection, that hot sap hurts). * The torching goes pretty quick, and seems about the same level of time and effort as spraying roundup. * There are two settings, the normal flow, and a "turbo" setting. The normal flow worked for about 90% of the weeds, especially the smaller ones. Giant weeds, and those I knew from experience to be more hardy, took a full blast to fricassee. Did it kill all of them the first time? No, but neither does digging, Roundup, or any other strategy. It does kill about 75% of them the first time, and the rest go down easy with another blast after a few days. * In this area, if you cultivate and just "turn over" weeds, it is not uncommon for the exposed roots to work their way back into the soil before the sun has a chance to kill them. A quick shot to the roots with the torch puts a quick end to that. * The connections between the hose and torch seemed a little loose, but did not leak in the first 10 uses. Hopefully that holds up. === The Not-So-Good Stuff === * The instructions missed an important first step. Take the cheap POS striker that is included with the torch, and toss it directly in the nearest trash can. After a use or two it deformed, and was just about impossible to use with one hand ---you have to hold the torch with the other. Easiest thing to use was a long-nozzle lighter, and seemed perfectly safe in spite of the warnings in the instructions. * I don't like the trigger mechanism on the "turbo" blaster. It was easy to inadvertently squeeze it. Since it makes a loud noise, it will scare you if you are not ready for it. Occasionally the turbo blast would extinguish the flame, forcing you to stop and re-light. Wish it had a built-in igniter. * Not sure what the exact weight of the torch is, but it does get heavy. I didn't especially mind it, but I wouldn't want to use it all day long. Of course at the rate it burns propane, I couldn't afford to anyway. (I didn't use it long enough to go through a tank, but my 10 gallon tank was noticeably lighter after about 20 minutes of use). * A couple cautions- it is easy to light grass, bark mulch, or even large weeds on fire. Most can easily be stomped out, or will burn themselves out, but having a hose or at least a bucket of water nearby is probably a good idea. I'd also stay away from desirable plants, woodwork, or macadam paving. I took to wearing eye protection after a thistle "exploded". Also, watch where you set it down, the nozzle stays hot for a while after the flame is extinguished. === Summary === A torch is not a 100% eradicator for weeds, but then neither is anything else. It was very effective for me, and is actually a bit of fun. There are a few things that could be better, but the torch seems well built and reasonably easy to use.