The Kitchen Craft Cook Blowtorch is a fun cooking appliance used in certain dishes such as crisping up meat and steak and certain desserts. The product was a fair investment that I found fun to use in finishing off certain dishes but it did have limited use. The blowtorch operates via gas ignition and an anti-flare flame. I purchased the item from a local cooking ware shop for £8.50.

Appearance
The model is quite light but firm to hold. The product features a base at the bottom for it to stand on a horizontal surface, a black rubberised grip section in the centre of the product, a small red button the side and a funnel with a black end which is where the flame comes out from. The product with its chrome coloured metal base construction looks quite modern except I did find it slightly cheap and tacky looking. Although it felt firm to hold in my hand I did think it was a rather weak construction that was maybe thrown haphazardly together by Kitchen Craft.

Ease of Use
The product is refillable and needs butane gas, not lighter fluid or any other combustible material. Butane gas is readily available and I purchased some from the home/cooking ware shop I bought the blowtorch itself from. The product is bought empty meaning it does not have butane gas in it already. The cylinder can hold 20 cubic centimetres of butane gas which lasts a while but certainly not forever. The red button to the side of the product for ignition is in a somewhat awkward place in my opinion, it was hard to press and I think this was somewhat of a design fault. The product did ignite quickly and featured an anti-flare mechanism whereby you could use the product at awkward positions and not just straight on. The flame is adjustable so it was useful to heat foods to different temperatures rather than the product just having a fixed flame.

Durability
I don't think the durability of the product was all that good. The product did feel a bit weak and flimsy and did not have the greatest construction in my opinion. I have noticed that after a while, the ignition button is become a bit dodgy and unresponsive. It used to work safely and easily but now I've found it unresponsive which combined with its difficult to press position on the cylinder is a real let down. The product will last a good couple of years of sporadic or light use but I certainly don't see it lasting very long. Overall i would give it a low durability score.

Useability
The product was good fun to use on steak and some desserts like crème brulee or rice pudding but apart from that I found the device in general has limited usage. I think it could be used for model aircraft/miniature work or even soldering (if it was on a high temperature setting )but in terms of how often I use the product, it is few and far between. If you're into cooking foods which would require the blowtorch or are a chef then the product would be very useable, but for the average consumer I think the Kitchen Craft blowtorch has limited uses.

Pricing
I found the product reasonable priced at £8.50 in my local cooking ware shop and the butane gas cylinders only cost me a few pound when it needs filling. You can also buy the product on Amazon UK for £8.47 currently with free delivery if you don't unlike me have a suitable shop nearby. The product has seen limited use and suffers from a bit of a weak construction in my opinion, but for around £8.50 you can't go wrong giving it a try.

Conclusion
I found the product to be an ok purchase but probably one I could have gone without. The device does have its uses in cooking for steak and desserts but apart from that I found I never really need to use the product. The construction is a bit haphazard, the ignition button has become unresponsive over time and is in an awkward position but apart from this it does everything to an ok standard. The flame is of a good size and can be adjusted which is a bonus, the rubberised grip section in the middle is handy and allows a good grip and the £8.50 price tag was reasonable. The product is a bit of a budget blowtorch which I think reflects the low price tag, but if you would benefit from owning a blowtorch then the Kitchen Craft blowtorch is a reasonable investment but not anything special in my opinion. Thanks for reading my review.

© Revo9 (2011)
*Note, I am both a member of Ciao and Dooyoo.co.uk under the same username of Revo9*