The World's First Commercial Handheld Flamethrower

Today in "completely badass products you definitely need" news: The world's first commercially available handheld flamethrower, which shoots a deadly stream of fire up to 25 feet from the nozzle and will surely be a huge hit at your next backyard summer BBQ.

A riff on a prototype developed back in 2008, this commercial model has a one-liter gasoline tank, which its makers promise will give you a decent amount of "constant-on" operation.

They're currently raising money on Indiegogo, and once they've secured enough to begin production you'll be able to order one on their site. That is, unless you live in California or Maryland, where you cannot legally own a flamethrower. So yeah, just a friendly, terrifying reminder that goddamn flamethrowers are legal basically everywhere.

At this point you're probably asking yourself, who in the hell besides a time-traveling WWII soldier and a madman has reason to buy a flamethrower? Well, it turns out there are quite a few practical applications, as XM42's makers suggest. According to its website, they're great for quickly removing snow or ice, "insect control," eliminating weeds between cracks in the pavement, and starting bonfires. Alright then!


Joe McGauley is a senior editor at Supercompressor. He's sticking to matches.