It almost makes me crème brûlée, but I actually bought it to stimulate cell formation in acrylic paintings. I like the safety feature where you have to slide the switch before you can hit the flame plunger. I also like that while you're pressing on the plunger that creates the flame, there's another button that lets you flip another switch to lock out a continuous flame. If you are not using a constant flame, simply release the plunger to turn off the fire - remember (I did once) to release the continuous flame button before lowering the burner or it will continue to burn. One thing I don't like is refueling - I got the recommended butane and followed the directions, but it's not clear how long the position has to be held in the refueling process and before enough fuel actually gets into the tank, spits it clouds in all directions and drips ice drops from your hands onto the ground. Wrapping the flashlight and the hand holding it in a towel helps, but still the spill creates frost on the sides of the handle so the fabric sometimes sticks a bit before you can let go. ALSO the little "window" that's supposed to show you the fuel level is barely transparent when it should be; It's almost impossible to look inside, even when held up to a bright light. But it makes a decent flame.