A group calling themselves the Ion Productions Team are crowdfunding a handheld flamethrower they call the XM42 (I am not sure where the name comes from … a movie? Or are they referencing the  Abwehrflammenwerfer 42, Germany’s huge WWII flamethrower mine?). The XM42 does not have a high pressure gas tank and the investors have avoided showing how it functions. It looks like the rear handle pumps up and down either to pressurize the 1 liter tank or to directly pump out the fuel. It runs on standard gasoline (87 Octane).

The XM42 is “selling” on Indiegogo starting at $699 for the basic model.

They claim to be making the first handheld flamethrower. This is only partially accurate. Charl Fourie, the South African inventor of car security flamethrower, developed and sold a “pocket sized” flamethrower in the early 00s. I don’t think he ever went into full scale production, only selling small quantities expo/market events.

I can’t blog about a flamethrowers without sharing a couple of my favorite flamethrower videos. Enjoy …

Thanks to Marcos and Nicki for the tip.