This will come as no surprise but the price has gone way up recently. Since I no longer use my glass cook top stove the Iwatani is being used almost every day. Plus it is on all of my outings and is my first choice as a camp stove. When I first starting using butane several years ago I was paying under $25 for a 12 cartridge case. A few months back I bought a case for under $30. Those deals are gone now and I have recently seen 4 cartridges selling for as much as $29!! That is just insane. Fearing that the worst might be yet to come I ordered another case yesterday since I count on it so much for cooking. Total was $44.95 for 12 cartridges including shipping and tax. It goes a long way so a case will last me about a year. Early next month I will be receiving a new Cupid mini butane heater for use in the Casa and the mini Casa. These are small and rather expensive heaters that are usually in short supply but have some advantages over the much larger Buddy propane heaters.
The principal advantages other than the small footprint are the ability to regulate the heat and the fact that it lights instantly with no priming. My modified Buddy heater has just been excellent but it is way too powerful for the inside of my truck, about 8 minutes of use is all I can stand. It has 2 settings-high and higher. Suddenly the little green propane bottles have escalated to over $10 a bottle (check the price on Amazon) and are no longer a viable fuel source. Fortunately the bottles can still be refilled for under a buck apiece and if you have to use them it would pay to buy the adopter and learn how to use it.
And if you use butane at all buy a case now, buying them individually has always been expensive and will only get worse.
The principal advantages other than the small footprint are the ability to regulate the heat and the fact that it lights instantly with no priming. My modified Buddy heater has just been excellent but it is way too powerful for the inside of my truck, about 8 minutes of use is all I can stand. It has 2 settings-high and higher. Suddenly the little green propane bottles have escalated to over $10 a bottle (check the price on Amazon) and are no longer a viable fuel source. Fortunately the bottles can still be refilled for under a buck apiece and if you have to use them it would pay to buy the adopter and learn how to use it.
And if you use butane at all buy a case now, buying them individually has always been expensive and will only get worse.