Which is the Best Magic Smoke Device? – Magicians Ratings and Reviews

Here's a feature comparison of the most popular magicians magic smoke devices currently on the market.

Which magic smoke device is best?

That depends on what you need from the device. There tends to be two main camps of magicians, each needing something different from their magic smoke device. Some magicians look for practicality and a no fuss solution to producing smoke during a magic trick. Other magicians seek a fully customisable device that they can adjust to the specific requirements of the magic tricks they are working on. Looking at the devices currently on the market, it seems that both camps are being catered for. Devices like Pure Smoke and VAPR provide a fully formed, commercial solution that has a 'load and go' approach. Devices like Magic Smoke and SSS are more adaptable, but require more set up or refill procedure.

VAPR and Pure Smoke are designed to be 'clip on and go'. Magic Smoke needs to be fitted to your jacket, but as a result, you get a device set up specifically for your own individual needs.

VAPR is the new kid on the block and adds a great deal of additional features to a smoke device system. A self healing smoke tube, remote control, ability to produce smoke over a long period, and small rechargeable power unit make VAPR attractive to working magicians. However, the need to use official refill carts adds an additional ongoing expense.

Reliability issues.

Pure Smoke is the current market leader in magicians smoke devices. It's simple set up, use of standard batteries and excellent aftercare warranty have really helped it corner the market for smoke devices. However, some units were plagued by technical issues, so some magicians had to use the warranty to have their units replaced. E (The maker of Pure Smoke) has been excellent in replacing faulty units of Pure Smoke, so their customer service record is very good.

VAPR is made by Sans Mind who do not currently have a consistent track record of customer support for a device like this, so we can't be sure at this point how good their after care will be. That's not to say it won't be awesome, we just haven't tested it yet.

Both Magic Smoke and SSS are self service devices. The parts used for these can be sources cheaply online and replaced as required.

Pure Smoke and VAPR are sealed units, so self repair is more limited than magic smoke and SSS.

Hands off Smoke.

Only two devices have seen specifically designed to allow remote smoke. VAPR and SSS. If you want to create smoke from a close up mat or from an object that is away from you, then these may be your best choices.

Refills

VAPR and Pure Smoke require refill cartridges that need to be purchased from the magic shop. SSS and Magic Smoke can be refilled directly from a bottle of cheaper generic PG or VG liquid. Which option you choose is a matter of your budget and how 'plug in and go' you need the device to be.

Customisation

SSS provides allows the most customisation, but as it is only a DVD teaching how to make the device yourself, it may not be attractive to magicians who do not want to source parts and build their own device.

Price.

The cheapest option is SSS. However, it comes at the cost of your own time and effort to build the device. Magic Smoke is a more expensive option as an initial purchase, but the cheaper refill system will save you a lot of money over time. Pure Smoke and VAPR are more expensive than the 'build it yourself' options, but still great value for magicians that plan to use them. However, the refill cartridges will be an ongoing cost to factor into the decision.

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with our comparison? Let us know your experiences using any of these devices in the comments section below:

Interview With Steve Shufton About Inexplicable Magic

by Merchant of Magic 1 Comment

Why Inexplicable by Steve Shufton Annoys Magicians

Dominic Reyes: Inexplicable is another take on the ‘Open Prediction’ Why are you drawn to the open prediction concept?

Steve Shufton: The open prediction, in my opinion, is one of the very strongest plots in mental magic, so yes – I am drawn to it like a magnet. This is mentalism/magic that can truly demonstrate the impossible.

Dominic Reyes: In what way?

Steve Shufton: When a woman gets sawn in half, the illusion can be remarkable, and in some cases, no one will have the slightest clue how it was done. Even so, no one thinks for a moment that the woman was actually split in two – no adult would think so any way. Impossible location magic tricks are very strong – I have created several excellent ones myself. Here again – the illusion may be perfect, and no one will have the slightest clue how it was accomplished. But, no adult will think that there was an actual de-materialization. Instead they will credit you with remarkable skill.

Dominic Reyes: So with an open prediction trick, you are also causing a conflict between analytical reasoning Vs. the emotional reaction of the spectators?

Steve Shufton: With an open prediction effect, especially along the lines of Inexplicable, it starts to blur the lines, and the possibility of real mental magic becomes an option. Why? The possibilities of manipulation, switches, trick decks, etc., are eliminated. This is the type of effect that will not soon be forgotten – some spectators may even be deeply troubled and lose a wink or two of sleep. This phenomenon is shared by effects like ACAAN, or another of my own very strong effects, X-Ray. These are magic tricks that defy explanation – for both lay people and magicians.

Dominic Reyes: Why are simple and direct plots such as the one in Inexplicable so powerful?

Steve Shufton: As the great Dai Vernon once pointed out:

‘Confusion is not magic.‘

Simple and clear effects make for good magic. If you can sum up the effect in one or two sentences, you are heading in the right direction. If a spectator cannot easily describe what they just experienced, a lot of the possibility of magic is lost.

Dominic Reyes: Why have you chosen to release this without filming a trailer?

Steve Shufton: So many of the trailers I have seen with this type of effect tend to follow the same formula. First, there is some kind of opening high-tech logo presentation – often these are almost as long as the demo. Then, again with this type of magic trick, you see a demonstration of a possible outcome, and assume each presentation goes the same way. Often the presentation itself is broken into several snippets. Then, the great bulk of the demo is shots of reactions – usually hysterical responses, to entice you to believe that your spectators will completely flip out. I am not in love with most of that.

Dominic Reyes: So you think it leads people down a path to an anti-climax?

You order it. You find out that you only saw one aspect of the effect, and you are disappointed. You find out that the method is more transparent than was revealed, and more disappointment sets in. You decide to perform it, and you are not met with the anticipated hysteria. More disappointment. Finally, you put it in that drawer, vow to never get sucked in again, and your experience ends with that final disappointment.

I have prepared demos of most of my magic tricks, and there are some magi who have also created splendid demos of some of my tricks. But, in this case I have decided to go with two very convincing factors:

My reputation for delivering what I claim.
Gathering of endorsements from some of the top names in the field, most of whom I have no relationship with whatsoever.

In addition, I think this particular effect is so special, that it would be nice if the only folks seeing it are YOUR audience, and not a demo on YouTube that decreases your chances of showing someone something they have truly never seen before. This one will fool your magic buddies! So, assuming you like themagic trick , there is an advantage for YOU to not have a demo.

Dominic Reyes: You weren’t worried it would hurt sales then?

Steve Shufton: I think this magic trick is so strong, that I am taking a risk by not producing a demo. It has not hurt sales, has it Dominic?

Dominic Reyes: No, the responce to Inexplicable has been outstanding. I did try to push you to film a demo, and some magicians are waiting for initial reviews, but it seems the vast majority can see the simplicity of the effect, and have faith in your reputation. It’s been a great success.

Steve Shufton: The final convincer is yet to come – the reviews that are likely to spring up all over the place, in magazines, etc., but also including here, on this site. I sincerely hope that no one ever produces a demo of this effect, so that we magi can have something very special, and keep it all to ourselves.

Dominic Reyes: Do you make inexplicable yourself or is it mass produced. What do you feel if the benefit of this?

Steve Shufton: I make each individual one myself. If there is a part I cannot possibly make myself, of course I must have that done for me. But, in this case, I did the die cutting of parts, the assembling, the writing and design, the printing, the trimming, the packaging myself. The benefit? I know that each one meets my expectations. And, in the rare case that one did not go out perfectly, I know who to blame – ME. At some point, I may have an appropriate effect fully manufactured – but that has yet to happen.

Dominic Reyes: Inexplicaple is being compared to CAAN effects. How do you feel this differes and how does that give it an advantage?

Steve Shufton: CAAN and ACAAN very different effects than this particular open prediction. Picking a number or naming a card is much different than dealing cards face up from a normal deck and stopping whenever you want. I cannot claim an advantage. Acaan can be incredibly strong. I perform my own version with some frequency. I have several name-a-card tricks I perform. One of my open-prediction effects (Miracle Premonition) is a name-any-card type of effect. Is it strong? Of course! It would be hard to argue if one is stronger than the other. Our objective is to deliver something magical to our audience. By whatever means we are to accomplish this, we have done the job. I must admit, though, Inexplicable is one of the strongest things I have ever come up with – I’m proud of it.

Dominic Reyes: The ‘test conditions’ in Inexplicable are very impressive. Why do you feel these are so important?

Steve Shufton: By eliminating every possible solution – that is the very thing that makes the effect inexplicable! If the spectator has nowhere to go, what results is true, deep astonishment (phrase borrowed from Paul Harris Magic) – the gold at the end of the rainbow.

Dominic Reyes: Inexplicable requires no sleight of hand. Was this a conscious decision on your part? What part do you think sleight of hand has within good card or mind magic?

Steve Shufton: Most decent card magic is accomplished through sleight-of-hand, and hopefully that will not change. Most of the effects I market require no sleights. Sleights, especially some in particular, require a serious level of skill to perform. In fact, most of the magic effects I perform for the public involve some sleight of hand. Coins through the table. Ambitious card. Etc. The effects I create for the magi are not so dependent on their skill level. If they were, there wouldn’t be much of a market!

Dominic Reyes: So the million dollar question Steve: Why do you do it?

Steve Shufton: I only release magic tricks that I think you will really like, and use. I put a lot of work in, and that is also for you. I love magic – the art of magic means a lot to me. I don’t want to be embarrassed by letting out any second-rate effects. I’m too sensitive and couldn’t take the back-lash. This is not all about money for me – how could it be? My family would starve in no time if I were to depend on my effects to take care of us. What it is really about, is the magic. Making a contribution to the art I love, and maybe inspiring another to love magic as deeply as I do. It is hard to part with an effect – it’s like seeing your kids go off on their own. So believe me when I tell you, it is about the magic, and it is about attempting to inspire YOU to excel in this field – the one I love so dearly.

Dominic Reyes: Steve, Thanks for taking the time out to answer these questions. I’m very impressed with Inexplicable and I’m glas it’s been so well received by both professional magicians and the casual performer communities. Do you have one last bit of advice to those magicians beginning their practice work?

Steve Shufton: Thanks for giving me a chance to say, probably, too much! Please practice everything you want to perform so that your audiences will see perfection, and most importantly, MAGIC.

Inexplicable is launched worldwide on the 1st of July 2013.

You can find out more about Inexplicable here.

The Best PK Magic Tricks – How to Add Telekinesis into Your Magic

by Merchant of Magic Leave a Comment

Telekinesis is a term that originated in 1890 by Russian psychical researcher Aleksander Aksakov, to describe the movement of objects by scientifically inexplicable means.

Originally, ‘inexplicable means’ were thought of and portrayed as the work of ghosts or spirits. Nowadays, though, telekinesis is considered as more of a human phenomenon – the power to move objects with your mind.

One of the most famous telekinesis practitioners of all time is Uri Gellar. Uri became known worldwide for his ability to bend spoons using the power of his mind. Uri himself claimed that what he was real, and that it relied on a special power- an energy force from within himself that allowed him to perform incredible feats.

The main reason for Uri’s success was that he was able to convince people that what he was doing was real. In fact, as recently as September 2006, a survey about belief in various religious and paranormal topics conducted by phone and mail-in questionnaire polled Americans on their belief in telekinesis. Of these participants, 28% of male participants and 31% of female participants selected “agree” or “strongly agree”!

Harnessing The Power Of Belief.

People’s belief in telekinesis provides magicians the opportunity to truly astonish an audience with telekinesis or PK style magic tricks. If you already perform some mentalism or mind reading magic tricks you will know first-hand just how much stronger the magic can be for an audience if they believe that what they are seeing could be real. Even if you don’t perform mentalism, you will no doubt have experienced the impact of Derren Brown’s performances have had on real people, because everything he does seems plausible.

Telekinesis is not mentalism, and it isn’t magic. It is a type of effect that bridges the two genres perfectly, because it retains the visual style of traditional close up magic, with the themes and believability of mentalism. If, like many performers, you like to mix both magic and mentalism, then adding a telekinesis trick to your act will help you transition from one style to the other perfectly. That’s not to say that is the only use for tricks of that nature- many of the best telekinesis tricks are so powerful you may want to consider using them as your ‘closer’ or even saving them for a stand-alone performance.

Some of the Best Telekinesis Magic tricks Available:

To give you some ideas, here are some of the absolute best telekinesis products available right now:

Liquid Metal

This is the ultimate instructional DVD if you are looking to add some metal bending to your act. The full routine is phenomenally powerful, and one of the strongest pieces of magic you can perform for a live audience. Whilst not necessarily for a beginner, the teaching is excellent and if you are willing to put the time in to perfecting the trick, you will have an honest-to-goodness MIRACLE in your hands!

Loops

If you prefer a more organic approach to your magic, you may want to consider Loops By Yigal Mesika. This allows you to do a huge range of telekinesis magic tricks using everyday objects like playing cards, money, forks What is particularly good about Loops is that you can even cause the movement to happen on a spectators hand. You can create the impression that it is your spectator that is making the magic happen, adding to the impossibility and making the tricks believable.

Spin

If you are thinking of trying some telekinesis, and want to be able to perform anytime without having to carry any special props with you, then SPIN is perfect for you. This is one of the strongest things you can perform impromptu. If you haven’t heard of this trick or seen the demo, go and watch it now and you will be amazed at the strength of this effect- all performed with regular objects.

Control

If you’re looking for a combination of telekinesis and strong magic then you should try this out! Control allows you to impossibly cause a small stone, or other small item to become animated in your spectator’s hand. You can cause a cigarette to topple over underneath an upturned glass an even make a coin completely vanish. Amazing, original and something that your spectators will absolutely remember you for.

How to Perform Telekinesis.

This really depends on your performance style. In the main, telekinesis tricks work well when presented seriously. Remember, you are selling the idea that what is happening is a result of mental power, or concentration. Presentations with minimal speaking can allow for focus on the visual, and allow you to play on the fact that you are using a lot of physical effort during the trick (TIP- remember how David Blaine presented his levitation on his early TV specials? People were convinced it was real because he was so ‘physically drained’ after his performance). This style of presentation also has the advantage of giving you a legitimate reason for not repeating the trick, which a lot of magic tricks don’t afford you.

Being serious is by no means the only way to present telekinesis. There is a lot of potential for humour if you decide, for example, to perform these impossible feats in a more ‘tongue-in-cheek’ fashion, where everything happens at your whim with absolute ease. Or, you may be able to create a comedy situation where things are moving of their own accord and you have no control- it must be your spectator moving the objects but you don’t know why, or how to stop them!