SSS Vs Cloud 9 Vs VAPR – Which is Best? Compare Magicians Smoke Devices

SSS Vs Cloud 9 Vs VAPR – Which is Best?

I know SSS is considerably cheaper, and requires some “DIY”, which is definitely my forte. I do much prefer something I can use straight out of the box; however, I am not exactly rolling in money either, so from that respect, SSS looks good.

What are your thoughts on the pro’s and cons of these three devices/methods of producing “mysterious, magical, smoke”. – Many thanks DB

Hi Darren,

If you like making things SSS is great as you will be able to fix anything if there is an issue and you are in control of refills etc, and not rely on stock being available from suppliers. SSS is taught as a gimmick for a table mat, but it doesn’t take a genius to change the gimmick and remove the close up mat and make it go down your sleeve to make a smoke device for your hands. As SSS stands for a silent sleeveless smoke this is not taught in the tutorial.

VAPR is great, however, when the heater coil burns out you will have to reorder from a shop and so you are reliant on the shops having the stock available, that goes for the refill cartridges too. Plus the price tag is the highest of them all.

Cloud 9 is great, but it is best used for dispersing smoke somewhere other than your hands, it is possible to be used on your hands but other smoke products are better for this.

Summery:

SSS Cheapest, and good for people that are happy with DIY and modification.

VAPR Most expensive, works out of the box, easy set up, but refills are expensive.

Cloud 9 The best for smoke needed away from your body. Fully adaptable.

I hope this helps, do you have any specific questions you wish to have answered? Post them in the comments section below:

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

by Dominic Reyes 1 Comment

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:

Smoke from Your Hands Magic Tricks – Pure Smoke Vs. SSS Which is Best?

by Merchant of Magic 11 Comments

Creating magic smoke from your hands has become very popular for magicians over the last couple of years. It’s popularity was boosted by Dynamo Magician Impossible producing magic smoke on his TV Series.

The most popular methods for producing magic smoke from your hands are:

Pure Smoke By Ellusionist and Sleeveless Silent Smoke (SSS) By Shin Lim

Deciding which device is better depends on several factors. We looked at the following areas to compare Pure Smoke with SSS to see which is best:

Easy of use
Practicality
Set up
Durability
Price

Ease of use.

Pure Smoke by Ellusionist: Pure smoke is a contained unit, designed to produce magic smoke and deliver it to your hand when required. The device has to be worn, and as such requires that you use a jacket or coat to hide the workings. It’s ready to go, the moment the package arrives to you. You will need to use regular batteries to power Pure smoke, and these can run out quite quickly with everyday use. Pure smoke uses specially made cartridges that contain the Vegetable Glycerin liquid. You simply need to plug in a cartridge, put on the device, turn it on and you are ready to go.

SSS By Shin Lim: SSS requires you to put together the device yourself. However, this is very easy, and once done, you are ready to go. Shin Lim teaches several different magic tricks and ideas on the SSS DVD included. Some of these require additional materials. Once constructed, SSS is very easy to use device. The battery is rechargeable via USB. You don’t need special cartridges, and you can refill the unit cheaply with VG liquid obtainable easily from many sources.

Practicality.

Pure Smoke by Ellusionist: This is, in our opinion, a more polished product. It’s a ‘switch on and go’ magic smoke from hands device that is very easy to use. Because it uses regular batteries, it does have the disadvantage of having a large motor unit to hide.

The motor also makes a hum. Although this is not a problem at all during working situations, it can be off putting for beginners or magicians who perform in very quiet locations.

You need to wear a jacket or coat with sleeves to hide the working.

Pure smoke was created specifically to produce smoke from a magicians hands, and as such it is the most practice of the two devices for magicians walking around performing strolling close-up magic. For adapting to use in other places than your hands, it’s less practical than SSS.

SSS By Shin Lim: SSS is very customizable. As the battery unit is tiny, there is much less to hide. Because you can take the device apart, it can be set up in lots of different ways.

The selling point for SSS is the ability to produce magic smoke from places other than your hands. This is a real advantage. Many magicians are looking for a way to produce magic smoke from objects, tables or close up mats, and due to the adaptability of SSS, it is a clear winner over Pure Smoke for this.

Set Up.

Pure Smoke by Ellusionist: Put it on, switch it on and you are ready to make magic smoke from your hands whenever you want. It’s ready to go right from the box and includes some cartridges to get you started right away.

SSS By Shin Lim: SSS comes as a DVD and a small gimmick. You need to buy a few very common and cheap additional parts to set it up. This can be a real pain if your excited about the product arriving and then have to go shopping all over again.

Once you have constructed your device, which is very easy to do and requires no technical knowledge, the device requires very little set up before producing magic smoke.

You will need to ensure the battery is fully charged (or simply pick up some spares), and you will need to top up the device with VG liquid.

Set up becomes more of an issue when you want to produce magic smoke from other places than your hands. Each type of routine requires it’s own set up.

Durability

Pure Smoke by Ellusionist: This uses it’s own atomiser (The heat element that burns the VG Liquid to produce magic smoke) The original version was none user serviceable and many magic dealers reported reliability issues with both the atomiser burning out or the motor unit failing. Some users report that their device does now make very much magic smoke when activated.

Ellusionists’ customer care is excellent and faulty units were replaced very quickly. The new version (V2 onwards) has a replaceable atomiser. The unit will fail over time as the atomisers burn out, so replacement parts may need to be ordered quite often with everyday use.

SSS By Shin Lim: SSS is totally user serviceable very cheaply. If the atomiser fails, you can just click on a new one, and these can be purchased very cheaply from many stores online. The batteries used in SSS tend on average to be good for up to 300 charges, but again can be replaced at very little cost.

For reliability SSS, scores over Pure Smoke as the device can quite easily be throw away and replaced cheaply and easily.

Price.

Pure smoke costs considerably more than SSS. The extra cost is justifiable for a fully set up, polished and professional magic smoke creator and the backup and customer care available are excellent. But compared to the more DIY SSS, price may be an issue for hobbyist magicians. SSS produces magic smoke in much the same way, and is more adaptable, but if you don’t like having to go shopping for parts once a new magic trick arrives, the premium for Pure Smoke may be attractive.

What’s most important to you:

Pure Smoke: