Has anyone gotten one of these yet? If so, would you mind posting a review of it's good and bad points?

There's a lot of interest in holdouts these days and this is the more affordable of two new models on the market.

The Perfect Holdout is available from Hocus Pocus and Hank Lee. The maker's website is: http://www.perfectholdout.com

Thanks!
Jerry

I got it!!!

Well, the good points:

• Unbelievable magic, very visual. Comfortable to wear.

Bad Points:

• For the non-Spanish speakers, the video is in Spanish but everything is easy to follow even if you don't speak the language
  
• The sound quality is not good, but the magic is superb
  
• You have to wear a jacket to use it

The Comment
If you are looking for an immediate miracle this is not going to cut it. You can get wonderful magic out of this device, if you put the time and effort it requires, and it does requires practice.

Also a great companion will be to get the lecture notes by Michel and Greco form Vernet called the Invisible Hand, along with Holdout Miracles from Ed Mitchel.

The apparatus is very well constructed and very well designed.

Cheers

P.S. Make sure if you get it from the seller to tell him to send you a tape that is appropriate for your country system (PAL or NTSC).

Hi Carlos,

I am happy to know you have got it, some said that this kind of holdout has a wiring problem, especially when you wear a long sleeve shirt. Do you encounter the same problem?

Hank Lee Magic said this is an exclusive item we can only buy from them and nowhere else! But Hocus Pocus also has this item for sale!! Are these two the same product/model or not?? Where did you get yours?

Thanks for the advice.

Hi Jerry

For me it is nearly the best gimmick on the market. It is problem-free to carry and you can set it during your show. So it is not only to use as an opener, like others.

I worked a lot with such things (other Holdouts, Raven, Pulls) the Perfect Holdout exceed it all.

Hope I could help.
Bruno

I would love to see a demo of it. Any chance of seeing one from the creator or someone else? I hear wonderful things, but I have used holdouts before and would love to see how smooth the action is and whether this counteracting pulley system (small action = big motion) is as effective as it sounds.

You haven´t any problem with the video because it´s available in English and NTSC or PAL.

You can use the holdout with a long sleeve shirt only you need to fit your fist of the shirt and use a rubber band to fit the top of it.

The perfect holdout, it´s very easy to use when you want, at the beginning, etc.

Thanks to all, including the maker, who is Antonio (Romero), and Carlos. Both also contributed to a longer thread about the Fitch-Kohler holdout:

As other people order and use the holdout, please post more information about it. I think a lot of people would like to hear about using other attachments besides the magnet, and about what kinds of effects people are using the holdout for.

Antonio: any chance of posting one effect from the Perfect Holdout video on your website? I think it would answer a lot of questions—and probably be a good marketing tool for you.

Thanks again!
Jerry

You have a lot of ideas to do with a holdout in the web site: http://www.perfectholdout.com

Perhaps I will post a video, thanks. If you have seen a magician using a holdout (Miller or others kind of holdouts) you know that all is a miracle.

I sugges the vanishing handful of coins if you do get around to putting a clip online!

This is a most informative thread for what sounds to be a high-quality and practical solution to some of the ol' difficulties of holdouts.

If you use "metal coins" that can be attracted by a magnet, like Venezuelan coins, is very easy and the more important, natural, do the vanish with the holdout.

Here are some of the surprising effects that can be accomplished with The Perfect Hold Out. These are only examples, as The Perfect Hold Out is, above all, a tool for creativity.
KNIVES
Color-changes handing out the knife immediately for examination. Vanishes. Loads. The Perfect Hold Out is absolutely ideal for knives becouse you have the help of a magnet.


COINS
Instant multiple vanish. Three or more coins vanish instantly.

CARD IN WALLET
Without palming, bare-handed. The card can travel to the wallet, to an envelope, or wherever you want. A very subtle method for Travellers. The card can vanish from the deck upon spreading it.

COIN FILTER
A new effect. Coins of two types are shown. Spectator names one type and the other disappears, leaving only the selected coin.

THUMB TIP
The Thumb Tip becomes a diabolical weapon. Just prepare it for the Hold Out and finish your effects with clean fingers.

DYE-TUBE
Like the Thumb Tip, a Dye-Tube can be prepared for The Perfect Hold Out. Endless possibilities.

SILKS
Here we could never finish describing effects. Silks can be prepared for using with The Perfect Hold Out or the accessories can be adapted. We suggest you go back to Rice's Encyclopedia of Silk Magic after installing The Perfect Hold Out.

CARD-CASE COLOR-CHANGES
All you need is prepare a front side of a card case to be hooked to The Perfect Hold Out.

TRANSPARENT PLASTIC DECK
Transform a deck of cards into a block of transparent plastic. A card that covers the block is removed by The Perfect Hold Out.

LOCATION OF ONE OR MORE CARDS
One or more cards are selected. The deck is put into a paper bag. Spectator shuffles the deck inside the bag. The magician puts his hand in the bag and brings out the selected cards.

BILLET SWITCHES
Very useful for mental effects. A billet with a message is switched for another one. Same with bank notes.

THIMBLES
If a magnetic thimble is used in a thimble routine, countless new possibilities are added. Also the handling will become easier.

BALLS
Balls can be loaded or removed without suspicion. Useful for manipulation as well as for cups and balls routines.

TO LOAD A PACKET OF CARDS
Adding cards to a deck is a simple task. All you need is a paper clip.

CARD COLOR-CHANGES
Color changes become very magical. You can change more than one card.

CIGARETTES
The Perfect Hold Out can be used as a cigarette holder. Anything from the classic appearance of a cigarette in your mouth to a full routine.

CIGARS
For cigar productions and vanishes.

SMASHED AND RESTORED WATCH
With The Perfect Hold Out the steal of the watch is very simple.

VANISH OF A LIT CIGARETTE
This classic effect can be done adapting the existing gimmick.

CARDS ACROSS
Cards travel from one packet to another.

VANISH OF COINS AND OTHER OBJECTS
End clean after vanishing any object.

DOUBLE CONTROL
A pen or a wand appears to be magnetized between the fingers. Look in Ganson's "Art of Close-Up Magic" Vol. 2, an effect by G. Hunter.

CUT AND RESTORED ROPE
With the Perfect Hold Out you can load the extra piece of rope and dispose of it at will.

AND ALSO…

All of the gimmicks below can be easily modified to work with the Perfect Hold Out:
- Salt Pour
- Fire in your hands
- Flying sparks
- Pen vanish
- Endless rope
and much more

So Magoantonio can I perform PH wearing a hooded sweatshirt or do I have to wear a jacket?

It´s better if you use a jacket but depend of the kind of sweatshirt. Remember that you must use your sleeves. If the size of the fist of your sweatshirt is ok perhaps you can use a hold out.

I got a brown leather jacket that's perfect for this trick.

If anybody's interested I'm selling it for $7,000 dollars.

j/k!

Magoantonio, I was wondering, once the holdout goes south, or is it north , then what is the mechanism that then keeps it from dropping back down again? I am just a little curious about the process. The website gave me a lot of the information, but could you describe it a bit more? Does it have a manual lock that you engage and disengage to allow the holdout to slip down? Does it lock automatically when retracted? Any further information you can provide would be much appreciated.

Normaly the hold outs work by gravity.
With a move of one hand go up and with the help of the gravity go down. The problem is that in the Miller´s Hold Out and other clasic models you need a long move of the hand to move it and a relativity heavy weight.

Just wondering, how comfortable is the holdout?

And the perfect one is set up in your jacket, and not to your arm? so you could keep this in your jacket taking it off and on, without a bunch of set-up?

Also, how much does it weigh and how much noise does the reel make?

I'm trying to decide if this would be a good choice for close-up magic, or is it for stage work only?

You can keep it in your jacket and can take it off in front of your audience. It is noisless.

Use it close-up and you will kill magicians with it.

MacGuyver,

Go to Antonio's website listed earlier in this thread to see what his holdout is. Miller type holdouts are not strapped to your arm (at least the arm where the end is). Carlos is right Miller type holdouts can be used close up.

Dan

I got mine yesterday, and have to say that I am not dissapointed.

I second Carlos Hampton's review completely. Carlos, you are right on! Good review!

Once past the frustration of setting it up (a one time issue, that Antonio warns you about on the tape..) I have been having a ball with it.

Under my Jacket, I wore a cotton turleneck sweater with long sleeves that fit close at the wrists, so "nothing hangs up", and I had no problems. So although short sleeved is probably best, it is not necessary if you use common sense.

I may still have a minor adjustment or two to make, but if I had to live with it the way it is now, I could fry fish all day!

To those who are unhappy with the voice dubbing and overall quality of the tape, I say "get over it." It isn't the best quality, and framing of action could have been better, and the lighting and detail of the closeup of the holdout coul have been better too. Wa wa wa.... But it really was undersandable enough. And if you need to take it apart, what is seen on the tape is enough to reference the one you have in your hands...

This is one item that I will definitely take with me - if there is any chance at all I will be able to perform....

Canadian Loonies and Toonies work great with it! So I am off to get a few more as I only have two now!

BroDavid

BroDavid,

I am happy that you liked it. That is all you can ask for after you paid good money for the device.
If you are happy, the manufacturer is happy as well.

Did you like the knive routine???

Regards,

Carlos