Would like to add a more escapes to my repertoire (have done the Siberian Chain escape
Am looking at a gaffed Strait Jacket Escape:

http://www.ronjo.com/Merchant2/merchant.......ct_Code=
70629602050&Category_Code=pl&Store_Code=R

to get started on strait jacket escapes

Any thoughts, input, opinions would be greatly appreciated

To be honest I'd give that a miss. You may as well buy a posey from http://www.cannonsgreatescapes.com

Ok, you'll be spending a little more money in the long run, but it'll be worth it.

Can I ask, why use a gimmicked one??? Use a standard jacket minus belly/side loops. They can be fully examined and they aren't that hard once your technique is sorted.

Ros

I currently have four straitjackets (don't ask how I got four of them!)...Posey, Humane, a really cool gothic red jacket, and a gimmicked one I received as a gift. The one I use the most is my Posey. The Humane sizes run a little bit bigger than the same size in a Posey. So, my recommendation is to either get a Posey or Humane. With a bit of practice, it will feel as comfortable as an overcoat, put on backward and tied at the back, but comfortable nonetheless.

Margarette

Hey Vic...

Your aud won't know the diff...gimmick or ungimmicked but you will...no need for a gaff as stated above...just pay attention how they go on and are fastened.

I added an escape segment to my old magic act...Thumb Cuffs (no need for a gimmick here either)...a big chain and a Jacket. Eventually I broke it all off into a 3 trick mini escape routine with comedy but without the magic stuff for club work...what kept me from becoming a bonafied EA full bore was that I'm as claustrophobic as I can be and hate being restrained! hahaha. So the Jacket was always matter over mind for me and also like margarette said...it became like a light windbreaker and comfortable.

But Vic...You look slim enough to 'fall' out of one through the bottom...so you better have a crotch strap!

Thanks for the advice

Roslyn - I'd like to learn and was thinking about starting with the easiest way to go and moving forward from there, looks like I need to do a little more studying

Margarette - I like that "feel as comfortable as an overcoat, put on backward and tied at the back"

Xmosis - yes I am thin (5'10 and have to work on keeping my weight between 140-150) so hopefully I can gain a lot of room with chest and shoulder expansion

Thought about thumbcuffs too, under a scarf and taking one hand out to smoke and then putting the thumb back in while still under the scarf and taking the scarf off
Plus I can have some laughs with the crowd about putting the crotch strap on

Thumb Cuffs are always fun and they are CHEAP! A good 5 minutes or more for cup a coffee money.

Taking the hand out to smoke might be too long an exposure...a fast tap on the shoulder of your volunteer or a quick scratch of your chin is better...you don't want the volunteer to 'get it' that easily...the humor is in the audience 'getting it' before the stooge. And they usually do!


Doug
Xmosis: The effect of melting thru Steel!

Vick,

If you want to start with something easy then go for an sj that doesn't have any side or belly loops. The process of getting out isn't that difficult and you'll be able to pass the jacket out for inspection with no fear of anyone finding anything.
I agree with Margarette that the best jacket to go for would be a posey or a humane restraint jacket.
Check out eBay for cheap sj's. Saw a posey for about $120.00

Thumbcuffs are a great idea. I do mine behind my back and have 2 spectators stand either side of me so their shoulders touch mine. After a bit of play I end by cuffing the spectators together.

Ros

Vic,

I wanted a jacket without having to buy three of them, so I just got the nastiest one that I could find and learned to escape from that with advice from the people here at the Café. I have put audience volunteers into it and they were helpless. I can't imagine using a gaffed jacket now. I agree that the audience will pick up on your vibes as you use it.

If you want to do something easy that looks great, try twenty feet of chain and some padlocks over the jacket.

Yours,

Paul

Wow - thanks again for all the great advice

Looks like ungaffed is the way to go (also spoke with a friend of mine Kevin Lee who has worked with both types and he also suggested go for ungaffed as it can be handed out for inspection)

Xmosis - only going to take my hand out from under the scarf and out of the thumbcuffs for a second to take a drag and then put it back in
Going to play it for comedy

Vick..ok...but a half second is better!

The idea is not to be too obvious...the comedy comes naturally. As Elmer said "Be vewy vewy onubtwusive"...most should be able to pick up the taking a drag...only about half will notice a fast scratch (the first time)...the vol probably won't...let it dawn on them...maybe the drag off the smoke could be a final move before you completely give up and ask the vol to PLEASE unlock the cuffs that you can't get out...etc.

Thanks again to everyone

Vick Any Time we are HERE to Help but there has been other things going on to.

Try a good trunk escape. I was handcuffed, shackled and tied then placed into a trunk. The lid was put on and screwed shut. 2 bands of steel were placed over the top and were welded along other steel straps around the box. Upon examination of the box after the escape there are no gimmicked trap doors or openings to be found. A real audiance pleaser.

Hello everybody!

I as well as Vick am thinking about a straightjacket escape. I do a mailbag and cuffs behind my back trick in my recent show and I love the reaction I get from my audience. I have been looking at Cannonsgreatescapes.com and have found a jacket I like. It is called "GIMMICKED POSEY ROLLER BUCKLE STRAIT JACKET WITH BELLY & SIDE LOOPS©"

As seen here:

http://www.cannonsgreatescapes.net/spectacular.html

Do you think it is any good?

I have been thinking about ungimmicked straight jackets and yes, that would be better - but I have heard that it hurts a lot getting out and I do a lot of shows a day when I perform.

/Ark

If it's marketed by Mark Cannon, it's good!

Mark understands the needs of real escape artists and meets those needs.

Steve

Hi Arkadia, I own one of those jackets and I love it. The gimmick is very well made and I would highly recommend that you get one of these jackets. The only thing is, I don't perform with this jacket as a stand-alone prop. I use it with a transport jacket over the top to perform Mark Cannon's Double jacket escape. This is a fantastic escape and well worth the expense of a second jacket but it is a very tiring escape (at least for me at 45 years old).

I don't know if this is the escape that you would want to perform over and over in a single day. I have seen the gimmicked three-loop jacket performed as a stand-alone piece but I don't know if this is for you either. I don't think that I would perform it alone but that's just me.

I would recommend that you first get a copy of the Cannon's 21st Century Escape lecture. Mark performs the single jacket on the tape and you can see if this method is for you. The tape is well worth the investment and you'll learn a ton of stuff from watching it.

I must also point out that if you learn methods of controlling the volunteers strapping you into the jacket, then you may actually find an ungimmicked jacket actually less painful and straining than being handcuffed behind your back and placed in a mail bag.

Jay Leslie's "The Strait Jacket Escape" video does a very nice job of presenting this material. You can get this tape also from the Cannons. Hope this helps.

Best regards,
Tony Parisi

Tony, I will order the tapes and deside wheter I am going ty buy a gimmicked one or if I will go for a ordinary. Thanks for the advice.

Now I am thinking about the videos. Which one is the best video to buy? I don´t know very much about escapes more than the escape I do at the moment. (A mailbag with gimmick and restrains - also gimmicked. Not very much of an escape really.) I am also thinking about the booklet by Novack they sell on Cannons called - "Escape from a straight jacket". If I am not to buy them all, what do you think I should buy?

/Ark