I've searched quite a bit and have found almost no mention of the common child's toy bouncy balls for billiard ball manipulation. I've been collecting them for a couple years now, and I've found that they work AWESOME for ball manipulation.

The biggest downside is there are no gaffs. But they come in various sizes and colors. They work very well for vanishes and reproductions, color changes, etc. Also super easy for moves like the ball roll.

Has anyone else had any experience with bouncy balls?

I love using bouncy balls, too.

Check out the "Bouncy Balls" topic on page 4 of this forum for more thoughts....

Of course I found that thread AFTER I posted this one. Oh well, thought I'd refresh the topic anyway.

I'm wondering if anyone has found a good distributor of bouncy balls. I'd REALLY love to get some clear ones, without any toys inside or anything.

The next best thing would be the billiard balls made out of silicon, they are called Fakini balls. Difficult to find, pretty expensive, but handle like a dream.

The zauberzentrale münchen, Germany's biggest magic shop, sells bouncy balls with gimmicks in different sizes. You can specify whether you want a smooth or slightly uneven surface (which makes the balls look like golf balls).
Check out http://www.zzm.de ... try online-shop, then register ("anmelden") and search ("suchen") for billard ... the first set they offer ("silikonkautschuk") is the bouncy balls.

Hope this is somehow comprehensible.

In better magic, chris

For non-german speakers like myself and hitchhikers guide to the galaxy fans here is a link to the
Babel Fish Translation of zzm.de

It's obviously a rough translation but it's easier than german (if you don't speak it anyway)

-Dan

if you get Jay Leslie's ball manip video you will notice that he says he uses only super balls for his ball manipulation routine.

Ben Schwartz