I honestly try to ponder and meditate and CAREFULLY CONSIDER my words whenever I write a review. In a perfect world, I like to perform an effect a few times before reviewing it. Circumstances have not allowed me to do that on this effect, however: I have watched the instruction video on this one several times and have practiced with the gimmick quite a bit. I’ve also looked at some ancillary sources on this effect, so I think I can give a fair review overall. As far as ‘mechanics’ are concerned, this effect/gimmick is pretty solid! The handling really isn’t too complex. It uses coffee stirrers (the wooden-type) that one might find at most coffee houses. You (essentially) break two of the sticks (after spectators initial them) and then appear to fuse two of the ends together utilizing the spectators’ cosmic energy (or whatever). Again, the gimmick is solid…..and although simple, it looks kinda cool.

There is nothing bad, broken or wrong about this trick/gimmick. My small hang-up is that it would just be sort of awkward to perform this away from a coffee house. That isn’t a crime, however! The teacher, Bro Gilbert, makes it clear that this is the kind of thing you show friends while you are at a coffee house…..so, no biggie. There is also this thing of having the spectators initial each of the sticks….which has an awkward vibe to it.

You get an OK supply of needed gimmicks, but you will be buying refill(s) pretty soon, so factor that in to any decisions on this one. Will this be a reputation maker? Will this burst open the doors of corporate work for you? ……..I’m leaning toward ‘no’ and ‘no’ for both of those questions. It isn't DEEPLY magical......it's clever......sure! .....but not blow-your-mind amazing. Could it easily find a place in your arsenal…? Sure! Absolutely! The instructional video (link provided with effect) is well-paced, well-shot and clear. If you come across this trick for a reasonable price, pick it up!

PROS

The effect outcome souvenir is nice.

CONS

The souvenir is not made well. They do not look like stirring sticks.

You get 40 gimmicks and you will have one less gimmick with every performance. You are not likely to be able to make your own replacement gimmicks. Having to purchase refills can be costly, a big hassle, and what do you do if they are not available now or in the future?

You really should think about the performance. If you could fuze two stirring sticks, why would you break them?

Given the limitations, I just don’t think this is one of the stronger effects.

VERDICT

I just can’t seem to get behind this one. I don’t think it will be an effect that will last the test of time.

This product is very solid overall - the ad copy is 100% accurate, the video and audio quality were excellent except for a few minor lighting issues here and there, but nothing that will interfere with the learning process. The video is a downloadable video with the option of streaming. If you download it, you will not have the option of skipping around from section to section as there are no chapter markers, but as it is only 23 minutes long, it is not hard to sit through the whole thing at once. You will find a password to access this video inside the box that you receive the gimmicks in.

Bro Gilbert does an excellent job of performing and explaining the workings of effect. He goes into detail, but not too much - again the video is only 23 minutes long and it includes live performances, an easy handling and a bonus handling which is not more difficult, but it is a bit more involved than the simplified handling.

You get 40 gimmicks to begin with and each time you perform this you will destroy a gimmick. As of this writing (the 1st of April, 2015) there is no mention as to where refills can be purchased or how much they will cost. To perform this effect you only need to carry around one of these gimmicks (one for each performance you plan on doing).

There was only one minor issue that I had with any part of this product and that is, if you are a coffee house regular (it does not matter if it is a local shop or national chain), you will certainly notice it too. It can be easily fixed with light sanding if you are worried about it, but the itsty bitsy, teeny weeny issue is this: I would assume these are laser cut gimmicks and because of that, the edges are darker than the rest of the stick (not a lot) and if you have ever seen those laser-cut wood puzzles or wood models in hobby or craft stores, you know what I am talking about. Again, this may or may not be an issue for you - if it is, light sanding will take care of it. I just point this out in case you think it might be.

That said there are many different ways to present this effect and the way Bro Gilbert does it is reminiscent of the Doc Eason 'Anniversary Waltz' but with coffee stirring sticks. Either handling you use will give you the same effect and if you play around a little with the "harder" handling, you can actually make it even more visual without much extra effort.

If you like what you see in the trailer and what you read in the ad copy, you will like this effect and will be happy with it. If you break the cost down you are only spending $.88/USD for each performance which is nothing in reality, even if you only perform this as a one-off for your friends at the coffee shop now and again.

***I just want to say this off the record: I can only hope that once the refills become available that they do not charge $35 for them unless you get more gimmicks for that price. I say this because recently I have seen products that require refills and when you buy them, you only get the refills, you get the same amount of refills as you got with your initial purchase of the product for the same price that you paid for the initial product.***