Review : Venom by Magie Factory

Product description : Magie Factory is a French magic production company, I’ve talked about a few of their products in the past (B.C.R. 2.0, Compact Box) and they have now released their baby on which they have been working for the past 2 or 3 years. It’s an Invisible Thread Reel (I.T.R.) but like a new generation one, not the old ones with the 2 rubber bands, with which you couldn’t change the thread neither repare it easily. Magie Factory have achieved something pretty big in my opinion : have a tool which is 100% customizable (thread, elastic) and with an amazing quality.

Price and where to buy it : This is sold at 139€ (around $160) and you can find it on Magie Factory website, here is the link : http://www.magie-factory.fr/fr/nos-produits/3-venom-mechanic-reel.html

What you get : You get a very nice packaging with the name of the trick printed with metallic ink on the black box. Very simple but elegant packaging. Inside, you’ll find a few things : first of all, a card with a link to access the explanation video and it’s one of the most amazing one I’ve ever seen. They teamed up with Arthur who have found a new hook up with 2 Venom and the effects possible with it are outstanding. Arthur is a very good teacher, his ideas are very creative and doable in the real world. In the box, you also get 2 Venom in order to do everything Arthur teaches. On each Venom, there is a good length of thread, it’s a very resistant one but also quite visible. In most Arthur’s effect, the thread is in a play for 1 or 2 seconds so the visibility of the thread should not be an issue. You also get a new elastic if you want to use another thread, maybe a more fragile one. Anyway, the whole package is just incredible, everything is made in France so it should last a long time and the quality is just top notch.

The pros and the cons : Here is the core of my review, let's begin with the cons, as I will usually be doing, I prefer to keep the good things for the end.

THE CONS :

[if !supportLists]– [endif]The thread provided is too visible for me, I understand Arthur is using it in a lot of everyday life situations but I can’t see myself using this one. I’ve changed it for the Mesika Spider Thread.

[if !supportLists]– [endif]I just can’t find another con.. Maybe the price but when you look at it, for $160, you get 2 ITR so it’s $80 per ITR which is not that high for such a quality product.

THE PROS :

[if !supportLists]– [endif]I always wanted to do thread work but I’ve never been comfortable with the ITR on the market, they were either too weak, or you couldn’t get the thread back or any other problem. Venom is the perfect solution for me.

[if !supportLists]– [endif]You can change and customize every single element of the Venom : elastic, thread, pen clip etc.. So you can have several reel with several thread, each one with its use.

[if !supportLists]– [endif]The hook up and routines Arthur have come up with are revolutionary in my opinion, they take thread work to a whole new level.

[if !supportLists]– [endif]For those routines, you don’t have to wear a jacket, you can just put your Venom in your trouser pockets which is a huge plus for me since I’m not wearing jackets a lot.

[if !supportLists]– [endif]To be honest, I’m not using the 2 Venom hook up, I’m just using one as a single ITR in my pocket to do a coin or ring levitation. I’m always ready and I trust 100% the Venom.

[if !supportLists]– [endif]It’s a mechanical ITR which means there is no battery to worry about or to recharge. You can adjust the tension as you want, it’s a real marvel.

[if !supportLists]– [endif]If you don’t want to use it as an ITR, you can still use it as a regular reel (just put some fishing line and a strong elastic) and you can do the silk through mic stand.

[if !supportLists]– [endif]There is a ball bearing in the Venom which makes the whole tension process of the thread much more comfortable and easy !

[if !supportLists]– [endif]The thread is very easy to get back when it breaks.

Overall rating : This is THE BEST ITR on the market, period. You can’t go wrong with it, 4/4 hearts.

As for the difficulty level, thread work is what it is, I would say 3/5 stars.

Similar products : Regular ITR exist, they have been used for years. Mesika products are really good but for me Venom is the best.