SprizzerType: parlor, stage
Skill Level:
Retail Price: $19.95Available from:
INFERNO, USA
4255 E. Charleston Blvd.
Suite 275M
Las Vegas, NV 89104
1-888-8-INFERNOEffect: Produce a stream of liquid or puffs of smoke at your command.....[you've read the ads] Ready in seconds and no tubes or tanks to hide. In fact hand can be seen empty before, during and after the effect!!! Multi shot reservoir ensures repeated smoke or liquid from just about anywhere.
Performance Time: quick little effect
Reset Time: as long as it takes to find a water/smoke supply and refill.
Angles:
Quality: Well made for what it is. The packaging and the magazine ads are great.Mike Maione: I had a chance to handle this prop at Hank Lee's Cape Cod Conclave. I must admit, it was on my list of things to check out ever since I saw the slick ads that have been running in all the magazines. INFERNO, USA surely has not spared any expense in their marketing, and I'm sure it's paying off. Which is why I'm glad I got to handle one prior to ordering it and why I'm happy to share what I learned with you before you drop $20.
I'll try not to reveal the secret to the complete novice but tell you enough so that you know what you're buying if you decide to get one. The gimmick is very simple. Imagine the standard instrument used by many to vanish a small silk. (Vernet makes a bunch in assorted sizes.) Now, imagine it's made of very soft rubber and has a tiny pin hole in the tip. Well, Sprizzer is essentially that, only a long one which you are supposed to slip down over your index finger not your thumb.
Clever, yes. Does it work? Yes.
Can you show your hand empty before and after? Well, maybe ... kinda ... if you're a little far away and if you've trimmed it down or otherwise fitted the gimmick, so your finger doesn't look like ET's.
But most importantly, is it practical? I don't think so. Perhaps it is good for an MC where you duck back stage between acts and can put the device on without being seen, or if you want to incorporate water or smoke into your opener. But, if you need a stream of water in the middle of you act, you'd better find another way. I can't imagine how to handle anything while wearing the gimmick without looking a pretty awkward if it's loaded and I don't think there's a practical way to discreetly steal this item and put it on in the middle of your act and fill it.
Here's what I use for a stream of water in the middle of my show ... a rubber fish bath toy. It sits nicely in my case during my show filled with water until I need it, doesn't leak and fits neatly in the palm of my hand. Don't ask me where to get one though ... I stole it from my kids.
Having big hands, I especially don't like Sprizzer, because I will have to customize it to fit my fat finger. The instructions say heat it with hot water and put in on a dowel to stretch it a bit. I know I'll ruin it if I try ... probably over stretch it or tear it. And, if it doesn't fit snugly, water will stream out the wrong end.
There are some great uses mentioned in the instructions that come with Sprizzer, which make the verbose documentation almost worth reading. But, somebody tell me why the makers felt it necessary to actually produce Sprizzer with a shinny fingernail and a "real fingerprint" and tell us that in the instructions as if they were some kind of great features. Do they actually think that anyone will want to use it that close up? Wait, I know, they were thinking that if magic doesn't work out, you could rob a bank wearing Sprizzer and mislead the authorities by leaving bogus fingerprints around? Hmmm, maybe it is worth $20 after all.
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