Criss Angel is super famous for his mind-bending TV magic, but does his official magic set live up to the hype? In my Criss Angel Magic Kit review I’m going to do my best to give you the answer to that question…
Product: Criss Angel Magic Kit
Best Place To Buy: Amazon
WOW Factor: 8
Difficulty: Easy (9+)
Availability: 8/10
Magician Rating: 7/10
Overall: 8/10
The Criss Angel Magic Kit is one of the most popular magic sets on the web. This kit is a real bestseller and full to the brim with cool magic tricks; but is it worth the cost?
For me, yes. While this magic kit is definitely not the BEST deal out there, you’re still getting some awesome magic for a reasonable price.
Today I’ll be going over:
What is the Criss Angel Magic Set?
There are actually a few different versions of this set out there. I did my research and it looks like there are THREE main versions of this set. You have the Platinum set, the Ultimate set, and the Professional set.
What the heck is going on here?
Each of these sets contains SLIGHTLY different magic items and props. The Professional kit is more ‘lightweight’ and contains a little less magic (only 18 props compared to 25) however is much cheaper.
There really isn’t MUCH difference between each of these different sets. The main pointer would be that these sets are priced differently. The Professional kit is only $29.95 whilst the Ultimate kit is $59.95! For a difference of only 7 extra tricks, I firmly believe that the Professional kit is a MUCH better deal.
So for the purposes of this review, I’m going to be discussing Criss Angel’s Professional Magic kit as it is the CHEAPEST, most recent, and has the best tricks.
Got it?
Great. Let’s get started.
Where can you buy this set?
This magic kit is currently available on both Amazon and the official Criss Angel website. I recommend purchasing through Amazon since the shipping is likely to be better, but it’s up to you in the end.
Another important note is that especially in the holiday season this set can often go in and out of stock due to its popularity so I would recommend purchasing it now if it’s still around.
Check if this kit is in stock…
What’s included in this magic set?
Within this magic kit, you will receive enough equipment to perform over 400 tricks! Criss values that at at least $400 alone, and while I think that 400 dollars is a little generous, you are definitely getting a lot of bang for your buck.
You can learn the magic either through the instructional booklet provided or the video downloads available (featuring Criss himself). Plus, buying this kit gives you ‘exclusive’ access to Criss’ secret society where you can learn another 200 mind bending magic tricks.
Looks good so far!
Let’s break the individual tricks down one by one…
– The ‘Techno’ appearing lights
That might sound confusing, but in reality the trick is a very simple yet visual one. Imagine being in a dimly lit room and suddenly being able to produce light (literally) from your fingertips.
I personally used this trick a lot as a kid and it was one of my favorites. It is easy to do and can keep you occupied for hours!
– Mind Reading Blackboard
Criss Angel is famous for ‘getting inside’ people’s heads, and now you can too! This is a miniature blackboard that will enable you to perform mind reading tricks on your friends and family.
Try not to freak them out too much!
– Cups and Balls
I LOVE the cups and balls and I think it is definitely a MUST have for every magic kit. Most magic sets do come with cups and balls provided but I have to say I believe that this one provides the coolest looking cups and balls.
Sure, just because they look cool doesn’t mean you’ll be any better at the trick. But it is a really nice touch that helps ‘sell’ the effect.
The Cups and Balls is quite possibly the OLDEST magic trick in the world; it is reported to have been performed all the way from back in ancient Egyptian times to modern day magicians like Penn and Teller. And now you and your children can enjoy it too…
– Sponge Balls
The Sponge Balls actually come as part of the Cups and Balls magic trick but can be used themselves for a whole bunch of great magic tricks and routines. I personally like to do this sponge ball magic trick as a great visual way of impressing my audience.
Sponge Balls are great for children. They’re really durable and you shouldn’t have any issues with losing them; they’re so bright you’d find it hard to lose track of them!
– Criss’ Secret Floating Device
Let’s face it. Everyone wants to know how to make things float.
This iconic magic effect is captivating, visual, and just looks really really cool. With a good floating device you can make all kinds of objects hover in midair; playing cards, business cards, maybe even bank cards! Although I somehow doubt that your children will be getting their hands on any bank cards anytime soon. Or at least, I hope not…
– Capture
This is a cool trick that uses a coin to really get inside the spectator’s head…
– Levitating Vase
This trick is otherwise known as the Genie in the Bottle magic trick. You take a regular plastic vase and place a rope inside it. The vase now somehow manages to stay afloat whilst you hold on to the rope! Impressive.
– 6 Mental-Freak Cards
These are cards that are specifically made to provide you with a bunch of ways to trick your audience using cards that ONLY you know the secret to…
– Coin Case Transformation
Transformations are absolutely essential to magicians. The very basic idea of taking one thing and turning it into something else has been used for centuries.
For example, most people will have seen the magic trick where a magician takes a red card and somehow transforms it into a blue card!
With this coin case you can perform your own transformations without worrying about learning super hard sleight of hand skills.
– Criss Angel Magic Card Case
This card case is ANOTHER way to turn one thing into another.
Imagine this:
The magician takes a regular playing card and places it inside the card box. He closes up to box and waves his hand over it slowly and says the magic words.
When he opens up the box we can see that the card has completely disappeared!
Alternatively, you could place one card in the box and have it transform into an entirely different card. The options are limitless and when used in combination with the coin transformation device there is a whole range of cool magic tricks you’ll be able to pull off with relative ease.
– MINDFREAK Secret Deck
One of the questions a lot of people have when learning magic is where they should buy their playing cards. In fact, one of the only issues I had with the Penn and Teller magic kit was that the didn’t include any cards.
However this set not only comes with a full set of playing cards, it also contains a cool set of ‘Mindfreak’ cards that feature a unique design.
– Prediction Tubes
These prediction tubes are a cool way to act like you have psychic powers by guessing the number of a dice even when the dice is covered up!
It’s good that this site isn’t completely about visual magic and also contains some useful mind reading and psychic tricks like these that will help broaden the repetoire of magic available to you.
– 2 Secret Utility Devices
These ‘secret utility devices’ are actually used within the very first trick I mentioned (the appearing lights) and are a MUST have for any amateur magician.
It’s no secret that some of the tricks in this set are geared specifically toward children and so as a result are slightly simpler to figure out, however this prop in particular is actually used by professional magicians ALL the time. I won’t spoil the secret, but it will definitely surprise you when you find out!
– Large Ball & Vase
The Ball and Vase magic trick is a VERY easy trick in which a ball appears and disappears within a vase. This trick is sometimes known as the ‘Phantom Vase’ and here’s a video of Penn and Teller performing this very trick…
Now, you might not be able to do this trick quite as well as Penn and Teller (they ARE professionals, after all) but it’s definitely a good indication of what’s possible.
– Spikes Through Coin
This is another one of those tricks that I remember using as a child. It is really simple, but will definitely confuse people.
Essentially, you place a coin in a little container. Then you slowly push a few plastic needles THROUGH where the coin should be. However, when you take the needles/spikes back out and open up the container, the coin is completely intact.
I have really fond memories of this trick and I’m sure your kids will too!
– Red Silk
This silk can be paired really well with the ‘secret utility devices’ that we touched on earlier. Essentially, you make the silk disappear and reappear with nothing but your (apparently…) empty hands. I watched a professional magician perform this on a stage in London in front of hundreds of people, so if it’s good enough for him, it’s probably good enough for us lot too!
I’ve already mentioned the other items (instruction booklet and video tutorials) but it’s worth reiterating that if any of these magic tricks sounded confusing or too difficult, rest assured that they are broken down and explained in both text and visual format so you shouldn’t have any issues with learning them.
Conclusion
The Criss Angel Professional Magic Kit is (in my opinion) a much better alternative to the slightly over priced Ultimate and Platinum kits since it is cheaper, newer, and contains a whole lot of awesome magic to boot.
The tricks are a good mix of easy enough for children to understand and slightly more challenging. There are some real foolers in this set that pack a real punch if done right!
You can buy this set through Amazon here!
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Do you still have any questions, feedback, or other general comments? Feel free to go ahead and leave them in the comment section below and I will get back to you within 24 hours. Alternatively, fill out the contact form at the bottom of the page to let me know your opinion on my review of the Criss Angel Magic Kit.
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