To The Max By Keiron Johnson

To The Max by Keiron Johnson arrived with us late last week (and is available here by the way). I had already watched the demonstration video, and was quite excited about it's arrival. After hearing Keiron's claims that the included holder would be able to keep ice ready about your person for up to an hour, I was eagerly looking forward to seeing what kind of James Bond-esque gadget you would receive. After opening the first copy I could get my hands on, my face dropped. What in the name of Vernon's ghost was this? I could not fathom for the life of me, how the included gimmick would stop a block of ice from melting for a minute, never mind an hour! The shop was heaving that day, so it wasn't until I got home that night that I was able to sit down and watch the DVD. I sat and watched the DVD with mouth agape (OK, so not literally, but it sounds better doesn't it?!). I loved both of the routines performed, but I still couldn't believe that the gimmick would leave me with anything other than a soggy pocket, and if I've learnt anything from working at Magicbox it's that there is nothing worse than having a soggy pocket! Unperturbed, I reassured myself that Russ Stevens wouldn't bring out a release that couldn't live up to such wild claims. Luckily I had prepared a couple of blocks of ice in readiness for receiving "To The Max". I popped a block, exactly the same size as a deck of cards, into the gimmick, and the gimmick into my pocket. I waited, and waited, and waited. Not wanting to interfere with the ice, I wished to test the worst case scenario, I sat with the heating on full belt. After an hour, and with no signs of leakage, I took the gimmick from my pocket and inspected the ice. The ice had lost, at most, a quarter of it's mass. The gimmick was cold on the outside, damp on the inside, and my pocket, believe it or not, was spectacularly dry! Hurrah! Keiron Johnson had made me pull an approval face that De Niro himself would be proud of. 

Experiment number two took place the next morning. Sure, sitting at home was O.K, but how would this thing fare up whilst I was trying to work in the shop. 9.00am, I pop a fresh block of ice into the gimmick, and the gimmick into my pocket. During the next hour and a half I exerted myself somewhat, carrying boxes in and out of the shop, up and down the ladders a good few times, etc. Whilst I certainly wasn't exercising, I was definitely struggling more than I would be at the average gig. So after an hour and a half, how was the ice faring up? As before, the block had lost no more than a quarter of its mass, the gimmick was a littler damper on the inside, verrrrry slightly damp on the outside, and my pocket remained as dry as a bone. Now things were getting interesting!

I've had a really lucky week, with a great number of different people to test "To The Max" out on. Customers, both experienced and fresh faced beginners have been fried by this. To quote a pal of mine who has also been using this, it really gets as close to "L&L" type reactions as I think you're going to get here on the good shores of Albion. I haven't been doing anything clever and sneaky of my own, rather, performing the titular effect exactly as taught by Keiron. When those first drops of water land on the spectators' hand, you can see the shock on their face. When you let a block of ice follow onto their palm, you can see their mind boggle. 

I could go on all night talking about this little gem. Let me just make a few more points clear before I wrap things up. Firstly, if you're expecting a cool little gadget, you're going to be sorely disappointed. However, if you, like me, are a fan of elegantly simple (I love that phrase, I use it a lot, get used to it :D ) solutions to a problem, then you will love this. Keiron details a framework for carrying ice to and from your gigs that makes this a real PRACTICAL effect. I worried about the time frame between loading and melting point. NOT AN ISSUE. Keiron shows you how to carry ice in another item (readily available, fairly cheap) for up to (I haven't tested this yet) 10 hours. Once you arrive at your gig, simply pop a block of ice into your "To The Max" gimmick and off you go. 

Let me summarise:

I love this. I will use this. Those people who go that little extra mile to prepare and carry the ice to a gig, are bound to have a true reputation maker on their hands. You need to be wearing sleeves; no issue for me, or any performing magician I know, though I know it might limit some people. This gets fantastic reactions, and I really look forward to using this outside of the shop. 

As always, if you have any comments, questions, concerns or criticisms, drop me a comment below. 

Best Wishes,
Steve