Baffle Bat Review

Official Review

November 25th, 2008 10:37am Rating:

Reviewed by Gordon Meyer

As I've admitted before, I'm a fan of paddle tricks, so when Baffle Bat became available for review I jumped at the opportunity. I was pleased to discover that it is well-made, but disappointed to also discover two flaws. First, while its sturdy steel construction means the Baffle Bat looks a lot better than most paddles, and will certainly be very durable, the fact that it is cut from a flat piece of metal means that it's awkward to handle. To help mitigate this the manufacturer has glued some plastic strips where you hold the paddle, to thicken it, but in my experience these don't help enough. At the very least, be aware that Baffle Bat handles differently than most other paddles and you may need to make some adjustments to your technique. Secondly, the spots on the paddle are thin, strong magnets. This isn't a secret, the routine openly demonstrates that the spots can be moved and removed. While clever, and exploited during the routine, I consider this another flaw. In my experience, which includes 12 years of selling paddle tricks at a magic shop, a big part of the appeal of this type of trick is that you're left with an impossible object. A paddle that, upon examination, couldn't have possibly done what was just demonstrated. With Baffle Bat, the magnetic spots provide a solution (albeit an incomplete one) that changes the reaction that a good paddle trick can get from "no way!" to "the magician is good at moving the magnets." Perhaps you believe I'm over-thinking this analysis. But for further evidence of how the magnetic dots reduce the trick to a novelty act, watch the demonstration video provided with the listing here on My Lovely Assistant. The routine quickly becomes mere juggling instead of magic. In summary, if you're enamored of what the Baffle Bat offers you'll find that the prop is well-made and appropriately priced. However, if you're looking for the most magical paddle trick yet, then consider Divining Rod instead.

Product info for Baffle Bat

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View Clip

This is the ultimate paddle mystery!

Effect

Spots magically appear, disappear, multiply, and jump from one end of the Baffle Bat to the other!

The possibilities are endless!

Comes complete with Baffle Bat, spots and instruction sheet.