This is a great Idea, and I think in the future this principle will be used to make some unreal effects and advance closeup magic as much as the thumb tip, but right now it just isn't there. I hate to give such a poor review to something that I honestly believe will change everything in the future, but this product doesn't deserve anything more.
It came in the mail and I watched the DVD right off, it looked amazing, but the gimmick could easily be seen in the tutorials. I thought that it was just because I knew what to look for, or the lighting was done so that it could be seen(for instructional purposes), but then I got my own gimmick out and started to use it...
First off, it was almost impossible to construct, and then, after I finished, It wasn't even usable. It was highly visible to me, but after a lot of practice and under carefully controlled lighting, I showed it to my girlfriend. She saw the gimmick and explained how I did the trick in just a couple of seconds. I didn't want to give up on it that easily though so I performed it five or six other times for different people and every one had the same response.
Absolutely unreal idea, utterly abysmal practicality.
DO NOY BUY THIS, but keep an eye out for a hidden hand 2.0, because with some modifications this could be a game changer.

The gimmick came in inbuilt state but the guy does not teach you how to build it at all. It is, however, something that you can get from your local art store except for probably 1 part of the gimmick. It's almost impossible to build the gimmick because of the property of the gimmick. Furthermore, the gimmick is totally VISIBLE!!! I tried it on in my room with average amount of lighting and I can BARELY conceal it by putting my hand in an awkward position. I have no Idea how they conceal it in the trailer and in the DVD.

He was not kidding when he said that the size of the object that you can vanish is dependent on your build. What that means is if you're skinny like me, the biggest object that you can vanish is your own ring. clothing requirement is long sleeve and you have to roll them up.

Took me hours just to build it and a further hour just to re-size it. When I put it on, I realized another problem: it's really hard to manage. You can't just get the gimmick ready in the middle of a routine without looking like you're looking for something. I would never use this and I will never buy anything by this guy ever again.

for the amount you pay for this they should at least give you two gimmicks and loose the packaging. or supply the extra things he mentions in the video to buy. i know we are paying for knowledge, but ..... o well great effect tho, just wished they supplied a extra gimmick for the cost

Extremely disappointed! I was really looking forward to using this. And when I saw the secret, I was really REALLY excited to use this. I thought this was going to be my favorite trick ever! First off, you dont receive a gimmick. You get the BS hard to construct supplies for making the gimmick. And he doesn't even properly explain how to construct it. He basically teaches the gimmick as if it's already made. I made it just as it looked on the video. It took me literally HOURS of frustration to make the gimmick. At this point I was thinking about rating it 3 stars, cause at least I got it done and now I can practice with it, right? Wrong! As soon as I tried it the first time, after hours of precise, secure construction. . . .it immediately came "undone". It is absolutely unusable. No matter how tight and secure you make this gimmick, it will come undone. And he lies on the dvd and says, just do this, and it will not come undone. BS!!! I guess he did some of his own secret techniques for constructing his prototype so that it worked long enough to shoot his video, then sent the rest of us a piece of crap, that isn't even assembled, and said here, you figure it out, and when you do, you'll have to figure out how to keep your gimmick from breaking when you use it. This looks like an amazing piece of magic and I would have given it five stars if it was assembled and worked at all. But basically you're buying an amazing piece of crap! I will never buy anything from this guy again. He didn't even try. He packaged it real nice, but had no construction or troubleshooting area on the dvd. Obviously this guy needs some knowledge on how to market a product, cause he's got it all backwards.

I am a little in shock. For as much as i paid for this i should have just gotten tarantula . The effect is good but seriously i could have made this gimmick myself for 1/10th the price . This is the first toke ive regretted a purchase from penguin.

First off I have to give props to Penguin for speedy service. I ordered this on Thursday and it was in my mailbox on Saturday. Now there has been a lot of bitching about the gimmick and although I agree there should have been an extra included for the price, most of the negativity is unwarranted. This is a great idea that makes you wonder how no one had thought of it before. Since when are gimmicks ever what we thought they would be? I love The Hidden Hand. Btw, this makes Alchemy by Ben Seidman easy to perform for those like myself who found it somewhat nacky. Sean has again released a great utility device that with practice, we can create wonder. Thank you Sean. Thank you Penguin.

I paid a lot more for this from a brick and motor than what penguin is selling it for. I purchased it on the word of the seller. He went on and on about how amazing it was. I never even saw a demo. I just believed him.I was so disappointed when I opened the box. I have had this gimmick for over six months now. I keep trying to get it out every week and use it, but I get busted every single time.it's not a close up trick because people will see the gimmick. It's not a stage effect because people won't be able to see the ring from far away. Biggest waste of money.

This is the very first item I have purchased from Penguin that I,m going to send back. It,s that bad. Unfortunately,I ordered this pure garbage before some reviews telling the truth about this pure garbage could stop me. The problem is the lack of honesty of too many people in the bussiness. With things like this they are going to kill the hen with golden eggs.

This trick is great and i don't see what the bad reviews are for. He explains how to put together the gimmick on the dvd, maybe ppl should watch the whole thing!(Do you even know about the bonus trick?) And for what it is construction is not hard, unless your a Velcro shoe person. I explained in a comment before,I got this 2 days ago, spent all night in front of a mirror. The next day went to work and blew the minds of every co-worker. I even used a cigarette and made it disappear. No one seen anything. Maybe practice some more. If you must, youtube some fishing knots if the ones from the dvd are not working for you. Maybe try the two handed vanishes if you are more worried about angles. Hope you perfect it and get joy out of this trick.

I think this was quite expensive for what you get and I agree that there's a very good chance you wouldn't buy one knowing what you were getting.