Hello everyone! First off, I just want to say that this is my first product review and I'm not a performing magician. I'm more of a hobbyist and if some of you are still not sure about this product I will try my best to give a detailed review.

Mine came with the DVD, the gonzo carrying pouch containing the gimmick, plus other accessories. Packaging is nice and simple, everything will come in a small box that I think is important because it somehow added an extra protection during transport. Nothing really special. DVD quality is nice and menus are easy to navigate. The menu is divided into sections: Introduction, Set-up, The Basics, Technique, Effects and Bonus.

Introduction
In this part of the DVD, Alex Linian showed an actual demo of the most basic coin vanish using the gonzo just like how it's shown in the trailer. He did it about 2 times and then he finally showed what is actually happening by exposing the gimmick. It's not a "why-did-I-not-think-of-that-" moment but more of a "nice!" and "that's creative!" type of reaction. The introduction is short and runs for only about 2 minutes.

Set-up
In this section, Alex talked about the basic gimmick. Do not play around with your gimmick if you have not finished watching at least this part of the DVD or you might damage it. The gimmick is not fragile and I think can last forever if properly taken care of. The teaching is very thorough and you can follow Alex along as he demonstrates how to initially set everything up. You will have to "custom-fit" it to your body which might take a few hours but once you found the right fit and you get comfortable and familiar on how to operate it, you can practically wear this all day without any problems. I think Alex was able to cover the most important points on how to set this up. Teaching is easy to understand and once you know the basic concept you can tweak it base on your performance style.
You have to be wearing a long sleeve shirt which can be rolled-up. The rolled-up sleeve is basically the most important clothing requirement/restriction for you to be able to make this work.

The Basics/Technique
In this section Alex talked about the basic move that involves the gimmick. He taught a couple of sublteties to make this more convincing in the real word. The "resting position" is one subtlety that can help during performance. It's also fairly easy to do your get-ready and the action for cleaning up is very justified and not awkward at all. Clear and very detailed teaching; Alex will walk you through step by step on every move from start to finish. I think the teaching superb.
Your worst angle is from the right side. The best angle is from the top, looking down on your hands. Unless you're very tall or very short, then finding the "comfort zone" should not be very hard. Important tip: The closer
your spectators are to you the more that you can perform this effectively.

The effects
It is basically all the effects shown on the trailer and Alex demonstrated how it's done. There's an effect using an iPhone app, an effect called "delayed vanish", "delayed production", "mint coin" and various style vanishes like snap vanish, clip vanish, vanish using a playing card, using the lubor lens and many other helpful tips. As I said before once you understand the basic concept much of the effects taught will be self-explanatory because it will involve the same basic move. Alex presented a bunch of ideas but I can easily see someone being able to come up with other creative ways to use this.

Bonus
This part talked about a variation that you can choose to do but it will involve modifying the gimmick a little bit. I personally will not use this because there will be less arm freedom as compared to the original set-up. The advantage is clean up on this modification will be quicker or somehow instant or even automatic (the original clean up is quick already!).

Summary
$90 is a little steep, but I'm glad that it is to keep this away from YouTube kids. I will say that this product meets the hype, and then some. Since I'm just a hobbyist I might not be performing this as often as a working professional magician, but if you're looking for something new and creative that opens a lot of possibilities then this product is for you.

Cheers

This is an update to my previous review titled "pretty darn cool!!"...

I have found that after using the Gonzo a part of the gimmick shaped like a letter "A" which is used for support has been bending a lot due to pressure while wearing the Gonzo...well it eventually ended up snapping one of the sides/legs to the "A" on the part. After straightening out the part time after time it cracked and then just snapped off.

Manufacturing: This is really the ONLY part on Gonzo you would have problems with...why couldn't they make it out of metal or heavy duty plastic? Would it really break the bank on their budget?
The "A" shaped support piece is the thickness of a bread bag clasp. For the price I would expect a better quality part. It lasted 2 days and ended up bending and then snapping.

My Solution: If I can't get a replacement I'll have to use a hot glue gun to fill in the entire area and make a permanent position for the Gonzo.

Final Thoughts: The Gonzo is still highly recommended and will still work. I gave 3 stars for the manufacturing of this piece... it could've been made more durable in this area on the gimmick. Other than that...This still rocks!

It's the Paul Harris & Darryl Vanamburg's "Black Widow" but the gonzo is the primitive method idea it need to be updated to work automatically so it would be a unique design & device. The price is too high for the quality & idea , if it was a better working I'll more stars but it doesn't deserve any stars at the all , because of the copied idea, bad construction, old & primitive device, angles problems , price too much high, low quality, needed issues fixing , bad handling Etc... , I hope that somebody will come with better & useful design.

Did you just see the demo or read the description? Finally a demo that is as accurate as the product!

This new holdout device is pretty darn cool. It's invisible until you need it and then you have to watch your angles... best to do it standing, right in front of 1-3 people max.

I performed the simple vanish of a penny and also the morph of a penny into a dime. I worked with the gimmick for a few hours. It worked amazingly well and looks great. I performed it for my girlfriends brother and sister as the (test subjects) they both had great reactions and no clue where the penny went...it just VANISHED!

The packaging is top notch and I was very happy with the extras too. The video was easy to understand and follow.

Note: If you get this PLEASE take the time to actually set this up properly and give it the adjustments it needs before you perform it for the public. Set up is fast and easy but you need to be patient and tweak it to your body size and get it into position so you can make it effective.

The materials used to create the gimmick are made to last.

Awesome I just opened mine up and went through the video once and I am impressed. I have the Raven and the M5 PK kit, but this is just to cool. It's good for a few people and your right is not covered as far as angles. That aside, this thing is RAD! Good routines, and good instruction, clear precise instruction.

The price is too high. problem with all angles, only from above it's good. Raven is best . This trick is good only for camera when filming it's not practical with audience & it's not amazing at all in real life it failed

This utility holdout is so simple I'm irritated I didn't think of it. However, I love it! It is durable, has good angles (if you have spectator management) and it is easy to use with practice. I have been practicing for a few hours and I feel ready to use it (but I will practice more before I do). The DVD is not bad at all. Plus, the Gonzo Goodies are awesome. I recommend this.

I didnt know what to expect when I opened the box, and I was interested when I saw it. First I thought I wouldnt use it for real, but after watching the Dvd and playing around with Gonzo for a day now, I can say that I can´t wait to use it! I like it a lot.

The only thing you should know is that this was made for close up.

The effect is so cool, I fool myself everytime. You will need to practice to get used to it and forget that you have it on you, so you will have to build up your confidence.

Price? Its worth it, it will last forever!

Good luck guys!

I didn't understood why the demo video was recorded from up. after I had watch the explanation and played with the gimmick, I understood that it can't be done surrounded you need to stand with the body low it's isn't a natural and not practical & little bit suspicious , I don't recommend.

Just opened my Gonzo, and I am very impressed. It does have certain angles, but they are very achievable. You won't be let down by this one!