Hey Everyone, I know this should be in the Advice section, but i want more people to see it so I may acquire a more informed education. My question is on the "Topit". In my 13 years of magic, I haven't even seen one and don't really know much about it. I just became more interested in it while reading through reviews on "The Gecko" and "TKO 2.0". It seems to come up in those threads in a comparative manner. I just had a few questions about the actual gimmick. My first is what exactly does it do? I mean, I know it does rather impressive vanishes of pretty large items, but what else does it do? What does it install in? As in a jacket, dress shirt, T-shirt, etc. Is there a hold out option? Does it come in different versions, such as mechanical or elastic? And finally, what makes it different from other vanishing apparatus in the market? We all know what a fiasco "The Gecko" was and oddly enough, most vanishing gimmicks work on the same mechanics (I.E. the original "Universal Pull"). Is the Topit that different?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

In short, a Topit is a big open pocket. Usually installed inside a suit coat, a shifting of your weight lets your coat swing open enough for you to ditch something inside with a simple toss. With some seamstress modifications, you can retrieve the ditched object through your outside jacket pocket.

With that in mind, no it won't work with a T shirt. Perhaps a small one in an unbuttoned vest, a dress shirt allows a small gap between buttons for a topit style device like the TKO. There's even one you can put in your pants that opens slightly if you suck your gut in.

Although the concept is much older than him, Michael Ammar popularized the modern Topit and literally "wrote the book" on it.

Thanks, Dave. With that knowledge, is there a pattern or an actual pocket I can buy to install? Or would it be found in a book like the Tarell or somewhere else?

I had jay scott berry install my topits for me. custom made. awesome.