Giant Close-Up Pad

Accessory by Vanishing Inc. Magic
Possibly discontinued

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Price: £44.99£44.99exc VAT
15 reviews
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Last year we set out to offer the FINEST casual close-up pad at the absolute LOWEST price in the magic market. We're proud to say that we have achieved this.

Biggest Size

Our Giant Close-up Pad is ENORMOUS, and is the perfect backdrop for your most beautiful card and coin work. It's 39 inches across, which means a ribbon spread will show EVERY index clearly. If you're performing bar magic, this will allow four spectators to withdraw cards at the same time.

It's Black…really black

This is the best general color for a close-up pad. A red pad is a poor contrast to red cards. A dark blue pad causes blue cards to blend in. But black shows ALL cards and coins with vibrancy. Black also shows lines and dirt the least, which will lengthen the life of your Giant Close-up Pad. You will also find this pad dark enough for routines that use black art.

Material

This is a thin close-up pad. Because it's so large and because it's built to withstand lots of use, we opted out of a foam padding center. This foam padding is what causes visible wrinkles, and the foam on pads weakens over time. Instead, we opted for composite rubber base with a soft, velvety surface which is INCREDIBLY RESILIENT. You'll find it to be perfect for all of your card and coin routines and the pad will last, truly, a lifetime.

Torture It

The Giant Close-up Pad comes with a storage tube when not in use. But, you can feel free to torture your pad and put it through the real-world conditions you're working in. Scrunch it, fold it, pull on it-safe in the knowledge that it will always be ready to use.

The Best Price

We offer several high-end close-up pads with rigid backings, and these make for gorgeous showpieces. But this pad is an EXCELLENT option that can easily fit in luggage, behind a bar, or on a practice table. Best of all, it's EXTREMELY affordable--less than a third of the price of competing close-up pads, and it will last much longer

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Customer reviews for Giant Close-Up Pad

Nigel
I'd been searching for a large close up pad surface and this fits the bill (19x39 inches). Perfect for a matrix and full deck spread, the surface is fine for coin/card work. It's also similar to material for black art. The storage tube it arrived in is a great bonus too, the pad simply rolls up and fits in snugly.
David
Now THIS is a close-up pad! Excellent value, especially at this price. I don’t always use a pad - depends on the situation - but when I do, I hate having props spill over the edges. Won’t happen with this. Official dimensions are 19” x 39”. I’ll be purchasing another, and if VI would produce this in “gaming-table-green” I’d buy three or four! (Hint, hint…)

I have more “elegant” surfaces, but, to be honest, this is more practical.

Side note: I’d really like one of these sized 39” x 39” for my practice table. (Hint, hint again.)
Rob
This is well worth the price, a bargain, actually. I've had larger "worker" sized pads wrinkle because of the foam core, which was very frustrating given how much I paid for those at the time. This new pad is similar in quality and handling to those made by PropDog in the UK (which also are excellent), but the size of this pad for the price makes it a no-brainer. It happens to fit the width of my Zoom performance table exactly, and I bought a second for my practice table. Don't overlook that it has a carrying tube, either; a very practical addition. I think Vanishing has done a real service for the magic community with this offering.
Danny
It's Black…really black
This is the best general color for a close-up pad. A red pad is a poor contrast to red cards. A dark blue pad causes blue cards to blend in. But black shows ALL cards and coins with vibrancy. Black also shows lines and dirt the least, which will lengthen the life of your Giant Close-up Pad. You will also find this pad dark enough for routines that use black art. I love this pad. It’s huge and looks great. The price is absolutely unbelievable fair. It comes in a great hard tube and I’m traveling so it’s easy to take and preserve. I definitely recommend this. I’m buying another one at this price.
Roberto
While I like the generous size (the main reason why I bought it) I am somewhat conflicted about the surface material. It has a very strong grip, maybe too strong for my taste. I do a move which slide a coin under the opposite hand that I've no problem performing on regular pads, while here the coin doesn't move an inch, rendering the move undoable. In general, if you need something to slide on the pad, it's much, much harder to do.

I also find out that I struggle at picking up the last couple of cards during a table shuffle because they usually remain gripped onto the pad. You can probably adjust your handling specifically for the pad, but I don't like it. So, while the product description says it is perfect for all coin and card routines, I don't think that's completely true :)

I can see how it could be great for standing close-up magic behind a table, where you need the pad just for holding things on it, spreading a deck, a cups and balls routine... In the end, I'm using it as a base for not having the props scattered on the table while I continue to use my regular pad on top of it for coin and card work.
Sean
This close up mat is AMAZING! It's exactly how they explain it, and it's got a but of a cushion to it which is really nice.
I know that you'll all agree that it feels so good to have all that space to make a giant spread with the cards as compared to these smaller close up pads where it feels like you're hiding something when you spread so small.
Definitely recommend this product.
Will definitely buy a couple more.
Stephen
I am using the pad primarily to cover a close-up table and am also using a thicker pad on top for card work. It's working great for that.

Cons:
1. The pad is quite thin. However...

Pros:
1. This is a large pad that can cover quite a bit of real estate.
2. It is a very dark black which looks great.
3. The velvety surface feels nice to the touch and does not snag on dry skin or rough fingernails like many other pads.
4. Dust and lint brush off easily.
5. The storage tube is a nice touch.
6. The thinness of the pad is kinda growing on me. I've been practicing false shuffles on it and I'm enjoying developing the ability to do certain sleights on thinner, less cushy surfaces.
7. This seems like it will hold up well and continue looking great for years.
Ted
What a great bargain this is!
Even the Vanishing inc. custom packaging tube is probably half as costly as the asking price of the product. I ordered two and I absolutely love them. I prefer these thinner mats as I have been training all my shuffling on a thin mat (a standard size version of this material) or no mat at all and I have to say that these "thin" mats offer more cushioning than I got when I was shuffling on an actual live casino table for many years. These mats really last and hold up great over time...great quality.
Best deal in magic.
Sean
This is amazing. It is everything they said in the video I couldn't be more happy with it! Best close up pad I have ever owned.
It is very smooth, quite spongey too.
Very easy to shuffle cards on, very useful for coin matrix routines. I love it.
John
This mat is a staple of the decor of my living area it just looks so clean and natural. More importantly, it’s great for close up tricks. The size allows an audience to gather around a set up/table and really provides ample room to perform a trick or even multiple at once. Great product and worth the price. It stays super clean too doesn’t get messy.
Robert
Standard close-up pads are tight on space. These giant pads give you a bigger stage which makes for much nicer displays. Despite the lack of a foam backing, handling cards was a snap. It also fits nicely in the tube. My regular close-up pad had to be retired after my last trip.

If I could make one improvement, it would be a plastic carrying tube rather than cardboard one. That would stand up better to abuse and be easier to close without catching and wearing down the inner edges. A small thing but something I would have happily paid a few extra dollars for.

I am happy with my purchase.
Montgomery
Wow……this is great! I have several pads I use for smaller applications. If you want to command a table, this is what you need to get. Very well made and the perfect thickness. The underside gets great traction on wood or glass. It does not slip at all. I actually smiled when I unrolled this bad boy. No regrets!
Diego
I really REALLY wanted to like this product.

I have a regular session group that we get together every few weeks and really wanted a surface large enough for 2-3 people to be able to work together and collaborate and the size of this pad was a huge sale proposition (there are no other commercially available pads that come close to this in size).

Unfortunately it has almost 0 compressible material (and I do understand that this may be unique to each of our hands and working ability) which gives it a completely different feeling from all other close up pads (even the ones that are clearly poor quality).

This is very unfortunate because the surface velvet like material is probably the BEST I've encountered in a close up pad.

VI Please re-do this product, just add a bit more softness to it and it will be an absolute killer!
James
I was nervous that others said this pad was "slick" but that couldn't be farther from the truth. It's got a nice, velvety texture and I've hardly noticed a difference from any other close-up pad I've used. Like other pads, it attracts pet hair, but it's extremely easy to clean with a lint roller. When rolled up in the cardboard storage tube (which is a high-quality, red VI-branded container that looks awesome on your magic shelf), there's just enough room for something roughly the size of a sponge ball to fit down the center. This little space is perfect for a wand, a small lint roller, or even a small spray bottle and cleaning cloth if you travel often and want to clean the surface before unrolling your mat. The texturized rubber backing is the perfect amount of "sticky" to remain firmly in place while performing without being too difficult to reposition. And its massive width unlocks your full range of motion which enables you to position props farther apart - great for coins across or other transposition/transportation effects where distance and separation are key.

The only reason I dropped 1 star is that even after sitting flat on my desk for a couple of weeks, there is still a slight arc near the sides that causes each edge to "bubble" up a couple of millimeters, and there is still some slightly noticeable striping in the fabric, presumably from long-term packaging and transport. To be clear, these are minor nuances that are hardly perceptible to spectators and haven't impacted my performances whatsoever, and they'll likely resolve themselves after a few more weeks/months of use. I would take only a half star away if I could and would purchase again without hesitation.
Jimmy
Excellent close-up pad! I have never seen a pad this huge of this quality. And it's very affordable. Unlike other pads, this one is my favorite pad to have at home to practice your matrix routine, chink-to-chink, your cards routine. The best part of the product, in my opinion, is it's waterproof and washable! I have it more than 2 years and it never got torn or damaged. For the price, it's the best you can find for a giant close-up pad

Community questions about Giant Close-Up Pad

Have a question about this product? It's possible others do too. Ask here and other Vanishing Inc. Magic customers will be able to respond with assistance! Alternatively, email us and we can help too.

  • Markus asks: One more question about this pad. In one of the reviews here it says that the mat has a very strong grip making is MUCH harder and sometimes even impossible to slide things. Can you elaborate on that please? A lot of great Matrix routines need you to slide a coin underneath your hand from one corner to another for example. Or even flicking/shooting a coin. Same with cards, if they have to slide. Does this work well on this pad?

    • 1. Vanishing Inc. Magic responds:The grip they might be referring to is the nonslip surface underneath the mat. The pad has a soft velvety feeling on top and then underneath is a nonslip surface so that the mat doesn't move. It's ideal for those exact routines you're describing.

  • Markus asks: How deep does this pad give in? Is it easy to pick up and steal coins for matrix routines for example? Same question for shuffle work. Thank you in advance.

    • 1. Vanishing Inc. Magic responds:It's as thin as a normal close up mat and is perfect for those exact routines.

  • Andrew asks: What are the dimensions?... someone already asked, but Vanishing did not answer..

    • 1. Vanishing Inc. Magic responds:43" on the diagonal. It's very big indeed.

  • Kim asks: Is it good for black art work?

    • 1. Jim responds:It might. It would depend on a lot of details.
    Post an answer to this question

  • Brian asks: Can you slide coins smoothly on this or do they catch on the velvet?

    • 1. Jim responds:They slide smoothly in my experience.
    Post an answer to this question

  • Robert asks: What is the under side of the mat like ? Please

    • 1. Vanishing Inc. Magic responds:A rubber backing like you would find in a standard close up pad.

  • Sean asks: Are there any smaller versions of this? (Same design, material, thickness)

    • 1. Vanishing Inc. Magic responds:No, but you can cut it with sharp scissors.

  • Andres asks: Hi, the only color you have is black or do you have other colors?

    • 1. Jim responds:Only black is available.
    Post an answer to this question

  • Sean asks: I got mine a little while back, just wondering, in the "trailer" video, they say you can wash it. Does that mean machine washable?

    • 1. Vanishing Inc. Magic responds:It can be washed and should be hand washed and air dried.

  • Albert asks: Got any ideas on how to get it out of the tube?

    • 1. Vanishing Inc. Magic responds:I struggled a little too. Just get the inner most part and twist it inwards, then it should be easy.

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