Covert Reel

I’m sold. I’m going to buy another now. At the price point and the efficiency. This is a must have.

Great to see Covert Reel back in stock again. Although you may not be able to lock it as such like some, this simple mechanical ITR is a great piece of kit for the price. The video instructions also has a few useful applications for the Covert Reel.

This reel looks very user-friendly. The video did a very good job showing of you all the parts. Everything is easy to get to. You need very little effort to fix the reel or to tighten/loosen the reel's resistance. Very smooth movements. All in all a very nice reel. I look forward to giving it a real test.

I am really impressed at the quality and lightweight of these reels. I purchased two because I think they will be great tandem reels. They are whisper quiet and so easy to alter the specifics of the reel. I just love the magnetic attachments. This allows an easy on-off attachment and can still be attached with a more traditional safety pin if you wanted. These come with an ample amount of IT. There is a link provided for a short video explanation with a few tricks added in. You will probably want to pick up a small amount of Magician's Wax. The reels come with a ball attached to the IT but you will want more for later use. Enjoy.

Love it!!!!! So smooth!!! Gosh I remember how clunky the old ones could be. But this one?? Fantastic!!!

I recently bought a Covert Reel and I'm very happy with it.

I've always had bad luck with ITRs. I could easily break the thread in the time it takes to fry an egg, and then find it impossible to retrieve the end. The Covert Reel is different: while I managed to separate the ball of wax from the end of the thread within minutes, I followed the instructions for recovery and was back in bidniss (sic) in about as much time as it takes to tell the story.

Part of the reason probably relates to the design. Rather than a closed body with a hole for the thread, this reel has an open back. The bobbin is exposed (although recessed enough to protect it). The thread runs from a slot to the front of the reel, where the wax ball can sit parked until needed. The reel attaches with small disc magnets, one at each end. The Covert is incredibly quiet. Hold it up to your ear. Now pull the thread out a foot or two and let it go back, briskly, over and over. It purrs like a cat. Do the same thing slowly and I doubt you'll hear a thing.

I haven't played with the tension adjustment, although it looks easy enough--ditto reel replacement. Having watched the video, I don't anticipate a problem with either. Speaking of which...

The video is short and to the point. It has subtitles, but is mercifully free of the dorking around one finds in most magic videos. I would prefer an over-the-shoulder camera position--I think audience view is only good if you're training to become an audience member--but with this device it's not critical to learning.

The "rising card in wineglass" looks as good in real life as it does in the video. So does the "haunted pack." And the thread, while really very hard to see, even in room light, seems strong enough for the effect. The "tornado pen" (my main reason for buying the reel) really looks great at arm's length, and is surprisingly easy to do--I expected much more get-ready. The "floating tissue ball," while not to my taste, has a good idea for body hook-up; one I don't recall seeing before.

In short (!), the Covert Reel is an elegant solution for someone who'd like a simple, light, small, quiet, reliable ITR--at what borders on an absurdly low price

I own both Spider Pen Pro, and Tarantula by Yigal Mesika as well as Loops. They're great and all but I was surprised by this little reel. After seeing what could be done with two reels in tandem like the discontinued Venom I figured, for the price I'll just get two of these cheapy reels and mess around with them. Don't be fooled by the price. These reels are great. And I was surprised at how invisible the kevlar thread is. More visible than Mesika thread, but way stronger. I've always avoided kevlar and have stuck to a thread that isn't available on this site because I was certain the visibility can be dodgy. But hey, that's just the nature of thread work. I've never had a mechanical reel before. The main difference between the motorized reels and the motorized ones is that the tension is the same no matter how much thread is pulled out whereas the mechanical ones like these the tension gets tighter the further you pull the thread so you want a good strong thread with these. The kevlar's not too bad. They are cheaply constructed but they work just fine. And I like the magnetic attachment as opposed the alligator clips. If you're just getting into thread work, give these a try.

Uuuaaooohhh Perfect quality price. And just what I was looking for

I ordered 3 of shelves. Good Price-Quality. I am very satisfied.

Now for its price and quality, it is perfect, a must-buy. But be warned, the reel isn't very powerful if you want to do vanishes, and it doesn't come with instructions for the haunted deck.

i just played around for half an hour , one of the magnet came off .the thread snap ,i tried hooking up the thread many times but to no avail . and the putty is in such a bad shape .

Very pleased, comes with a video starts with instructions, followed by several very good tutorials, he demonstrates with white thread so a beginner can see how it's used and to perform, and there's no crocodile clips, Hoorah, it comes with magnets attached to the reel then it connects to a plate, can also use a safety pin, the thread is super fine, I've given this a few tests and its very smooth and silent running the thread on mine pulls out and retracts very nicely. Been nice if it came with a decent storage pouch, Otherwise it's the best one I've come across. I also bought a back up spool, just in case. Others similar IT Reels I've used do not come with replacement IT Spools so very pleased with this design and as it's easy access especially if you need to get to the thread around the spool, and very easy to replace a spare spool too. Great design, they thought of everything, Good Job.

Buyer beware! Apparently, Uday's Magic World has "upgraded" the design of this reel. When opening the package, I immediately noticed the safety pins shown in the trailer and instructional video were not present, only two magnets adhered to the reel and a thin metal shim. Presumably, this is so the shim can be placed on the opposite side of your clothing to where the reel will reside. However, this is nowhere near as versatile nor reliable as a safety pin attachment. Adding to the frustration is the fact that the magnets aren't strong enough to secure themselves to the metal shim on the opposite side of anything other than very sheer material. Safety pins allow the placement of a reel pretty much anywhere on your person that will allow thread to travel easily. The magnetic setup is much more restrictive, and that's if you can get it to work.
I also noticed that the shaft of the reel was somewhat bent. This didn't prevent the reel from functioning, but certainly didn't inspire a feeling of quality.
I thought perhaps if I couldn't use the reel with my clothing, I could at least attach it to a metal object and draw the thread out from there. However, as another reviewer stated, one of the magnets immediately fell out. Whatever adhesive Uday is using, it is woefully insufficient.
The reel is very quiet and the thread is reasonably strong and invisible with appropriate lighting placement. The adjustable tension is convenient. If you are inclined to do some work to cover the weak points of this device, you may get some use out of it. But I really feel this product needs to be pulled from the market until Uday's Magic World addresses how their upgrade was actually an extreme downgrade for what was once a favorably reviewed item.
Fortunately, Vanishing Inc. has a fantastic return policy.