Cloak by Chris Rawlins

I’m going to cut straight to the point. This is the best multiple billet switching device on the market. The others don’t even come close.

Before we break down why I think that, let’s look at what you get with your purchase.

You receive the Cloak device, a box to store it in that has space for other things like billets/pencils/envelopes/sharpies/etc., a booklet that teaches everything including an ACAAN, and a thirty-nine-minute tutorial video that walks you through everything you need to know including the introduction and history, how to assemble and disassemble, what billets to use, the clockwork switch, the “no switch,” the ***** load, layering the methods, and thanks/closing.

Okay, so why do I hail this as the greatest billet switching box to date?

1. The look.

This box can hold anywhere from a few billets to over a thousand billets very comfortably. It is 28cm square and only 13cm tall. This shallow depth makes it seem much more “open” and free and less like a sneaky box that you’re clearly hiding something in. It looks exactly like something you’d pick up on your way to the theatre to hold the billets. It doesn’t look like a magic prop.

2. The methods.

There are three main methods that the box uses, and none of them are flaps or false walls. The Clockwork Switch is what started this whole thing. It allows you to effortlessly switch up to 50 or so billets. Your hands never enter the box, and the method is perfectly hidden in the natural action of mixing the billets. It looks great, feels great, and doesn’t take long to master. It’s tactile and visual, meaning you can see and feel the switch happen so that you know they are 100% switched. In my opinion, it’s a superior method to anything else on the market. After the switch, the spectator can reach in and take any billet, and you’ll be confident that they are taking a force billet. For this method, you don’t want to use folded billets.

The No Switch uses only part of the clockwork method. It’s essentially a holdout of up to 50 or so billets. This one may not seem as clever or “fun” as the clockwork switch, but it is actually even more versatile. It allows you to have as many billets as you want in the box (1,000 or more.) You can reach in, pull out a bunch of those billets and hand them to audience members and secretly those billets are your force billets. The clever thing about this is that the bunch of billets you remove can be in a known order which opens up a world of possibilities. Technically even the clockwork switch can produce a known order of billets, but this is the 100% surefire way to do it. The downside is the performer has to reach in the box and remove the bunch of billets. But truthfully, I don’t think it matters, and in the right context, it makes even more sense than getting someone to come on stage to reach in the box. For this method, you could even use folded billets if you wanted.

The ***** Load is another clever holdout that can hold three or four billets comfortably. This can be used on its own or mixed with any of the other methods. It requires the performer to pull it out, but again, with the right context, that’s a non-issue. It hides in plain sight and it will never be suspected. I already know exactly how I’m going to use this aspect of the box in my shows. You can use one or two folded billets with this as well.

3. The ability to layer the methods.

Because Cloak has these various methods, you can layer them in ways that are impossible to backtrack. For instance, you could have 100 people write on billets, use the No Switch to force 20 different billets in a known order, then have two genuine billets removed from the box to randomly select volunteers, then use the clockwork switch to switch all of the billets in the box for another pool of different force billets, and finally, you can use the ***** Load to introduce three more known force billets. That’s not possible with any other switch box and it really opens up so many more possibilities. You could literally do a whole set just with this box because you can get so many various force items.

4. The quality.

This is clearly built to last. The seams are all flawless, the material is rugged, the zipper is nice and smooth, and the way it pops up and folds away is like beautiful origami. You can also have the cloak loaded with your force billets and open it up in front of everyone. They will just see a “normal” Ikea type box that is totally empty.

5. The Billets

Because of the methods used, you have so much freedom with the type of billets you use. Chris recommends half index cards, but you can also use playing cards, business cards, and just about anything you can write on. If you have a certain billet you’re wanting to use, one of the three methods will almost certainly work for that type.

6. The Peek

After switching out the billets, you can dump the billets out into someone’s hands or a glass bowl and clearly show the box empty. Yet, at any time you want, you can have access to those billets that the audience wrote on to peek information for Q&A type reveals.

These six things work together to produce a billet box that I think can’t be beaten.

Available here:

https://c-r-products.yolasite.com/Store.php#!/CLOAK/p/720223927/category=0