Ahoy from the other side fo the cause way!

I'm Falcom121 (as it says from the left) and am here to do a comparison between the Incarnum PK Ring and Wizard PK Ring. I've already posted this on the SMC forums and since this is a Malaysian product, it should be done here as well, since there's so much controversy.

Now there have been claims that the IPK is a rip off product which should not be supported. I at one point agreed with this too, however, this should not be discussed here as in this thread I’m going to compare both of these rings to determine which is a better tool for magicians. I’m not going to tell you if it’s a pirated product or not whether it is ethnical or not, that is for you to decide after you see this comparison between the two rings, hence I give you:

THE WAR OF THE RINGS!

Muhahahahaha!

Sorry, couldn’t resist it. Hehe.

Okay, let’s begin with PACKAGING:

The IPK arrived at my house in a DVD box. The ring was placed in a sealed shiny package thing much like the one that a SIM card comes in. The out side of the packaging is printed in color but the instructional booklet inside isn’t. The monochrome instructional booklet doesn’t really obscure the words except on a few occasions where unimportant “look cool” text printed.

The WPK, (which I purchased via an online dealer), was purchased before I received my sample IPK. The case is found in ziplock which contains the instructions which are printed in color (important points are in red print). Someone described the case that the WPK comes in as beautiful; I have to admit, when I saw it on Ellusionist it looked really good, like it was make of glass or something. When I saw it for real, and when my sister saw it, we came to a conclusion very quickly- it looked cheap.

So both products’ packaging looked equally cheap. The WPK looked more normal, that is more like a magic product. Most magic products have one thing in common, their packaging all look cheap. I like the silver packet that the IPK came in though.

INSTUCTIONAL BOOKLETS

WPK has the relevant warning and introduction to the ring etc. There are instructions for two routines; Stopping Time and Coin Through Glass. The latter’s description is really confusing, but after reading a few times and trial and error with a glass, I finally understood it.

The IPK has instructions for two effects: Tempus Fugit (second hand of borrowed watch stops at a spectator chosen time. E.g.: they say 1 o’clock the second hand stops at 1) and In Transit (crumpled up dollar bill through glass). The instructions for both are far more detailed than the one included in the WPK even to the point of adding line by line of patter in the first routine. To be fair, I read the WPK’s instruction before this so I had the concept of coin/dollar note through glass, and therefore understood “In Transit” much faster than coin through glass. Also the WPK warns us not to use this on digital or self winding watches, the IPK merely states use an analogue watch and not digital.

I have to say that the routines included with the IPK feel very much like similar to that of the ones in WPK, and made me a bit suspicious. However, I must say that these concepts (i.e. How to stop a watch, or make a coin/ dollar bill pass through a cup) must have been around for quite some time already, so yeah. Also, I felt that the addition to Tempus Fugit for the spectator to select a time before the actual time stop really spoils the trick. I like to keep it simple.

The IPK instructional booklet however does not mention anything about using the ring if you have a pacemaker on, the WPK warns against it. The IPK has a warning about wearing the ring 24/7 as some toxins will allegedly build up at the base of the finger. When I read that, I couldn’t really believe it, but yeah, that’s the down side of the IPK. The WPK tell us we can put in on and never take it off the IPK says don’t wear it for prolonged periods. Maybe Reno (owner of the company that makes IPK) can shed some light as to why the safety warning for the IPK and not WPK.

Finally, both instructions for watch stopping routines fail to mention that quarts watches are a no go. I found this out on the net, but quarts watches can get seriously busted if a magnet is placed near them. This is something that both manufacturers should take note of and add to their instruction manuals.

WARRANTIES

Well, the WPK has a lifetime warranty that says they’ll replace the ring for you if it breaks for a nominal fee, IPK doesn’t have that. That’s a very big downside to the IPK because, these rings are fragile, and might eventually break one day.

MAGNETIC STRENGTH

Okay, this is the real important stuff; Reno claimed that the IPK is 3 times stronger than the WPK. This is why I first asked Reno to send me a ring so I could write a review. Well I devised this test to compare the two rings.

I basically sandwiched bicycle cards between my steel core half and the ring that I was testing. Starting from 1 card I kept adding cards between the steel core and the ring. Each time I added one card, I tried to lift the sandwich off my open palm by lifting the ring. So I if I managed to lift up the pile even partially I would add another card and repeat the “lifting test” this carried on until I couldn’t lift the pile. See picture for details.

This test I designed is 95% accurate, the 5% of inaccuracy I would say come from deciding whether the pile was lifted or not. I tried to make this as accurate as possible by placing both ring and steel core coin in the centre of the playing cards.

Finally, I must admit one grave inaccuracy before I continue. The IPK I received about one week ago broke just before I had a chance to test it. What happened was I just dropped it one the floor while using the computer, and it split into two pieces but I tried to put it together to the best of my ability so that it still resembled a ring. So in a sense, I’d think that this test started a bit one sided with a disadvantage given to the IPK.

Here are the results:

The IPK managed to lift 18 cards (at least partially off my hand) with the help of a steel core half, while the WPK only managed to lift up 8 with a steel core half as well. The IPK was not seen to be 3 times as strong as the WPK (as Reno claimed it would be) but significantly stronger than the WPK.

OTHERS

The IPK only comes in one size, 19mm as the website says, one size fits most. Now bear in mind that the R&D for the IPK was in Malaysia, so yes 19mm would fit a lot more Asians than Western folks as Asians generally smaller in size.

Next of all, the IPK is thicker than the WPK so it might affect your coins slights more. Yes, both rings would affect certain slights like the deep back clip which I’m still struggling with, as such I wear it one my left hand now.

They both look the same but upon close inspection one would notice the subtle differences like dimensions etc.

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

When I first got the IPK, I felt that there really wasn’t much difference in strength between the two. From that day on, I put on my IPK and let my WPK take a holiday, but today when I took them both out, I realized the difference in strength needed to separate a steel core from each; i.e. the IPK needed more.

FINALLY

If you have made it this far… yes, it was a long read, I want you to know that in the event that you need a really really in-depth review like this one, send me a free sample I’ll be happy to do it as long as its not to near to my exams. :) Yeah, I’ll promise to do a good job, do contact me.

P.S: Remove the spacing between the “@” sign.

P.P.S: Could some one please put copy and past this entire thing onto the magic cafe. I know that they are talking about these rings but can't post on they're forums as I can't register, due to them not accepting hotmail emails. Thanks!

I almost got to purchase the IPK,but a friend of mine told me he hasnt got enough money to purchase it.I'm 13 year old,so I dont own a credit card.Good thing you made this excellent,incredibly detailed review.Yes,I made it all the way to the end(though I rarely do it but becase I'm always keen and wanting to know more about a specific item before I actually purchase it,then I will read many,many reviews).

Now at least I know more about the ring and can consider not which to buy.I have the same problem,I cannot register on magic cafe because of some e-mail problem.

Thanks again for the review :lol: !

Regards,
Jarrett aka Coin roller

Hey Falcon121,
Nice review. I am waiting for second round.
Can you shoot both ring in close up so that we can compare how they look.
Is both ring using the same material?

But the 1st picture you post It's a IPK or WPK?

First of all, thank you for the effort.

I have a feeling this review would eventually make it there ... "THEY" are watching.

Erratum : Just a short correction that in my previous postings, some time ago, I mentioned to the effect of "3 grades higher" ... not "3 times stronger". This phrase was misquoted and was also seen reported/posted on TMC, and seemed stuck in everyone's mind from then on.

Eh... the first pic is the WPK.

2 comments.

1. It is relatively simple to sign up for another e-mail account other than hotmail. Yahoo and gmail for example are two popular ones you could try.

2. What does "3 grades higher" mean?

Eh... I'm not that dumb :D

They don't accept most free emails

Hi Paul,

3 grades higher simply refers to the strength of the magnetic fields. The strength of the magnetic fields could be in the manner of a flux which is either perpendicular or parallel for the IPK.

An example would be the following :

Product-----Grade
-------------------

Ring A-----N35
Ring B-----N38*

*3 grades higher

Did I call you dumb? ;)

I signed up at Magic Cafe using hotmail. Now I am still with Magic Cafe but using gmail. And I know that there are others on TMC that use yahoo accounts as well. That is the reason for my comment

Don't mean to sound contentious but what does all this mean in terms of actual strength- layman's terms if you know what I mean.

And forr example, knowing the M5 is very big, do you know what grade would the m5 be and how does that translate to actual strength?

Thanks

Ok, take for example Ring A (N35 Grade) vs Ring B (N38 Grade).

They are both of SIMILAR DIMENSION, SIMILAR WEIGHT, AND SIMILAR POLARITY.

However, Ring A (thinner) would differ slightly in thickness as compared to Ring B (thicker), simply because Ring B is at least 3 grades higher, and the increased 'strength' comes in the added dimensional width to it [Ring B].

The measurement given to a ring would normally be as follows :

D21*d19*8mm - Where the D21 is the outer measurement, the d19 is the inner measurement, and the 8mm is the width of the ring.

The M5 is not that big, the most 2 inch by 2 inch by 0.5 inch. The bigger dimensional size of the M5 translates into greater magnetic strength, but not necessarily a higher grade. A much smaller grade would be just as powerful for its intended purposes. I would estimate the M5 to be above an N40 grade, although those that I brought in is at an N48 grade. (My friend bruised his finger trying to separate 2 of them the other day). :)

i wasnt in this forum for a looong loong time and now i`m back cuz the buzzing news around me abt this ipk and wpk...

its really a boring argument....cuz its never end....

u guys just talk and defend each other point here.. wat a boring thing.

i wanted to write smtg in another topic but it was closed...

can i say smtg to all of those who protect the magic community and buying oriGINAL stuff?? (wei... cannot one de... must buy ori support the creator, creator also must cari makan.....)

can i say smtg to those who buy rip-offs , copy, pirate watever s**t?
(wei, pirate one nice ar... cheap also.... ori too expensive..)

can there be more PRACTICAL actions rather than come to forum and say.... pasar malam guy not good ar.... pirate ar...... wei.... piracy good ar.... save cost ar.....bla bla bla bla....

ok.. my request is simple... is there anyone here have in contact with any scientist or material engineer of watever s**t??

can these research be carried out???

the strength of both stuff

the safety lvl of both stuff

when it comes to safety, wat harm can be done to our health if the str was toooo strong?

ALL THESE MUST BE SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN..

y ar?? because its the person who pay the money to consider which one is a better choice!!!

magic supporter: (if the report comes out says so its harmful to our health)gawrsh!!! the copy one was so dangerous to our health!!

magic lover (a.k.a.PRODUCT supporter): (if the scientific report says the IPK is safe to our health) cheh.... wat lar... i might better buy IPK, cheaper, strongerRRRR.

vice versa
magic supporter: (report: IPK is not dangerous to our health) erm..y i pay more for a weaker ring?, wpk is weak but ipk is stronger...so are the durability analysis, both are as durable..OH GOD, HELP ME!!! i`m in dillema!!!i supports magic very muich but i gotta waste more money on a weaker RING!!!!

MAGIC LOVER: (report: IPK is very dangerous to health due to stronger magnets) AIYAH!! dew loh.... lucky the original WPK is still affordable..i might as well buy the original....

SOLUTION?

y can`t the original creator DIRECTLY sue RENO??we just bual bual kosong here..... haiz.... indirectly saying its none our business also

if the problem was such a problem, Y cant the ori makers, research on the effects of magnets on human body? if it is harmless to have greater strength, y not manufacture WPK2? OR MAYBE A SET.. of pk rings with three different strength??
u see,, its like a chop cup with over-weak magnets...

so... can the WPK do chop cup as secure as the IPK??
WILL the WPK work for most cups or the IPK work for most cups??
let me make my point clear... it is fair if RENO made a stronger ring and meet more criteria than the original. (provided if the IPK is safe to human body)

on the other hand, it is also fair if the ori makers of the rings sue RENO for copying it, banned it and manufacture a better model with more varieties designs to choose from..

u see, none magic products, in western countries,e.g who copies who?? duracell vs energiser? they can do apparent comparison(defaming with competitors image) in their commercial provided if they can PROVE that their product is really better than the other!!

so hey..if IPK can really prove to be better (with solid proof) than WPK, its time for WPK to offer their original better versions with more feature bla bla bla..

erm... speaking of piracy.... can somebody tell me if these fellas have permission toward these effects??
www.magictone.com

u see, i won`t respect or support on anyone who copy others from head to toe without permission.

but i respect to those who copy without permission but with their own original ideas added and made GREATER improvement than originals.

the chinese says.... yuan dou fuk shuu (be willing to lose if u willing to bet)