I watched the Michael Ammar lecture, where one of the things he featured was rubber band magic ie Crazy Mans Handcuffs, Snapped, and restored etc. Michael was asked, and recommended , size # 16 premium rubber bands. After some trial and error I finally found Alliance Pale Crepe 2.5 x 1/16 with the highest rubber content. He said he used to use #19, but the #16's are a little better, with just the right amount of tension. They really are the best so far in my estimation! In Snapped they really stretch out thin, and look amazingly like one rubber band. Now all I need to do is get Hondo's works on the linked rubber bands, and I am off to the races. I especially want to get Drunk, to learn his method of linking. I never thought rubber bands would make me such a happy camper

Thanks for the advice, Years ago Michael Ammar in his booklet recommended #19. I bought a whole bag and found them to big and difficult to work with. I will try #16 now and hope they will work perfectly.

Ammar did say on his lecture that he used to recommend #19 but he now favors the #16. So, I bought a box of the #16 and find them to be too small for me to do most rubber band effects with. I am going to stick to #19's (may be a matter of hand size) I will say that the #16 Pale Crepe Premium bands DO look good in CMH and Snapped - much better than the cheap bands I have been using but I wonder how the #19 Pale Crepe Premium Bands will look. I ordered a box today and will update when I get my oversized grimey fingers on them. It may just be a matter of the cheap rubber bands vs the premium bands and the size to be determined by individual hand size. I may still use both sizes depending on the particular effect but would prefer one size for most (and that the one size fits over my wrist - the #16 are very tight for me)

Wow, free overnight shipping. Got the #19 Pale Crepe Premium Bands today and it seems to be as I expected. These look much better doing "Snapped" that the cheap bands I have been using for years. I believe it is the band quality (and coloration) that makes the difference leaving the size of the band to be determined by your particular hand size. The #19 also fits my wrist comfortably which is a big plus for me.

Not to say by any means that the cheap bands aren't any good. They are very impromptu and I have been using them almost 20 years now (wow-ing laypeople all the while). I will admit though, if you are just starting out or just want to tweak the looks of your rubber band stuff. These Alliance Pale Crepe Gold premium rubber bands are perfect.

I've always used #19. They allow me to do the most basic effects, like CHM and also move on to more advanced effects. #16's are smaller but I guess... genetics.

So, is there a consensus on which brand of bands to buy? I have played around with cheap stuff for Snapped, CMH, and Stairway stuff, but it seems better bands make nicer presentations.

Brand of bands to buy. Say that five times fast!

Yea, the #16 and #19 both look great when stretched out for Snapped - and are great all around quality from what I see so far. Been stretching the heck out of some #16 for a couple days and they are holding very well. I am sure the #19s will last just as long.

I do a couple that require a few bands on your wrist to work and the #16s are just too tight for me to wear comfortably for a length of time, I can wear a few #19s for days without cutting into circulation.

What was the source with free shipping? Website? The only bands I've seen at the office store are the cheap one.

Thanks,
Hudson

Got the first box off amazon but it came from a place called Shoplet. I ordered the next box direct at www.shoplet.com and a free shipping w/email signup popup came up.

Thanks!

Hudson

Yes Poof Daddy SHOPLET is great. I had gone to Paypal, and made an order for the 16's from some other company, and the cost came to 15 bucks and change. After placing the order I found Shoplet's for 5 bucks. I immediately cancelled the first order (Thanks Paypal). I then bought them from Shoplet, which saved me 10 bucks . As far as the size, I think Michael Ammar is right on. The 19's are too loose on the fingers for CMH especially after a few uses. For Snapped, I'm sure either size is equally as good. I have small hands. I guess if you have big hands, and the span between your fingers is wide, 19's may be OK. Just for the record, Michael Ammar's hands also seem to be pretty small