I was hanging out all week with Eric, and the rest of the boys over at E. I had a chance to not only see this new thing, but also I purchased a copy for myself.
Here's the details. It's a new and improved smoke from hand gimmick like the Ultra Smoke 2000 system HOWEVER this system does not eat away or destroy the lining in your sleeves. It's a safe, non toxic alternative that works on the same principle as the E-cigs. It produces giant, thick plumes of water vapor through the use of a specially engineered double thick cartridge.
The new "thing" is capable of releasing the smoke in two bursts. One is a three second burst, the other a five second burst. While currently only white smoke is available, by the end of the year we can expect to see other colors such as Red, Green, Blue, and Black smoke to hit the market.
E will be selling refill cartridges through their website, and they should retail for around 20$ for ten of them. Each cartridge is good for about 40 (or so) bursts of smoke. The thing will probably retail for around 150$. I estimate high on this, because I don't know if the price I got was a convention only thing or not.
As for ending dirty with it, that really depends upon how you work. The thing (the name of the device is Pure Smoke) comes with two rigging setups that allow you to either attach it to your wrist, or to the inside of your jacket. If you chose the jacket route, then you can pull your sleeves up and end clean. If you go the wrist route, then no... you'll be dirty. So far, I'm liking the wrist strap better, only because it feels more secure to me.
I'm pretty damn excited about this thing, and I've been playing with it all day yesterday. It should be a powerful prop in the right hands. In the wrong hands, it'll be an expensive toy. Either way it's a lot of fun to work with.