There are things you can do with gimmicks that simply cannot be accomplished with sleight of hand. I noticed a lot of you guys are referring to ID and Svengali decks. Those are extreme examples. There is a huge "in between" area there. There are plenty of tricks which use normal cards and one or two gaffs which still require skill.
A lot of times I'll slip a DB or a DF in my normal pack. With just one gaffed card and a normal deck, you can perform miracles. And ditching one card is pretty darn easy. I also have a lot of routines in which I openly ring in and out a gaffed card which i carry in my pocket. This is all motivated in the routine.
I do understand if you are not a pro and do magic for mostly friends and family, you might not like gaffed cards as friends and family are the toughest audiences and usually want to examine the deck. I mean, let's face it, they know you well. You're not much of a mystery to them and they want to bust you
So I suppose in those situations, gaffs might be tricky. Unless it's a trick in which the gaff is exposed at the end like Anniversary Waltz.
But if you are going to go pro, don't knock certain gaffs. Like I said before, used properly, gaffs can take your magic to the next level for a lay person. Gaffs can make certain effects look incredibly clean in ways that pure sleight of hand can't. Sleights are great but a move is a move and they need to be used sparingly. Magic should look effortless, not like you have to work at it.
IMHO, at least.
