The tool is a simple steel spring, sized to fit the pipe.
PVC can generally be bent by hand; this tool simply makes it much harder to kink the pipe. It can be done; when showing it off at the parts house, the salesman got the spring stuck in the tool. (While it was easy to 'unbend' and remove it, it was embarrassing!)
PVC compares to rigid in thickness, so you'll be using a bigger bender.
I suppose you could use it to work PVC just like it was 'regular' pipe. I've kind of got used to softening a long section of PVC over heat, then gently 'molding' in place to the shape I need. No measuring needed - just thick gloves!
