2023 test14 productsHand Tools
Which Telescopic Magnet Brand Wins?
We compared 14 telescopic magnet options head to head. MacTools came out on top. See the measured results, the runner-up, the budget pick, and a link to the full test video.
Winner
MacTools
Price shown in test: $34
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Runner-up
MAG-MATE
Price shown in test: $24
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Shielding bleed-through | Side lift shaft strength | Overall average finish | Magnetic pull | Shaft sag with 100g | Shaft sag no weight | Pull-to-bleed ratio | Shaft sag test |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1MacTools$34 | the Mac Tools performed very well at just under 24 g, which is good enough to move into the third position | the Mac Tools performed very well at 2.64 lb, which is good enough to move into second place behind the EZ Red | the Mac Tools came out on top with an average finish at fourth place | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 2MAG-MATE$24 | not tested | the Mag-Mate moves into the lead over the Nbar at 2.35 lb | not tested | the Mag-Mate only claims 5 lb of holding capacity, but it almost made it to 17 lb | 1 in with 100 g is good enough to move into second place behind the Olman | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 3Ullman$16 | not tested | not tested | not tested | the Olman is rated for 16 lb of lift and it did better than advertised at 19.19 lb | under an inch to take the lead from the Nbar | the Olman is by far the best yet at about a quarter of an inch | not tested | not tested |
| 4Proto$55 | 28.18 g | the Proto also performed very well at 2.3 lb | not tested | the Proto has a 16 lb lift rating and it performed about the same as the Olman at 18.34 | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 5Matco$32 | 29.8 g | not tested | not tested | the Matco claims 16 lb of lift and exceeded expectations at just over 21 lb | an inch and a quarter, which is good enough to move into third place behind the Mag-Mate | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 6Enbar$8 | the Nbar really struggled at almost 259 g or about 190 g more than the Pittsburgh | Nbar 2.33 lb | not tested | the Nbar is rated for 20 lb and it performed better than the Pittsburgh at 29.47 lb | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 7KapOD$10 | the CaprOdi performed the best yet at just about 59 g | not tested | not tested | the CaprOdi is rated for 30 lb of pull, but it only made it to 25.23 lb | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 8Pittsburgh$4 | the Pittsburgh shielding just isn't doing a very good job at 68.43 g | the Pittsburgh's telescopic shaft was pushed to the limit and the magnet let go at 1.86 lb | not tested | the Pittsburgh performed better than advertised at 21.29 lb | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 9GearWrench$19 | the GearWrench has just over 7 lb of magnetic pull and it performed the best yet on this test at 1.29 g. Very impressive | not tested | not tested | the GearWrench only claims 5 lb of lift, but it held on until 7.17 lb | not tested | not tested | the GearWrench came in on top at 0.000397 lb of bleed through per pound of direct magnetic pull | not tested |
| 10E-Z Red$34 | the EZ Red maxed out the scale at over 500 g, the most yet | the EZ Red came out on top at 3.48 lb | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested | the EZ Red is very robust and there's pretty much no sag with the EZ Red |
| 11Blue Point$23 | the very narrow profile of the Blue Point really hurt it on this test at just under 44 g | not tested | not tested | the Blue Point advertises 8 lb of lift and it did better than advertised at just over 9 lb | not tested | the Blue Point has about a quarter inch of sag fully extended | not tested | not tested |
| 12Craftsman$13 | Craftsman finished in second at 14.88 | not tested | not tested | the Craftsman only claims 6 lb of lift, but it did more than twice as well as advertised at 13.82 | not tested | the Craftsman has quite a bit of sag at 1.38, the most yet | not tested | not tested |
| 13Klein Tools$25 | the Klein Tools struggled even more than the Nbar at just over 309 g | the Klein Tools performed about the same as the Olman at 2.07 lb | not tested | the Klein Tools only claims 2 lb of lift and it more than quadrupled the claim at just over 9 lb | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
| 14NoCry$11 | the NoCry shielding could use some improvement at almost 110 g | the NoCry performed almost as well as the Pittsburgh at 1.71 lb | not tested | the NoCry claims 25 lb of pull force, but it ran out of steam at 19.33 lb | not tested | not tested | not tested | not tested |
How it was tested
- magnetic pull / lift capacity against a 42 lb steel plate
- magnetic shielding bleed-through weight test
- pull-to-bleed-through ratio
- telescopic shaft sag test with and without 100 g of added weight
- side/horizontal shaft strength test until the magnet let go
“the Mac Tools came out on top with an average finish at fourth place”