Which Telescopic Magnet Brand Wins?
2023 test14 productsHand Tools

Which Telescopic Magnet Brand Wins?

In our test 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.

The verdict
MacTools
Winner

MacTools

Price shown in test: $34

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MAG-MATE
Runner-up

MAG-MATE

Price shown in test: $24

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The quick take

The short version of why each pick lands where it does, built straight from the measured results.

WinnerMacTools$34

the Mac Tools came out on top with an average finish at fourth place

Runner-upMAG-MATE$24

Placed top three in 1 of 1 measurements.

The measured results

Every number below is read straight from the test. Products are listed in the order they finished.

Shielding bleed-through

  • 1MacTools

    the Mac Tools performed very well at just under 24 g, which is good enough to move into the third position

  • 4Proto
    28.18 g
  • 5Matco
    29.8 g
  • 6Enbar

    the Nbar really struggled at almost 259 g or about 190 g more than the Pittsburgh

  • 7KapOD

    the CaprOdi performed the best yet at just about 59 g

  • 8Pittsburgh

    the Pittsburgh shielding just isn't doing a very good job at 68.43 g

  • 9GearWrench

    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

  • 10E-Z Red

    the EZ Red maxed out the scale at over 500 g, the most yet

  • 11Blue Point

    the very narrow profile of the Blue Point really hurt it on this test at just under 44 g

  • 12Craftsman

    Craftsman finished in second at 14.88

  • 13Klein Tools

    the Klein Tools struggled even more than the Nbar at just over 309 g

  • 14NoCry

    the NoCry shielding could use some improvement at almost 110 g

  • 2MAG-MATE
    not tested
  • 3Ullman
    not tested

Magnetic pull

  • 2MAG-MATE

    the Mag-Mate only claims 5 lb of holding capacity, but it almost made it to 17 lb

  • 3Ullman

    the Olman is rated for 16 lb of lift and it did better than advertised at 19.19 lb

  • 4Proto

    the Proto has a 16 lb lift rating and it performed about the same as the Olman at 18.34

  • 5Matco

    the Matco claims 16 lb of lift and exceeded expectations at just over 21 lb

  • 6Enbar

    the Nbar is rated for 20 lb and it performed better than the Pittsburgh at 29.47 lb

  • 7KapOD

    the CaprOdi is rated for 30 lb of pull, but it only made it to 25.23 lb

  • 8Pittsburgh

    the Pittsburgh performed better than advertised at 21.29 lb

  • 9GearWrench

    the GearWrench only claims 5 lb of lift, but it held on until 7.17 lb

  • 11Blue Point

    the Blue Point advertises 8 lb of lift and it did better than advertised at just over 9 lb

  • 12Craftsman

    the Craftsman only claims 6 lb of lift, but it did more than twice as well as advertised at 13.82

  • 13Klein Tools

    the Klein Tools only claims 2 lb of lift and it more than quadrupled the claim at just over 9 lb

  • 14NoCry

    the NoCry claims 25 lb of pull force, but it ran out of steam at 19.33 lb

  • 1MacTools
    not tested
  • 10E-Z Red
    not tested

Side lift shaft strength

  • 1MacTools

    the Mac Tools performed very well at 2.64 lb, which is good enough to move into second place behind the EZ Red

  • 2MAG-MATE

    the Mag-Mate moves into the lead over the Nbar at 2.35 lb

  • 4Proto

    the Proto also performed very well at 2.3 lb

  • 6Enbar

    Nbar 2.33 lb

  • 8Pittsburgh

    the Pittsburgh's telescopic shaft was pushed to the limit and the magnet let go at 1.86 lb

  • 10E-Z Red

    the EZ Red came out on top at 3.48 lb

  • 13Klein Tools

    the Klein Tools performed about the same as the Olman at 2.07 lb

  • 14NoCry

    the NoCry performed almost as well as the Pittsburgh at 1.71 lb

  • 3Ullman
    not tested
  • 5Matco
    not tested
  • 7KapOD
    not tested
  • 9GearWrench
    not tested
  • 11Blue Point
    not tested
  • 12Craftsman
    not tested

Shaft sag with 100g

  • 2MAG-MATE
    1 in2nd

    with 100 g is good enough to move into second place behind the Olman

  • 3Ullman

    under an inch to take the lead from the Nbar

  • 5Matco

    an inch and a quarter, which is good enough to move into third place behind the Mag-Mate

  • 1MacTools
    not tested
  • 4Proto
    not tested
  • 6Enbar
    not tested
  • 7KapOD
    not tested
  • 8Pittsburgh
    not tested
  • 9GearWrench
    not tested
  • 10E-Z Red
    not tested
  • 11Blue Point
    not tested
  • 12Craftsman
    not tested
  • 13Klein Tools
    not tested
  • 14NoCry
    not tested

Shaft sag no weight

  • 3Ullman

    the Olman is by far the best yet at about a quarter of an inch

  • 11Blue Point

    the Blue Point has about a quarter inch of sag fully extended

  • 12Craftsman

    the Craftsman has quite a bit of sag at 1.38, the most yet

  • 1MacTools
    not tested
  • 2MAG-MATE
    not tested
  • 4Proto
    not tested
  • 5Matco
    not tested
  • 6Enbar
    not tested
  • 7KapOD
    not tested
  • 8Pittsburgh
    not tested
  • 9GearWrench
    not tested
  • 10E-Z Red
    not tested
  • 13Klein Tools
    not tested
  • 14NoCry
    not tested
All measurements (3 more)+

Overall average finish

  • 1MacTools

    the Mac Tools came out on top with an average finish at fourth place

  • 2MAG-MATE
    not tested
  • 3Ullman
    not tested
  • 4Proto
    not tested
  • 5Matco
    not tested
  • 6Enbar
    not tested
  • 7KapOD
    not tested
  • 8Pittsburgh
    not tested
  • 9GearWrench
    not tested
  • 10E-Z Red
    not tested
  • 11Blue Point
    not tested
  • 12Craftsman
    not tested
  • 13Klein Tools
    not tested
  • 14NoCry
    not tested

Pull-to-bleed ratio

  • 9GearWrench

    the GearWrench came in on top at 0.000397 lb of bleed through per pound of direct magnetic pull

  • 1MacTools
    not tested
  • 2MAG-MATE
    not tested
  • 3Ullman
    not tested
  • 4Proto
    not tested
  • 5Matco
    not tested
  • 6Enbar
    not tested
  • 7KapOD
    not tested
  • 8Pittsburgh
    not tested
  • 10E-Z Red
    not tested
  • 11Blue Point
    not tested
  • 12Craftsman
    not tested
  • 13Klein Tools
    not tested
  • 14NoCry
    not tested

Shaft sag test

  • 10E-Z Red

    the EZ Red is very robust and there's pretty much no sag with the EZ Red

  • 1MacTools
    not tested
  • 2MAG-MATE
    not tested
  • 3Ullman
    not tested
  • 4Proto
    not tested
  • 5Matco
    not tested
  • 6Enbar
    not tested
  • 7KapOD
    not tested
  • 8Pittsburgh
    not tested
  • 9GearWrench
    not tested
  • 11Blue Point
    not tested
  • 12Craftsman
    not tested
  • 13Klein Tools
    not tested
  • 14NoCry
    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

From the test video verdict.

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