Magnetar Allround 1300LB Kit — Good Gear, Weird Price
The Magnetar Allround 1300LB is a solid mid-range kit from a brand that knows what it's doing — but at $179.99, it's sitting in an awkward spot in their own lineup.
Magnetar makes genuinely good stuff. That's not a take I'd walk back — their build quality is consistent, their magnets pull honest numbers, and the kits don't feel thrown together. The Allround 1300LB is no exception to any of that.
Here's the thing though. It's $179.99. And their 2000LB kit is $184.99. That five dollar gap has been sitting in my head since I first saw this on their product page, and I can't un-see it.
If you specifically want this one — maybe it's on sale, maybe you've got a reason for the lower pull spec — it's worth your time. But I'd be doing you dirty if I didn't mention the other option exists.
I've used enough Magnetar gear that I stopped second-guessing the brand a while back. There was a session on the Schuylkill — early spring, water still cold enough that I was doing that thing where you're trying not to let the rope drag across your wrist — and the magnet I had clipped on that day was a Magnetar. Pulled up a chunk of what turned out to be a cast iron pipe fitting, something that had probably been down there since the Truman administration. The coating held, the threading held, and the whole thing felt exactly as solid coming out of the water as it did going in. That's what you're getting with this brand. Consistency.
The Allround 1300LB fits into that same tradition. The magnet itself is well-made — the coating is even, the eyebolt sits tight, and the rope that comes with it is actually good. Not "good for a kit rope" — just good. Thicker braid than I expected, and it doesn't go stiff and weird in cold water the way some cheaper lines do. I've had kit ropes that felt like dragging a garden hose through a river after one November outing. This isn't that.
The hardware feels like it was selected by someone who uses this stuff, not someone who was trying to hit a price point.
So why is it an honorable mention and not a top pick? Purely the math. Magnetar sells their 2000LB kit for five dollars more. Five. I've spent more than that on a coffee I didn't finish. Unless you have a specific reason to want the 1300LB spec — a bridge with weight restrictions on throw bags, I don't know, some situation I'm not imagining — the 2000LB just makes more sense as a purchase. More pull, almost identical price, same brand quality. The choice kind of makes itself.
Now, if this thing goes on sale — even a small one, like ten or fifteen percent off — the calculation shifts. At $150 it's a legitimately great mid-range kit from a brand you can trust, and I'd tell anyone looking to upgrade from a starter setup to grab it without hesitation. At full price it's fine. Just slightly puzzling given what's one click away on the same website.
It's the kind of product that makes you like the brand more and second-guess the SKU.
If you're buying this as a gift for someone who's been watching magnet fishing videos and wants to actually try it — this is a good call. It's not overwhelming, the pull force is manageable for someone still figuring out technique, and they're getting Magnetar quality instead of some no-name kit that'll corrode after three trips. That's a real use case. The 1300LB spec actually makes more sense there than I initially gave it credit for.
But if you're buying for yourself and you've done this before? Go look at what else Magnetar has at the $185 mark first.
