Magnetar Savage Package 1600kg — The 3,500 lb Beast

Okay so here's the thing about the Savage Package — the moment you pick it up, you know it's different. Not in a dramatic way. Just a weight-and-finish way. The magnet itself has this density to it that my old double-sided setup never had, and the coating is uniform in a way that says someone actually cared about quality control. I've unboxed kits where the threading was already rough and the rope smelled like it had been stored in a basement since 2011. This wasn't that.

The 360-degree allround design is the real thing that sets this apart though.

I took it out on the Chattahoochee for the first time on a Saturday in late October — water was low, visibility maybe six inches, current moving just enough to be annoying. The kind of conditions where a single-sided magnet turns into a coin flip. I dragged this thing along the bottom for about forty minutes before it latched onto something that turned out to be a 1970s-era padlock and what I'm pretty sure was a truck leaf spring — presumably sitting down there since sometime around the Carter administration. With my old magnet, I would've dragged right past at least one of those. The allround design doesn't care which way the target is sitting.

Pull force is one of those specs that sounds impressive on paper and then sometimes disappoints in the water. 3,500 lbs could mean a lot of things depending on surface contact, rust, mud seal. But I will say this — I've had this magnet hold onto things that I genuinely had to work to break free. We're talking both hands on the rope, feet braced on the bridge rail, kind of working. That's not something I could say about every high-number magnet I've used.

The rope situation in the kit is solid. Better than the rope I was using before, which I'd bought separately and thought was fine until I put it next to this one. Thicker, better hand feel, takes a figure-eight knot cleanly without the kind of slipping you get with cheaper braid.

Is there anything bad about it? Honestly, not much — but the price is the thing.

$399.99 is a commitment. If you're six months in and still figuring out where to fish and how to tie a proper knot, this isn't for you yet. Come back to this when you've got a feel for the hobby and you've started getting frustrated by what you're missing. That frustration is basically the signal that you're ready for this kit. I know that sounds weirdly specific but it's the most honest way I can put it — there's a moment where you just know your setup is the limiting factor, and this is what you buy after that moment.

Magnetar doesn't make anything except magnet fishing gear. That matters. You're not buying a camping brand's fishing accessory or a novelty kit designed to be a birthday present. This is purpose-built by people who actually care about the specific problems you run into doing this — murky water, awkward angles, targets buried in silt at weird depths. The 360-degree design feels like a direct answer to that problem, not a marketing angle.

I've had mine out probably fifteen or sixteen times now. Nothing's worn, nothing's peeling, the threading is still clean. If it holds up another year at this pace I'll be genuinely impressed.