UselessFinds
An 880lb Magnet On A Rope, For Dredging Canals

440lb on each face

Useless Gadgets

An 880lb Magnet On A Rope, For Dredging Canals

A double-sided neodymium magnet rated 440lb per face, with 20m of rope, a grappling hook and gloves. For pulling metal out of water.

Buy this nonsense$24.64(sponsored link, opens in a new tab)
  • magnet fishing
  • neodymium magnet
  • salvage
  • outdoor hobby
  • treasure hunting
  • double sided

What Is This Thing?

A neodymium magnet about 6.5cm across, rated at 440lb of pull force on each of its two faces — 880lb combined. It comes with twenty metres of 6mm nylon rope, a carabiner, a threading hook, a grappling hook, gloves and a bag.

You tie it on, throw it into water, and drag it back.

This is magnet fishing, which is a real hobby with a real following. The listing's last image shows what it actually produces: a length of steel pipe, a manhole cover, a shopping trolley and a badminton racket, all photographed dripping on a canal bank.

Why You Don't Need It

Everything you catch is rubbish. That is not a criticism of the hobby, it is a description of it — the objects are, without exception, things that ended up in a canal, and you are now responsible for disposing of them.

A magnet this strong is also not a toy. It will take a finger between itself and anything ferrous, it will erase cards and it will find your tools from across a garage.

Why You'll Buy It Anyway

Because there is something genuinely compelling about a hobby whose entire premise is that the ground beneath water is unexplored. Most of what comes up is a bicycle. Occasionally it is a safe, a sword, or a set of keys that ends a police investigation, and the gap between those two outcomes is what keeps people throwing the magnet.

It is also the rare novelty purchase that gets you outdoors, costs nothing to run, and improves the canal.

An 880lb Magnet On A Rope, For Dredging Canals — photograph 2
An 880lb Magnet On A Rope, For Dredging Canals — photograph 3

Who It's Actually For

Anyone who lives near still water and has run out of things to do at the weekend. It works particularly well with children, who do not need the catch to be interesting.

It is also a surprisingly good gift for the person who already owns every gadget, because it is not a gadget. It is a magnet and some rope.

before you click buy

Check the law where you live. Magnet fishing is restricted or requires permission on many waterways, and in some countries it is banned outright over unexploded ordnance — which is not a theoretical concern in parts of Europe.

Handle the thing seriously. Two 440lb faces means it will slam shut on anything metal, and the reviews for every magnet in this class contain at least one person describing a trapped hand.

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