6 best magnetic rod toys for your little architect
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Na magnet tiles (reviewed here) magnetic rods are the latest trend in creative toys, and with good reason.
Take for example the best set we found, this starter set from Smartmax. It gives enormous building possibilities because the balls between the bars serve as hinges or bends. A great set that your child will come back to again and again.
In this article I tell you what to look out for and I have reviewed the 6 best playsets.
Here are the best sets in a quick overview. Then I'll dive deeper into each of these choices.
Overall best magnetic sticks
Clicking these together is much easier. This makes the toy really suitable from 1 year old as SmartMax says.
Best Cheap Magnetic Bars
The plastic feels a bit cheaper than that of Smartmax, but that won't make much difference to your child.
Best magnetic bars for preschool kids
The toy set consists of 26 molds with which your little one can build the nicest characters, all in an underwater theme with magnetic fishing rod.
Best magnet tiles with rods
As with Smartmax, these tiles are mainly about learning geometric shapes. The extra challenge is in clicking the tiles with the balls and rods.
Best magnetic bars for babies
It is an extremely safe toy and made very sturdy in a shape that makes it even easier to grip.
Best magnetic bars for school kids
With a set of smaller pieces like this you get a lot of building material for little. That also makes it very nice for more complicated constructions.
From toddler to toddler activity book collection
Educational games and coloring pages for 3 to 6 years
Your toddler and preschooler will love this e-book, along with the accompanying printables. He or she can play with it at every stage of development, together with mom and dad.
Buy at Bol.comWhat we discuss in this comprehensive post:
Magnetic bars toy buying guide
As with any magnetic toys you have to pay close attention to what you buy. You don't want your child to swallow magnets.
Therefore, when reviewing, I paid attention to the safety of each piece toys, but still pay close attention to the age range.
Age
The most sturdy sets with large parts are suitable from 1 year, such as Smartmax, Goobi and Stick-O. There is no way to get the magnets out of the bars.
The apparently identical set from Stylebest is only suitable from 3 years. Probably because of the cheaper build quality, although it still feels very sturdy.
The sets with the smallest parts such as Geomag and Veatree are suitable from 6 years. It is also a lot more difficult to build with them, but they also have small parts.
magnets
You need good magnets, especially with such rod construction sets. With each set, the balls often slip away, but building with the rods can certainly be done very well.
Neodymium is best and a way to get a lot of power out of small magnets.
I rated each set on the magnets on a scale of 1 to 5.
Replayability
How nice it is to return to it again and again toys? Very important. That's why I rated each set for replayability.
You should also pay attention to whether you can easily combine it with multiple sets if you may already be thinking in the future. But the set itself should also be fun to play with.
Best Magnetic Bars Toys Reviewed
SmartMax Rods Start Try Me
- Sturdy magnets click easily
- Large shapes suitable for small children
- Difficult to make shapes with
- Ball system shoots slides easily
The SmartMax Magnetic Bars Start Try Me are also great fun toys that consists of magnetic rods (and balls)!
This toys contains 30 large elements and an extensive booklet with information and tips for building.
Magnetic rods and balls can be 'stick' together to create the nicest figures. It's simple, because kids don't have to run off with complicated locking mechanisms.
It is very sturdy and easy to click. This makes it toys also really suitable from 1 year onwards, as SmartMax says.
At that age they can't do much with it of course, but a toddler can just grab something and experience what it is like for a rod to "stick" to one of the balls, for example.
As a toddler my son didn't have this set, but he did have the Safari animals from SmartMax, which is essentially the same system with big bars (and then soft rubber animal bodies to stick to them) and he LOVED it!
With these metal balls and rods you can build something different every day. In addition, a child trains his or her spatial awareness with the different shapes. The possibilities are limitless!
Plus you can combine them very nicely with other things from SmartMax, such as the Safari animals that I also discuss later.
But you can actually also combine them with other magnetic materials toys on the list. For example, they also fit on Stick-O parts.
The toys is extremely safe and suitable for children from 1 year.
Best Style Rods and Balls
It is a cheaper copy of the Smartmax Bars. As with many such magnetic things toys original ideas are being copied in China and a lot of sets are coming onto the market.
It's still just as fun to play with and the magnets work well too.
The plastic feels a bit cheaper than that of Smartmax, but that won't make much difference to your child.
The age limit on this one is from 3 years, while the comparable Smartmax is safe for 1 year. Maybe that has to do with the cheaper plastic that could break.
All in all a nice set to play with and you can save a bit on the price.
stick-o fishing game
- Fun underwater theme with different ways to make characters
- Good explanation booklet
- Reversible magnets in sticks so it always sticks
- Fishing game doesn't work very well
And then we also have the Stick-O fish set for the little ones among us!
This toys gives children from 18 months the opportunity to play with magnetic building toys.
The toy set consists of 26 shapes with which your little one can build the nicest characters, all in an underwater theme.
With of course a magnetic rod for good fishing!
The way you can easily create your own animals makes a magnetic fishing game like this a lot more fun than other fishing games I've seen.
These are essentially just wooden rods and some wooden pieces with a magnet in them.
This set really lets your child build an underwater world so that they can also get creative:
The toys remains fun until the age of about 5 years.
It's only 3 blocks so they can't build that much with it, but it's more suitable for 1 to 2 years.
Geomag 200 piece set
- Very educational with geometric shapes
- Rods and balls stick very well
- Not so nice for buildings
This set is just different. The system consists of separate balls, bars and tiles.
Due to the smaller pieces, this set is only suitable from age 5, and that is actually the best fit, also in terms of development level.
The balls themselves are not magnetic so although they are small and can be swallowed they do not have the added danger of magnets in your body.
The magnets are in the bars and that is what keeps the balls and therefore the tiles together.
The durability of the tiles and rods is also excellent and they are made from recycled plastic.
As with Smartmax, these tiles are mainly about learning geometric shapes. The extra challenge is in fixing the tiles with the balls and rods.
It is therefore also less suitable for the little ones because making nice buildings and having them collapse is not really there.
It makes them a lot more STEM and a lot less build. Some children find it less fun because of this, while others will completely love it.
They have lots of sets and expansions with glitter, glow in the dark, and a whole host of mechanics sets.
As a result, the system itself actually becomes a kind of marble track.
Goobi 200 piece set
- Suitable for babies
- Rods are handles and easy to grab
- Weak magnets
Actually also a kind of set like that of Smartmax. Goobi is all about babies.
It is extremely safe toys and very sturdy. The shapes of the bars are made in such a way that it is even easier to grip.
This way, even the smallest child can clip a ball onto a bar and run around with it until they are ready to build more with it.
The magnets are very weak, easy for your baby to click on and remove themselves, but less suitable for larger structures.
I would only choose this set if your child is around 1 year old, otherwise the Smartmax set is more fun.
Veetree Q Time
- Lots to build with such sets
- Lots of rods and balls for your money
- Only suitable from 6 years
- Magnets could be a bit stronger
With a set of smaller pieces like this you get a lot of building material for little. That also makes it very nice for more complicated constructions.
It is more difficult to build with and because of the small pieces it is not suitable for small children.
It says for 6 years and older and that is really the minimum age.
The magnets are very strong and made of neodymium, a material that makes it possible to make small yet powerful magnets.
However, the magnets are not strong enough for really large buildings. Everything you can make with one set can hold, but larger structures cannot.
Some reviews are hilarious. There are more complaints about how addictive it is than anything else, like the magnets.
The booklets contain a larger structure that you cannot make with one set, so people complain that they buy a larger set anyway to be able to build it.
Conclusion
I hope these sets have given you an idea of the possibilities with magnetic rods toys.
There is a lot for sale, but there are also a lot of bad sets. With this you can be sure that your child will have a lot of fun playing with it.
Lees meer: we reviewed the best magnetic toys and picked out 12 sets
Always something to do for the holidays or rainy day?
Play Choice now has the ultimate activity book collection, with over 60 pages of fun coloring pages and educational puzzles.
Joost Nusselder, the founder of Speelkeuze.nl is a content marketer, father and loves trying out new toys. As a child he came into contact with everything related to games when his mother started the Tinnen Soldaat in Ede. Now he and his team create helpful blog articles to help loyal readers with fun play ideas.
