The Joby Gorillapd tried to revolutionise the flexibility of camera tripods to help take photos from anywhere without having to hold the actual camera. For the large part this has worked, the individual little links on the tripod meaning that you can contort and twist it and wrap it around objects such as pipes and railings, attaching the camera to it and then taking the photo or video. The main issue comes with the weight of the camera you're using, as ultimately there's a limit to how much the links can take. Many a time I have wound a hefty vidcam to a railing and watched it slip slightly, only to have to resort to a lighter and sometimes lesser quality model in order to capture what I need.

It's annoying, and so I was hoping that this magnetised version of the Gorillapod would be a solution to this annoying failing of what is essentially a very good product. For a start the price reflects the magnetic qualities, rising from the relatively low and affordable price of a standard Gorillapod to this one being well over £10. Still cheap for a tripod, but a bit more than the original version of this.

Take the price away and let's look at the product itself. The magnetic elements of the tripod are instantly noiceable. If you try attaching it to most magnetic metals in your house, for example, you'll find that the power in these little things is startlingly strong and evident. There's no huge pull when you get near metal as there may be when you put magnet to magnet, but when it touches the metal, you can feel the pull when you try to separate the two. This initially shows that there's magnetic power but the real test should obviously be using this in extreme situations.

At work, I use a number of different sized cameras and video cameras. Using this one with the lighter cameras and wrapping it around a metal railing made it extremely secure, and even when I went to move it I felt a certain amount of resistance. Using the heavier models, as we have some older gadgets that are still chunky, I found that although the strength wasn't as secure as before, there was still no movement. Testing this with others using it for 'real' situations as opposed to my theory, it still seemed to hold up, although any severe movement jolted it somewhat and there was some significant movement. I suppose the important element here is to work out what you want to use it for and adjust accordingly. You can wrap this around objects although the legs are only a few inches long so this is limited.

The most isolated of cases are where it falls down - the main time I've seen this is where the camera is held at an angle and gravity adds to the weight of the camera. In this occurrence it's also about time, and although the magnets are strong the Gorillapod isn't the strongest magnet and therefore doesn't cover EVERY eventuality. However, if what you're looking for is a small and compact tripod that is flexible and holds on to most metallic surfaces - the combination of the wrapping element and the magnets make a distinct difference between this and the original Gorillapod - then this is an ideal and affordable solution. It's not perfect but its intricate design, compact size and flexibility certainly make it one of the most desirable camera accessories available.