[Stan]

I travel a lot and usually stick my SpyFocus on random surfaces in hotels. The magnetic base is handy but I’m always worried it’ll slide off a painted wall or a metal shelf. Anyone had issues with it falling? Just curious if I should bother with the adhesive instead. It’s been fine so far but I don’t want to wake up to a crash.

[Dana Lee]

I’d skip the magnet for hotel walls, painted surfaces are usually too slick for it to hold well. The adhesive might leave a mark though, so that’s a tradeoff depending on the place.

[DonnaD]

I’d stick with the magnet and just be picky about where I put it. I’ve used mine in a few rentals and the walls are hit or miss, but the headboard and the mini fridge have never let me down. Those are the spots I trust because they’re actually magnetic. The painted wall thing is real though, mine slid down slowly one night on a textured wall and I found it on the floor in the morning. Still worked fine, no crack or anything, but the sound of it dropping woke me up. So I just stopped using it on walls entirely. If I really want it up high I’d probably go adhesive, but then you deal with the residue and I’m not into scraping stuff off someone else’s property. For a hotel room I’d rather lose the angle than deal with that.

[Mar__kus]

Metal shelves are the one spot I actually trust the magnet on. Painted drywall in hotels is a gamble every single time. I’ve had mine slide down slowly overnight more than once.

[Tom Reps]

My magnet has held fine on the metal closet door in the last two hotels I stayed at. Painted drywall is the only spot where it slid on me once. The adhesive would probably hold better there if you don’t mind the residue.

[Nina Ray]

I’ve had mine on a hotel nightstand for a week straight and it never budged, but I did have it tip over once when housekeeping bumped the table. The magnet itself stayed stuck, it just wasn’t strong enough to keep the camera upright when something knocked it. So the base holds, it’s more about what you attach it to and whether anything bumps it.

[Cora Finch]

Mine survived a whole week on a hotel mirror last month, no sliding at all. Painted walls are hit or miss for me too, but I just avoid those now. The magnet is honestly the main reason I keep using it while traveling.

[Jenna Writes]

The magnet actually holds better on vertical painted surfaces than I expected, weirdly enough. Mine sat on the side of a dresser once and stayed put for a few nights, no sliding. But what got me was a horizontal spot, I had it on top of a mini fridge thinking that was safe and it slowly crept toward the edge over a couple days. Something about the vibration from the fridge maybe. So I just avoid putting it anywhere that hums now, and I haven’t had a drop since. Adhesive still seems like overkill unless you’re leaving it somewhere for weeks. For a night or two the magnet has been fine for me.

[Alex_28]

The magnet on mine has held fine on the metal frame of a hotel door, but I wouldn’t trust it on anything painted. I’ve had mine slowly creep down a wall overnight before. If you’re that worried just use the adhesive, it’s not worth losing sleep over.

[L_Parker]

I used to think the magnet was just a gimmick and that I would end up using the adhesive pad full time. After a couple months of actually traveling with it, my view flipped. The magnet is the part I reach for first now. Not because it sticks to everything, but because it’s fast and it doesn’t leave residue behind, which matters when you’re in a room that isn’t yours.

What changed my mind was a trip where I stuck it to the mini fridge in the room. I figured it would creep down overnight like I expected. It stayed there the whole stay, and I actually forgot it was mounted that way until I packed up. Since then I’ve used the magnet way more and the adhesive strip is still sitting in the box.

That said, I don’t treat the magnet like it’s magic. I still give it a little nudge test before I walk away, just to see if it shifts. If it moves at all I reposition it. Takes two seconds and it’s saved me from a middle of the night crash more than once.

The adhesive is still there if I ever need it, but at this point I doubt I’ll bother unless I end up somewhere with nothing metal in reach.

[pixelnomad]

Adhesive pad is the safer bet on painted surfaces.

[Ben Harlow]

Mine slid down a painted wall overnight and I found it on the floor the next morning. Didn’t break, but I stopped trusting the magnet after that. Adhesive is the only thing I’d rely on if I actually want it to stay put.

[Tom Bill]

Magnet bases are always a gamble on hotel walls. The paint there is usually cheap and slick, so I’d just use the adhesive if you actually care about it staying put. I’ve had magnets fail on surfaces that looked perfectly flat.

[T_Holloway]

I don’t buy the “strong magnetic base” thing in general. Most of these cameras use weak magnets and hotel walls are usually painted over who knows what. Mine stayed up but only because I put it on a metal air vent, not the wall itself.

[Parker S.]

I’ve stuck mine to plenty of random hotel stuff and it’s stayed put. The one time it slipped was on a glossy painted surface, but on metal or anything with a slight texture it’s rock solid.

[Stan]

Fair enough, I’ll grab some adhesive pads for the next trip.

[Author]

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