By Chuck Cage, Toolmonger – January 03, 2013 at 01:10PM
You know how regular toggle bolt wall anchors always require extra space behind the drywall, and to remove you unscrew them, dropping the toggle behind the wall? This week I found the best toggles I’ve ever used — SnapToggles, made by Toggler. They’re much easier to install, and they stay in place when you unscrew the bolt.
They’re odd-looking, which probably explains why at Lowe’s I found a box opened and a few scattered around the wall anchor area. While traditional toggle bolt anchors consist of a single bolt with “wings” at one end that pop open after being pushed through the wall, the SnapToggle’s two parallel plastic straps tee into a single bar-shaped anchor. The straps can move up or down independently, see-sawing the anchor to form an “I” or a “T” as needed. To install, simply push the toggle long-wise through the hole you drilled (generally a half inch, or about what you use for a medium-to-large standard toggle), then line up the straps to flip the toggle 90 degrees. Next, push the cap along the straps, zip-tie style, until the toggle lies flush behind the wall, and pull the toggle tight with the straps. Finally, just break off the straps flush with the cap. The cap and toggle stay in place, allowing you to install the bolt whenever you like.
This offers a couple of advantages over the classic toggle. Obviously, you can remove the bolt and re-install it, so you can easily remove whatever you attached to the wall without having to start over. It’s also possible to easily install other bolts of the same thread pattern. For example, this week I was installing Hungarian-style shelves to hold media equipment, so I needed to attach some 2x6s to the wall. The 2.5″ bolts that came with the kit weren’t going to work, so I picked up some 4″ bolts from the next aisle over and used them instead. Hell, if you really wanted to, you could even remove whatever you attached to the wall the first time and install something else in the same holes with different bolts. They install extremely fast, as well — it took me a minute or two to install 20 of them.
Toggler offers these in a variety of bolt sizes ranging from 3/16″ (24 thread, rated to hold 238 pounds in 1/2″ drywall) up to 1/2″ (13 thread, rated for 275 pounds in 1/2″ drywall). Pricing varies based on size and quantity, but you should expect to find two-packs and 30-packs in your local big box. (We’ve seen them online in 50-packs, too, so YMMV.) We paid around $22 for a 30-pack of 3/16″ anchors.
I’m definitely a fan. But hey, if you like something else better, let us know in comments. We’re always looking for the best parts like this. And I’ve got a ton of projects in the queue around the house, too, so I’m sure I’ll need some more before I’m done.
SnapToggle Heavy Duty Toggle Bolts (Toggler)
Via Amazon [What’s This?]