The Best Drywall Anchor Plug Inserts // Tested

This is my second drywall anchor testing video and again I’ll be showing exactly which is the best.

When you can’t attach directly to a stud in your wall the next best option is a drywall anchor plug insert. It doesn’t matter if you’re hanging a new big screen tv or a piece of artwork, you want to use the strongest built anchor while doing the least damage to your wall. I’ll even cover which one works best for plaster.

In this video I test how many pounds each anchor can hold before it begins to fail and show how they operate inside the wall. This will hopefully allow you to choose the best anchor for any specific use.

Anchors Used:
Ez Anchor
Hollow Wall Anchor by Paulin
Wall Claw
Snap Toggle by Toggler
Toggle Bolt by Paulin
PlasPlugs

Or @toolsthatbuild on Instagram

[mngarrison]

I live in a 110 year old house in New England with plaster and lathe walls, the snap toggles were the only thing that worked!

[billradke]

Great video. Great comparison. I was looking to see what new anchors were out there. We've been using the Toggler for some time with great success. Most of what we use it for is shelving standards, and tv mounts when we can't find a stud. Installed over 500 of these and have yet to have one fail. We used to use the old school toggle. The Toggler makes it so much easier. Thanks again

[jra]

Togglers/snap toggle anchors are the best as they can also be reused once installed as maybe taking a device down and wanting to rehang it in the same spot. Not only are they beasts but once set can be reused as the plastic retainer holds the butterfly in the wall for reuse.

[chodge]

i have used 1-3. several times. I have install cabinets with #1 when They didnt land on a stud. I also use #3 metal version which is also very good

[BrendonKing]

For my professional AV installs I like the toggle bolts. It’s well worth the price and peace of mind.

[Kato]

I wish people would test pull-out strength perpendicular to the face of the drywall. I think that is relevant too, and is likely to be a more useful measure for differentiating between anchor designs. When you're pulling the fastener parallel to the face of the drywall, at some point the fastener / anchor is just going to plow through the drywall as you've shown, and it seems like the force it would take to do that is a mere function of the strength of the drywall itself and the diameter of the anchor.

[feelingtardy]

i have a love/hate with the 3/16 snaptoggles. i get plenty of them that just don't thread. the 1/4 seem to work smoother for me. now i pre thread the bolt to make sure it starts.

[vinberube]

Nice work man! It's always a good day when the #1 winner in these tests is your go-to.

[soundman]

These days, my preference is the metal expanding anchor.
Yes there is a tool, for them that makes them far easier and faster to instal.
.
These come in a variety of sizes. It is very important to select the correct length, for the thickness of wall board.
The better versions have a wide length range.
.
I carry a wide variety of these.
The quality brand name versions do work better, than the generic versions.
.
Of course the bigger versions will carry more weight than the smaller ones.
.
Another big advantahe of these is that thay can be installed in a variety of different boards and where there is something behind the plaster board, such as a metal stud, some sort of board or bracing sheet or even sheet metal. If you can drill thru it, these anchors will work well.
.
I have installed my share of the screw in anchors.
Here in AU they come on both plastic and metal versions.
They can work very well.
These can work quite badly if not installed with care, particularly when installed with a power screw driver.
.
I have not used spring toggles for many years, they are an uggly pain in the kneck.
.
In my over 40 years in the trade I have used many anchors, these days the metal expanding anchor is definitely my preference.

[salukikev]

This is a helpful video but some critical specs on my agenda are wall thickness and removability which varies among your examples. If you wanted a seasonal/removable feature attached your wall- many of these will leave an anchor, and others drop a component behind the wall if removed and some are hit or miss depending on how secured your hardware becomes. Also, my walls are particularly challenging as they are 1" thick. At least one of the molly bolts you tested appeared to be designed for a thicker wall and so secured with an un-naturally high bend. YMMV. Thanks for posting & testing!

[recoilgamers]

Outstanding comparison video. Thank you.

[photerm]

Overall EZ anchor is my top choice. This is a good video to confirm the performance of each anchor.

[SanazaInterro]

number 2 made me so happy and i cant explain why

[PiercingPlayz]

We are adding shelves in our kitchen and of course, the J brackets don't line up with the studs, after watching this I am still torn on which to buy. We will be putting dishes (heavy plates etc) on them

[dfree]

I need to install a 140lb floating console on a wall about 2 feet off the ground. It hangs on a simple long bracket with holes every inch that gets mounted to the wall. Normally I'd have put plywood in the wall to hold up the console but we had to pivot after we closed up the wall following renovation and now I don't want to open the wall again in the finished space.

Question: will these 3/16" heavy duty togglers (your #1 pick here!) be enough to support weight of the console, 48" TV, and whatever goes in the drawers? The wall has 4 or 5 steel studs (25 gauge) in it. I was thinking 8-10 bolts, one in each stud and one in the drywall spaced between the studs.

According to the box you can use these toggle bolts through both sheetrock and steel studs. I figure if I put in about 8-10 evenly spaced out, half in wall board and half in wallboard + stud, that's a lot of hanging power and per the specs given above would be putting about 20-30 lbs of pressure on each individual toggle (when adding weight of TV). At the same time, conceptually, I just have a hard time imagining how wallboard, studs, and toggle can hold up that much. What do you think? Thanks!

[tita-finita]

i have a question..I just bought a plastic white wall ledge. Its 18" and can hold up to 5lbs. The anchors that came with it are horrible. Made of plastic with the metal screws and it makes the shelf sag. In your opinion what would be the best anchor to use?

[rollofffrank]

Great test, it seems all are very good!

[wraithbabes]

Great video really insightful! However I think the snap toggle bolt requires a 1/2 inch hole and not a 1/4 inch as you stated, in order to insert the snap toggle. Thanks for the informative video!

[LilSaint]

some of these can be angled to benefit application. Like the 2 sided ones either up and down strength or side to side.

[MsDunkin]

Excellent! Nice and succinct!!!! Thanks