Other reviewers are missing the point. Do you even rackmount bro?
The manufacturer is likewise missing the point in their advertisement. They do an absolutely horrible job of extolling the true virtues of their overpriced product. (price will be the last point in my review.)
Cage nuts are trivial to install and remove. You can use an expensive tool $35 or a cheap tool $1. Or a screwdriver. For about $10 you can get a toyota camry level of tool that just gets the job done and isn't otherwise much to look at. For $35 and up you can get a ferrari level of tool that is overpriced, doesn't do it's core job any better than a camry, but gives the owner some extra satisfaction. Regardless of tool choice, cage nut installation and removal is a solved problem.
The actual problems these things solve is:
1. cage nut quality is all over the board. People buy the dirt cheap unbranded chinacom cage nuts and then complain that they suck. duh. buy APC or other brand name for consistent performance. Even then, the cost is still in the noise so why worry about pennies. just like your basic screw and nut which seems like you can't mess it up, well it turns out that these things are in fact precision parts, requiring careful quality control.
whereas, rackstuds are of consistent high quality from a single manufacturer. you can't buy a poorly performing one -- yet.
2. if you are especially fat-fingered, or not dexterous, you may drop the cage nuts as they go in or out. there are times where this creates a problem. the design of the rackstud doesn't preclude dropping them (esp. the yellow "washer" part), but since they are completely handled from the front with no tool, the risk is very, very much reduced.
3. cage nuts have inherent slop. most importantly, vertically. sometimes you may find that something doesn't fit in the opening left for it, due to tolerances eaten up by the cage nut slop and varying hole clearances of the device mounting tabs. you'll sometimes have to loosen up the surrounding equipment. not super awful, but nonetheless annoying. it's not possible to mount something "dead center" in the rack space allotted for it. normally everything sits at the lower extreme afforded by the cage nut and you can end up with a device not fitting properly. further, this puts a certain pressure on the cage nut, although personally i've never experienced a failure due to this. this might be more of an issue for racks that have to be transported.
whereas, rackstuds have no detectable slop, only the inherent tolerance of the part itself. the rackstud itself is always right in the center of the slot opening. the only vertical slop is due to the hole clearance of the device's mounting tabs.
4. cage nuts, depending on manufacturer, often make it impossible to secure something tight/flat/perpendicular to the rails. the nut itself often cannot pull up against the cage securely as if the nut/cage/rail assembly were a single piece, so you end up with devices and shelves that have an inherent wobbliness to them. this can be very annoying for some situations.
whereas rackstuds install perfectly tight against the rail as a solid assembly, and give you a flat reference surface against which your equipment mates.
5. best for last! especially so for heavier equipment, cage nuts don't provide any guide for installing a device. if you have a gap underneath you have to very awkwardly balance the device while starting 2 bolts to stabilize it in place. because of the long depth of most devices, even just a few pounds can be difficult. and the smaller the opening below, the more difficult because you can't reach underneath very well. this can be super challenging. i've never heard of anyone else doing this, but i use 2 long shoulder screws as guides, similar to how guide pins can be used to install wheels on bolt-mounted uprights, like BMW. (american cars tend to use studs, not bolts.) even though the solution is simple, it's annoying and it's an extra unnecessary installation/removal step.
whereas rackstuds are, well , studs. so you have a built-in guide for install/remove.
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now for the downsides.
1. the price is absolutely horrible. definitely not worth it. i think they are missing the mark on the price/volume curve. obviously these are essentially free to manufacture (plastic basically costs nothing). of course they put a lot of design work into it and want to maximize return early on, but at this price they are killing their sales volume, IMHO. made in NZ which drives up the cost but still, it's plastic.
2. i wish they would make a nut version, for mounting equipment with captive screws. all the benefits 1-4 above would still be captured vs cage nuts. likely it would have to have a rivnut insert. i'm guessing plastic threads have to be formed differently than metal ones.
as a side note, COUNT your studs. amazon shipped me a package missing many studs and all the thumbscrew/nuts. clearly this was a customer return that some useless degenerate waste of space sent back after using a bunch. if the price were more reasonable this wouldn't happen ... or if amazon would throw away returns rather than put them back in inventory as new. these ship in a zipper pouch that you can't tell if it's ever been opened. rackstuds should use a sealed kind of pouch instead where you have to tear the seal on first use. if the thumbscrews hadn't been missing i wouldn't have noticed that i was shorted on the studs as well.
<breathe>
| Manufacturer | Rack Studs Limited |
|---|---|
| Part Number | RSL2.2R20-S2 |
| Item Weight | 2.82 ounces |
| Package Dimensions | 6.26 x 3.46 x 1.02 inches |
| Item model number | Red |
| Size | 20 Pack |
| Color | Red |
| Item Package Quantity | 1 |
| Mounting Type | Rack Mount |
| Batteries Included? | No |
| Batteries Required? | No |
