Hercules Hook

Product Description

Billy Mays, I call your wonder hooks out to do battle.

Ahh hooks. Now that word conjures up thoughts of fishing, and that's something that I like to do. However these hooks are not for catching fish, but for hanging items on your walls. And Billy makes a strong argument for these hooks on his commercials. He claims that you can hold up to 150 lbs.

Hanging heavy weights on hooks is something that reaches into my caveman soul. I can not resist…

The folks at http://www.amazon.com/ has the Hercules Hooks 20 Pack with Free Bonus Laser Marker for purchase.

Being a technical savvy caveman, I click add to cart and eagerly await my booty in the mail. Soon enough they arrive.

What It Costs 14.88 + shipping and handling
(You also get a small Laser level with your purchase) - Yea Yea I know I previously mentionend in an earlier review that I had a few lazers, but as Dr. Evil knows, you can never have enough lazers. Perhaps I will attach this lazer to my dogs head (just kidding).

Ease of assembly N/A

It’s a hook. There is no assembly

Ease of use 4 1/2 Stars.
Ahhh. Saturday comes and I get up early. I put the kids through a full day of exercise with the plans to put them to sleep early. Once they are in bed, I sneak out into the garage and open my box of hooks. Looking at them I notice that they are sharp on one side have a little bump on the other side. Seems simple enough. I decide to start off small and hang my 14 inch pipe wrench. I choose a clear spot on my garage wall and push the hook into the wall. I need to use a bit of back and forth twisting motion and the hook goes in. I insert the hook as shown in the instructions and hang my wrench. The hook holds.

Actual performance 4 1/2 Stars

Time to kick it up a notch. I remove the wrench and grab my sons bicycle. I attach a bungee cord to it and hang the bike from the bungee on the hook. The Hercules hook holds.
Determined to find something to rip the hook out of the wall I start looking around. However I can’t find anything in the garage that I can hang that will remove the hook from the wall.

Next I remove the hook as Billy claims that the hook does not damage the wall. The hook removes from the wall cleanly leaving only a tiny hole (much smaller then a screw hole). This would be easily filled with spackle so the hooks get a good review on the damage that they cause.

Final thoughts on practicality

I find a few problems with the Hercules hooks. First you need to be able to push the hook into the wall. If you have a concrete block wall you won’t be able to use this hook. Also if you hit a stud behind the sheetrock, you will need to move the hook. If you have plaster walls, the wood strips behind the plaster will impede your ability to use the hooks.

I also have concerns regarding the strength of sheet rock. If you only have ¼ inch sheetrock, I would avoid hanging heavier objects on the hooks. ½ or 5/8 sheetrock is stronger (due to its thickness). Even Billy Mays cautions the users and the box says the hook's limitations depend on the thickness of the drywall.

These hooks are good for hanging pictures and small shelves on sheetrock walls. That’s what they do best. It takes a bit of effort to insert the hook into the sheet rock but once inserted, they work.

Final Score

4 1/2 stars out of 5