The Classic Battle; Choosing Between A Boltless Shelving System And A Clip Shelving System. Which Is Better?

It’s the classic battle.  Which is better?  Boltless shelving options, or open metal shelving options?  Let’s take a good look and see which meets your needs.

First off, here is a brief description of each:

“Clip shelving is an all metal shelf that comes in an open and closed model. Each self anchors to four strong 14 gauge posts with clips which can be adjusted on 1.5 ” increments. To further fortify the shelf it comes with either side and back sway braces, or a strong panel of steel to close off the shelf ,” said BuyMetalShelving.com Sales Lead Cameron Canfield.

“It also tends to look better on the front end of a business than boltless does.”

“Boltless shelving is an adjustable shelving unit that allows you to adjust your shelves in 1.5″ increments,” said Canfield.  “You’ll notice on the boltless shelving, each beam will have either a single or double rivet which fits into a keyhole slot and then you tap them down with a rubber mallet which allows for adjustability and the design really allows for affordability.”

In a nutshell, that is how you can easily describe the basic differences between boltless shelving options and open clip shelving options.  However when put under a microscope, there are much more subtle differences and applications which make one superior over the other, depending on your use.

So first up is weight allowance.  How much weight can these two popular shelving options handle?

“With boltless shelving I would imagine a lot of people buy it for the affordability and then the strength,” said Canfield.  “You can get up to 2,000 pounds per shelf capacity with boltless shelving which is considerable when you’re looking at metal shelving as a whole.  You can get a quite a bit more weight on a boltless shelving system than a standard open clip shelf.  Plus boltless shelving does not have X braces to get in the way.”

Surprisingly enough, the open clip shelving option can handle slightly less than the boltless option.

“With open clip shelving you can get up to 1250 pounds per shelf and it’s a solid steel shelf which some people prefer just because you don’t have to worry about the decking degrading like can happen in certain situations with a particle board deck,” said Canfield.

Let’s talk layout now.  Here is a distinct disadvantage to open metal shelving when it comes to warehouse layout which could make boltless shelving the winner.

“With open clip shelving of course you may have “X” braces along the back and the sides which doesn’t allow you to pick from all sides which is what some people prefer,” adds Canfield  “But a lot of people like it because it is open, and with this option you can clearly see all their products.”

That brings us to the major difference between these two options; how many actual shelves are allowed?  Remember those specific increments the boltless option offers?  That superior strength and convenience comes with a price that may make open metal shelving the winner in this category.

“I would usually suggest an open clip shelving system for people that need more of a high density shelving system.  If they are going to be storing a lot of small heavy parts and need a lot of shelves in the racking system.  For example instead of the 3 ¼ inch profile that each of the double rivet boltless shelves have, when you go to an open metal shelf the shelf profile is significantly smaller with the thickness of each shelf being 1 ½ inches instead of the 3 ¼ inches,” explains Canfield.   “Since the open clip shelving system has ‘thinner’ shelves, it is a more compact shelving unit than the boltless option. You also have a lower profile shelving option with single rivet boltless shelving but you max capacity per shelf tops out at 350 lbs”

In other words, you can add many more actual shelves to an clip shelving system than you can to a boltless shelving system, and still carry the weight.

“Open clip shelving you’ll see a lot in warehouse when they have an inventory of a lot of small parts. I just sold a lot to an aviation place that has to keep a lot of smaller heavier aviation parts on the shelves.  It was perfect for them able to get eight shelves on an 87 inches tall unit and have it support the kind of weight they needed. The alternative would have been boltless shelving at 84″ tall with 8 shelves would have left them just over 8″ between shelves to work with,” explains Canfield.  “Boltless shelving is far better for more bulky items that you’ll be storing in boxes and large containers.”

Plus there is one more distinct advantage the open clip shelving has over the boltless shelving option;

“The open clip shelving also has a closed shelving option that a lot of people prefer,” said Canfield.  “In my years of experience, some clients like to make it a “closed” option by simply adding the option of a piece of sheet metal that closes it off the back or the sides so it’s more of a self-contained unit.  That way they can close the back and sides so that things don’t fall .”

Boltless shelving often does not have this closed option, but excels in an area where open metal shelving cannot.  And that is variety of sizing options!

“Another attractive option you’ll have with boltless shelving that you won’t have with open clip shelving is the variety of sizes to choose from,” said Canfield.  “Boltless shelving comes quick ship in 4 feet up to 12 feet tall, where with open clip shelves your only choices are 87 inches tall or 123 inches tall.”

Then there is width to be taken into those sizing options.

“As far as width, you can get all the way up to 8 feet wide with boltless shelving,” said Canfield.  “With open clip shelves, your only choices are 3 feet and 4 feet wide.  As far as options with boltless shelving, you are going to have a lot more options to fit your specific size if shelving you need.”

Finally when it comes to price, the win clearly goes to boltless shelving.

“Boltless shelving is by far more economical if you’re going to be setting up a lot of shelving units in your large warehouse,” said Canfield.

Usually when approached by a customer, Canfield knows that most of that person’s solutions can be found by implementing a boltless shelving system and that is where his years of experience comes into play.

“Boltless shelving is by far the most applicable for a lot of people’s needs, usually if we’re talking shelving that is my main stay—that is where I go first and unless if they have something else in mind, then we’ll go to open clip shelving or the bulk shelving depending on their needs,” said Canfield.