I have yet to spring for the red snappers. I have been doing just fine with my flower head pins too. I can usually load a 90" quilt and backing in under an hour. I know the snappers take less time, but I don't mind and I am not doing the kind of volume that 30 minutes makes that much of a difference as quilts that large usually take me several hours to quilt. I can load a child size quilt in about 20 to 30 minutes and a crib quilt in 15 to 20