Nut eye bolts are threaded to structures such as wood or steel posts and are often supported by a hex nut. They're designed to have a rope or a cable fed through the ring, which allows hoisting. Their rings can be drop-forged, forming a single, uniform ring, or bent into a loop. The latter is only suitable for light-duty applications. Eye bolts with nuts are versatile, but one should pay attention to their working load limit.

Machine eye bolts aren't secured via a hex nut. Instead, their threaded shank length is designed to be installed into tapped holes prefabricated in various machinery and equipment. They're generally made for heavy-duty applications, and depending on their type, they can be used for both vertical and angular lifts.

Screw eye bolts, also known as lag eye bolts and eye screws, feature screw threads instead of machine thread fasteners and are most commonly threaded into wood or lag anchors.

Plain pattern eye bolts are made of simple threaded studs with metal rings on one end, allowing hoisting operations. However, they're only suitable for vertical lifts, as angular loads could bend or break them.

This variation is usually featured in nut and machine eye bolts for use with angular loads. When a shoulder-pattern eye bolt is appropriately fitted and threaded, the shoulder should bear against the seat and reduce the bending stress on the shank, caused by angular loads.The rated working load capacity is significantly reduced when loading at any angle that isn't parallel to the bolt's shank.