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Litres and kilograms, and a tyre that has to hold air

Wheelbarrows, compared

A wheelbarrow is two numbers and a wheel. The volume is the tray in litres — 85, 100 and 120 are the standard sizes, with 100 L dominating this corpus — and the load is what the frame is rated to carry, typically 250 kg. Those two figures rarely limit each other in the garden: 100 litres of grass clippings weighs nothing and 100 litres of wet topdressing weighs far more than anyone will push. What matters in practice is the wheel. A pneumatic tyre on a steel rim rolls over lawn, gravel and a step without shaking the load out, and it goes flat — it is the single most common failure on this shelf, and a barrow with a flat tyre is a barrow that stays where it is. A solid PU wheel never punctures and transmits every bump to the handles. A barrow with two wheels is stable and will not tip to empty, which is a different tool for a different job. The tray material divides the shelf: galvanised steel, which dents and eventually rusts at the fold, and polypropylene, which flexes, does not rust and cracks in cold weather when overloaded. The frame is what actually carries the load, and the useful detail is whether the legs are braced and whether the handle grips are replaceable. The weight of the empty barrow matters for anyone lifting it over a step or hanging it on a shed wall. We compare volume, load, tray material, wheel, frame and weight.

Every part here, laid out figure by figure

  1. Small black plastic garden wheelbarrow

    Plana CB-1

    A small recycled-plastic garden cart at 60 litres and 40 kg — not a builder’s barrow, and priced accordingly.

    Volume
    60 litres — the smallest on this shelf
    Load
    Up to 40 kg; the listing does not say whether this is a moving or a standing load
    Tray material
    Recycled polypropylene
    Wheel
    Not published
    Frame
    84 cm high × 60 cm long × 50 cm wide · wheel: Not published
    Weight
    Not published
    Amazon reference
    B0CXJG9DVT (one reference across 5 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    3838851387905
    • Publishes all three overall dimensions, which four barrows here do not
    • Tool-free assembly, and recycled polypropylene
    • 40 kg is roughly two bags of compost — this is not a builder’s barrow

    Best for: Moving clippings, leaves and compost around a small garden

    Check price on Amazon
  2. Steel construction wheelbarrow with pneumatic wheel

    MAXCRAFT 43601221

    The only barrow here that separates a moving load from a standing one, and the only one with a tyre pressure.

    Volume
    About 100 litres
    Load
    150 kg dynamic and 250 kg static — the only split rating on this shelf
    Tray material
    Painted steel sheet
    Wheel
    Ø about 38 cm, 9 cm wide, axle 17 cm, tyre pressure about 2 bar — the only inflation figure here
    Frame
    About 142 × 58 × 51 cm · wheel: Ø about 38 cm, 9 cm wide, axle 17 cm, tyre pressure about 2 bar — the only inflation figure here
    Weight
    Not published
    Amazon reference
    B01GPT0KFO (one reference across 5 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    4260196246897
    • Publishes a dynamic and a static load figure separately — uniquely on this shelf
    • Publishes wheel diameter, wheel width, axle length and tyre pressure
    • A painted steel tub, where three barrows here are galvanised or plastic

    Best for: Anybody who wants to know what a barrow will actually carry while it is moving

    Check price on Amazon
  3. Galvanised steel wheelbarrow with pneumatic wheel

    MASKO 100 L galvanised

    A galvanised tub on a 16 inch pneumatic wheel — supplied with a spare tube, gloves, and real assembly advice.

    Volume
    100 litres
    Load
    250 kg maximum; the listing does not say whether this is a moving or a standing figure
    Tray material
    Galvanised sheet with a galvanised frame; steel tube frame of 3 cm diameter
    Wheel
    16 inch pneumatic with a knobbly, low-odour tread on a powder-coated steel rim; spare inner tube included
    Frame
    Not published · wheel: 16 inch pneumatic with a knobbly, low-odour tread on a powder-coated steel rim; spare inner tube included
    Weight
    Not published
    Amazon reference
    B0GR6G746F (one reference across 6 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    4255598371605
    • A spare inner tube in the box — the most useful inclusion on this shelf
    • A galvanised tub, which survives being scraped by a shovel where paint does not
    • No overall dimensions and no empty weight published

    Best for: Garden and building work in equal measure, on a barrow that will not rust from the inside out

    Check price on Amazon
  4. Wheelbarrow with plastic tub and metal frame

    Ondis24 4250627281016

    A plastic tub with a metal axle and a reinforcing strut — and a listing that calls its own figures guide values.

    Volume
    About 100 litres
    Load
    250 kg; unqualified as to moving or standing
    Tray material
    Plastic, on a metal frame; an additional metal strut is stated to reinforce the construction
    Wheel
    Pneumatic, on a metal axle; no diameter published
    Frame
    None — the listing states that dimension and weight figures are guide values · wheel: Pneumatic, on a metal axle; no diameter published
    Weight
    Not published
    Amazon reference
    B0BR7PB4YC (one reference across 3 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    4250627282136
    • A plastic tub, which cannot rust where steel tubs are scraped bare by a shovel
    • A metal axle rather than a plastic bearing, which is where cheap barrows fail
    • No dimensions at all, and a disclaimer in place of them

    Best for: Garden work where a rust-free tub matters more than a published specification

    Check price on Amazon
  5. Galvanised wheelbarrow with large pneumatic wheel

    Juskys 21062

    A galvanised tub on the largest pneumatic wheel here, with long handles and gloves in the box.

    Volume
    100 litres
    Load
    250 kg; unqualified as to moving or standing
    Tray material
    Galvanised, stated as robust and protected against corrosion
    Wheel
    40 cm pneumatic on a metal rim — the largest diameter published here
    Frame
    Not published · wheel: 40 cm pneumatic on a metal rim — the largest diameter published here
    Weight
    Not published
    Amazon reference
    B07YZ99NDM (one reference across 4 Amazon marketplaces)
    EAN
    4260565522492
    • The largest published wheel diameter on this shelf, at 40 cm
    • A galvanised tub, which survives a shovel where paint does not
    • No overall dimensions and no empty weight published

    Best for: Rough ground and soft lawns, where a bigger wheel does most of the work

    Check price on Amazon
  6. Wheelbarrow with black PVC tub and solid polyurethane wheel

    BITUXX 18348

    The only puncture-proof wheel on this shelf — a solid polyurethane 400 mm tyre on a steel rim.

    Volume
    100 litres
    Load
    250 kg; unqualified as to moving or standing
    Tray material
    PVC
    Wheel
    400 mm solid polyurethane on a steel rim — the only puncture-proof wheel here
    Frame
    Not published · wheel: 400 mm solid polyurethane on a steel rim — the only puncture-proof wheel here
    Weight
    Not published
    Amazon reference
    B093SMQ8LD (one reference across 1 Amazon marketplace)
    EAN
    4250394554627
    • A solid PU wheel, which cannot puncture — no tube, no pump, no repair
    • 400 mm diameter, matching the largest pneumatic wheel on this shelf
    • A solid wheel transmits every shock to the tub, the frame and your wrists

    Best for: Ground full of thorns, screws and sharp rubble, where a puncture is the real risk

    Check price on Amazon
  7. Two-wheeled garden barrow with plastic tub and pneumatic wheels

    TRUTZHOLM 12124500

    The only two-wheeler here, and the only barrow that publishes its own weight, tub thickness and grip height.

    Volume
    100 litres
    Load
    Up to 160 kg — the only 100 L barrow here not claiming 250
    Tray material
    Impact-resistant plastic, about 3 mm thick — the only tub thickness on this shelf
    Wheel
    Two 4PR pneumatic wheels on steel rims, ball-bearing, with car valves and a tread pattern
    Frame
    11.2 kg empty weight; 73 cm grip height; 33 mm steel tube frame, welded and bolted · wheel: Two 4PR pneumatic wheels on steel rims, ball-bearing, with car valves and a tread pattern
    Weight
    About 11.2 kg empty — the only empty weight on this shelf
    Amazon reference
    B08CZX5BTP (one reference across 1 Amazon marketplace)
    EAN
    4251379455076
    • Publishes an empty weight, a tub thickness, a grip height and a frame tube size — the fullest spec here
    • Two wheels, so it will not tip sideways and the load is shared
    • 160 kg is the lowest rating among the 100 L barrows here

    Best for: Anybody who has tipped a loaded barrow over, and anybody who has to push one uphill on a slope

    Check price on Amazon