So, in the end, I settled on this Crazy Gadget wheelbarrow. With dimensions of113D x 60W x 53H centimetres, it’s big enough to be practical and useful without being overly large. It can also hold up to 65 litres which, although not as impressive as the 90 litre DJM wheelbarrow, is still pretty good.

Whenever products are this low-budget you have to expect a few quality issues, and this is no different with this wheelbarrow. For a start, the metal tub does dent easily, so it won’t be looking brand new for very long. Having said that, apart from looking a bit ugly it didn’t seem to affect the usage of the barrow, and I have old barrows that don’t look great but are still used to this day: Usage: Catering to gardeners, DIY enthusiasts, and professionals alike, the Excel wheelbarrow stands as an indispensable tool for everyone. A perfect partner for Excel cement mixer range. Best builders’ wheelbarrow: Walsall Wheelbarrows 85ltr galvanized– this can take a real battering and do hard work. Well Simon, I want to mix large quantities of cement, and to do this I need a wheelbarrow that has enough depth to hold it. On top of that, it needs to be wide enough so that I can mix the cement with a shovel without banging into the sides every 5 seconds. But that’s not all. The wheelbarrow needs to be low enough off the floor so that I’m not having to lift the powdered concrete up too high to get it in there. Oh, and it has to be strong enough to hold the weight and be durable enough material so as to not get chipped and scratched by the shovel as I mix.” We gave the Walsall Wheelbarrows, 85 litre, galvanised model our vote as the best one out there for builders due to the right combination of maximum possible load, manoeuvrability, and hardiness.Some of the others came close but there were little things that let them down for this specific purpose. For example, the Walsall galvanised wheelbarrow had the dimensions but I wasn’t keen on the puncture-proof wheel as I’ve found that they tend to make the cement move around when you hit a bump in the ground, and some of the others we tested had those annoying bolts standing proud. The tyres on Walsall’s wheelbarrow are the puncture-proof kind, but they are not the usual hard plastic material. Instead, they feel like some kind of hard rubberised material, and I have to say that it does make the barrow feel better to move over lumpy terrain than a lot of other products.

There were also some issues with bolts and holes lining up, but with a bit of help we got it assembled in the end. On the plus side, the pneumatic tyres are really good quality for the price, and I think that those, and the other pros we mentioned, outweigh the cons. Pros The shorter handles might also have had a part to play in that too. Don’t get me wrong, they aren’t terrible, it’s just that after playing around with the Oypla that had really large handles, these seemed a bit small in comparison. I have a non-gardening, DIY-hating friend who just can’t get his head around my array of tools and equipment and the money I spend on them. He’s into expensive sound systems for his home, so we enjoy ribbing each other over these things. After giving it a lot of thought, I figured that I’d choose something that was big enough to handle medium sized loads, but not so big that it wouldn’t fit in the greenhouse. Then I thought about people whose greenhouses or sheds are already full, and that would mean leaving the wheelbarrow outside, so being weather resistant was another factor. Again, whether you should buy a plastic or metal wheelbarrow will come down to your own personal needs. For shifting heavy loads, you are better off with a metal model as they tend to be much stronger and more durable than their plastic counterparts, but they are usually more expensive (the good ones anyway). There’s also the issue with rust and corrosion, and although this problem can be contained a bit by getting a galvanised barrow like the one we featured from Walsall Wheelbarrows, it will eventually get scratched off with regular use.

You’re not going to be shifting huge loads of materials or equipment with the Garden Caddy like you can with larger models such as the DJM heavy duty wheelbarrow, but it can manage up to 40kg, which I think is enough for most casual gardeners. The deep tub and high sides are also great for holding long handled tools, like spades and rakes, in place, and you can throw a load of dead leaves or weeds in there too.

Best wheelbarrow overall: Draper 85L metal barrow– best overall and what I would use to transport concrete Very nicely built product but you require quite a bit of strength to push the tubes together and a mallet to make them fit tightly. Nice big wheel with two positions (which seems a little unnecessary). I would recommend this product. On the plus side, single-wheeled barrows are very manoeuvrable when compared to versions with more wheels, and as long as you are careful, and don’t’ try to break your fastest lap of the garden with a big pile of material loaded in the barrow, you should be ok.Wheelbarrows can obviously be used to transport materials over short distances. This can be sand, cement, compost, soil, mulch, gravel, paving stones, and just about anything else as long as the wheelbarrow, and yourself, are strong enough to haul it. The downside to pneumatic tyres is obvious, and if you’ve ever owned a bicycle, motorcycle, car, etc. you will have dealt with them- punctures. With rubber and plastic tyres, you don’t have to worry about accidentally rolling over a screw, nail, or bit of glass, and then having to break out the puncture kit before you can carry on working: Pneumatic tyre is very comfortable to use until a puncture upsets things The thing to think about when it comes to choosing how large a maximum load weight you want, is can you actually lift that much without hurting yourself? I mean, it’s fine to be pushing a fully loaded 90kg wheelbarrow if you’re particularly fit, but not everyone is, and if you’re only going to be filling it half way, you might as well save some money and buy a smaller barrow instead. Metal or plastic wheelbarrow? There are a few ways of looking at size though. Firstly, there are the actual dimensions of the wheelbarrow- height, width, etc. and these are obviously very important when you think about storage space in the garage, getting the barrow in and out of the shed door and through gates, and just generally manoeuvring it around. Trying to deftly move a huge wheelbarrow around a very small and narrow garden isn’t going to be fun, so you might want something smaller like the Crazy gadget model.

Best wheelbarrows for seniors: Draper expert garden caddy– lovely and light weight with a large base incase you have a slip! The only real thing that was annoying about this wheelbarrow was that the instructions didn’t explain the assembly process properly, and some of the nuts were a bit fiddly to tighten up properly. It wasn’t anything life-ending, just a bit of a pain in the you-know-what. All being said, this is a very good two-wheeled wheelbarrow and definitely worth a look. Pros Life saver, can get everything and more in this, meaning only one trip to the feild, one very happy pony owner I still have to say that it can’t compete with the pneumatic tyres found on Draper and DJM wheelbarrows, but they are better than expected, and would deal with rolling over screws, nails, and other sharp objects without issue. That’s something you can’t always say about pneumatic tyres, and have you ever got a flat on a fully loaded 80+ litre wheelbarrow? It’s not fun! Pros

Another thing to look out for when it comes to wheels, is the quality of the bearings used, as this will directly affect the performance of the wheels. Not only do good bearings ensure a smooth roll, but it can also affect the durability of the wheels, especially under heavier loads. What can I use a wheelbarrow for?