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Fiskars Xact vs Solid spade

Updated: October 2026

You are looking at a Fiskars Xact vs Solid spade gap of about £31, and the blades are not the same job. On this amazon.co.uk snapshot the Solid round spade, article 1066717, is about £15.59. The Xact telescopic pointed spade, article 1066732, is about £46.75. The Xact telescopic round spade, article 1066733, is about £46.44. A third tool sits in that dearer band: the Ergonomic pointed spade, article 1070639, at about £42.88, with a fixed 125 cm shaft. Pay the Xact price when you need the telescopic length or a pointed hard-soil blade you do not already have. The four listings are ranked on the [Fiskars spade comparison](/hub/digging-tools/fiskars-spade). Peter F. checked them in October 2026. There was no lab test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are looking at a Fiskars Xact vs Solid spade gap of about £31, and the blades are not the same job. On this amazon.co.uk snapshot the Solid round spade, article 1066717, is about £15.59.

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Line the blades up before the prices

A pointed spade and a round spade are different tools, so a single winner between Xact and Solid is the wrong question. Fiskars’ anatomy page gives Xact reinforced blades, sharpened sides, a non-slip step among the range features, a telescopic option, and SoftGrip. It gives Solid a welded head and an orange D-handle. A UK shop will tell you, in general, that pointed blades suit heavier soil and rounded blades suit softer ground. Those are category rules. They are not a statement that Xact is worth a set number of pounds, and another shop’s shelf prices are not this amazon.co.uk snapshot. Pair like with like. The pointed telescopic Xact lines up with the pointed Ergonomic, not with the round Solid. Both pointed listings talk about hard, heavy, or stony ground. The Ergonomic is fixed at 125 cm, boron steel, SoftGrip, 4.8 from 402 ratings, about £42.88. The pointed Xact is about 111–130 cm, reinforced boron steel, sharpened sides, a measuring scale, 4.4 from 61 ratings, about £46.75. The round telescopic Xact lines up with the round Solid. Both talk about soft, low-stone soil and turf. The Solid is about 116.6 cm, high-carbon steel, 4.4 from 114 ratings, about £15.59. The round Xact is about 111–130 cm, 4.6 from 11 ratings, about £46.44. Refuse a pointed-versus-round winner. If you compare the point at about £46.75 with the round at about £15.59 and declare a champion, you have mixed a soil decision with a price decision. Choose the blade first. The pounds come after. The wider order is the Fiskars spade buying guide.

What the extra money buys

From about £15.59 to about £46.75 is about £31, which buys the 111–130 cm lock rather than a different round blade. Skip telescopic if one person and one soil are already served by a fixed shaft. A single gardener who can use 125 cm on hard ground is looking at the Ergonomic, a few pounds under the pointed Xact, with a much larger review count and no lock to check. A single gardener on soft soil is looking at the Solid, not at about £46.44 for a round blade with a lock they will never move. The extra money is for sharing, or for the pointed hard-soil blade when you do not already own the Ergonomic. Who takes the top pick and the best value, once the blade is chosen, is the best Fiskars spade page.

When the Solid is the right spend

The Solid is the right spend when the soil is soft and low in stones, you are cutting turf or opening planting holes, and one shaft length of about 116.6 cm is enough. That is what the bullets say. The title’s low stony floors line is a bad translation, so do not promote the Solid into a clay tool with it. You also get a D-handle and a tread. Across 114 ratings the score is 4.4. Reviewers praise the length and criticise the shaft angle as too straight, more like a shovel than a conventional spade. You lose the hard-ground blade if you buy the Solid for stony clay. You also lose any adjustment. If you search the title number 1003456, you are matching the wrong model. The contents article is 1066717. If the ground is hard, leave this section and read the Fiskars spade for clay soil page. Moving up for soft turf alone, when one person digs, spends about £31 to change the handle, not the job.

Warranty and ratings are not the decider

A 25-year story is not the reason to pay more. A 2020 Gardeners’ World review stated 25 years for a fixed-size Xact pointed spade. Do not treat 25 years as confirmed for telescopic 1066732 or 1066733. Consumer Rights Act 2015 rights apply to a faulty tool either way. Stars are not a fair versus on their own. The Solid’s 4.4 from 114 and the pointed Xact’s 4.4 from 61 share a score and not a sample. The round Xact’s 4.6 from 11, with seven positive texts and no repeated fault, cannot outrank 4.8 from 402 on the Ergonomic. The conditional line is this. Choose the Xact telescopic pointed spade if the soil is heavy or stony and more than one height will use it. Choose the Solid round spade if the soil is soft and one shaft length is enough. Choose the Ergonomic pointed spade if the soil is hard and the shaft can stay at 125 cm. Choose the round Xact only when soft soil and two heights belong together. Xact is worth it when the lock or the pointed hard-soil blade is the thing you actually lacked.

Common questions

Is Xact worth about £30 more than the Solid?
Only in a matched case. About £31 separates about £15.59 and about £46.75 on this snapshot. Pay it if you need a telescopic shaft or a pointed blade for heavy soil and you are not already looking at the Ergonomic. Do not pay it to get a round soft-soil spade. The Solid already does that job at about £15.59, with the limit that UK reviews find the shaft angle shovel-like.
Which Xact matches which Solid job?
The round Xact, 1066733, is the telescopic partner to the round Solid for soft, low-stone soil and turf. The pointed Xact, 1066732, is not a Solid upgrade. It matches the pointed Ergonomic’s hard-ground job, with a lock instead of a fixed 125 cm shaft. Compare those pairs, not a point against a round, if you want a fair price gap. The round Xact is about £46.44, with 4.6 from 11 ratings.
Where does the Ergonomic pointed spade fit if it costs about £42.88?
It is the fixed pointed door in the same price band as telescopic Xact. Choose it when the soil is hard or stony and you can live at 125 cm. You get SoftGrip, a tread, and 402 ratings at 4.8. You do not get a shaft you can share between two heights. At a few pounds under the pointed Xact, it stops Xact being the only dear pointed option.
What if two people of different heights will dig?
Use the pointed Xact on heavy soil, or the round Xact on soft soil, and set the lock between about 111 cm and 130 cm. Reviews describe two heights sharing that range. If only one of you digs, a fixed shaft is the simpler spend: the Ergonomic at 125 cm on hard ground, or the Solid at about 116.6 cm on soft ground.
What do I lose if I buy the Solid for hard clay?
You lose the pointed blade the hard-ground listings describe. The Solid bullets stay with soft, low-stone soil and turf, whatever the title says about stony floors. You also stay on one length of about 116.6 cm. The two pointed tools are the Ergonomic and the pointed Xact. The saving is real, and it is the wrong saving on that ground.

Related pages

Sources

Public sources used for this comparison. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures saved for this set on 20 October 2026.

  1. Fiskars — how to choose your shovel type (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  2. Fiskars — anatomy of a shovel (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  3. Fiskars UK — Solid pointed spade, metal shaft 1066716 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  4. Gardeners’ World — Fiskars Xact pointed spade review, 29 January 2020 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  5. MyToolShed — Fiskars warranty (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK — accepting returns and giving refunds (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  7. legislation.gov.uk — Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 23 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
  8. HSE — underground electrical cables (retrieved 20 October 2026)