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How to choose a gas strut

Updated: 23 October 2026

You have a cupboard door that no longer stays up, or a lid you are adding lift to, and the listings all shout a newton number. How to choose a gas strut starts with three measurements, in order, before the price. Force, centre-to-centre length and the end fitting are different numbers, and a line that says 100 N equals 10 kg is the rod's push, not the weight of your door. The twelve listings in our [gas spring comparison](/hub/diy-supplies/gas-spring) run from about £5.49 to about £24.99. Updated 23 October 2026 by Peter F. from those amazon.co.uk listings. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have a cupboard door that no longer stays up, or a lid you are adding lift to, and the listings all shout a newton number. How to choose a gas strut starts with three measurements, in order, before the price.

Our top picks

Vinabo Vinabo 100 N cupboard pair

Best overall

Vinabo Vinabo 100 N cupboard pair
8.2/10about £11.47
View offer
AUTORCE AUTORCE 100 N eyelet strut

Alternative

AUTORCE AUTORCE 100 N eyelet strut
7.0/10about £10.90
View offer
PanBeiQiWEU PanBeiQiWEU 100 N cupboard pair

Best value

PanBeiQiWEU PanBeiQiWEU 100 N cupboard pair
7.8/10about £5.49
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Three numbers, in this order
  2. 2.Why 100 N is not a 10 kg door
  3. 3.When the listing contradicts itself
  4. 4.What this page will not size

Three numbers, in this order

Copy the old strut when the print is still readable. The newton figure is usually on the tube. The extended length is the centre of one end fitting to the centre of the other with the rod fully out. The compressed length is the same measurement with the rod pushed in. A miss of about 20 mm is a common reason a bed or boot strut will not reach the bracket. End fitting comes third. An eye will not click onto a ball stud. AUTORCE's kitchen note treats 8 mm balls as the furniture size and 10 mm balls as the usual boot size. If the old tube is blank, SpringFix UK's moment formula is an estimate, then a margin, then a split across two struts.

Why 100 N is not a 10 kg door

Several listings in this set print 100 N and 10 kg in the same breath. Vinabo, PanBeiQiWEU and the 100 N NUTKIT file all do it. A hinged door is a lever. The bracket is close to the hinge, so the strut works at a disadvantage, and 100 N of push holds a much lighter panel than 10 kg. DIHL's chart for its own 100 N furniture stay maps that force to about 1.9–3 kg of door, and 50 N to about 0.9–1.5 kg. The chart is not a British Standard. Do not average the 2 kg band with the 10 kg line. More force is not safer. On Vinabo, one toy chest was too heavy for the soft close and another needed a catch because the struts were so strong.
Vinabo Vinabo 100 N cupboard pair

Testsieger

Vinabo Vinabo 100 N cupboard pair
8.2/10about £11.47
View offer

When the listing contradicts itself

Read the title and the specification table as two claims, and believe the one you can check with a tape. AUTORCE's eyelet file is sold as one strut on the 100 N, 200 mm variant at about £10.90. The extended-length field says 1,000 mm and the model number is AUTORCE1000. Both cannot be the part in the parcel. One stored United Kingdom review calls the ram a bit short. Order two if you need a pair, because the bullet says the quantity is one. Vinabo's bullet says 260 mm extended and 145 mm compressed, while the dimensions field says 2.65 m by 0.02 m. Measure the old centres, then the new pair, before you drill.

What this page will not size

A cupboard stay is the short pair, often 50–200 N, with plates and screws. It is the wrong product for a storage bed, a tailgate, or a workplace hoist. Kitchen doors have their own table on gas struts for kitchen cabinets. The NIMOVA pair is 350 N and 456 mm for named Fiat 500 and Abarth bodies, with OEM numbers 51785412 and 52240624, and no reviews stored. MospdyGear prints 15 kg and never prints newtons, so you cannot match a worn tube by force from that file. Do not cut, drill, heat or paint a charged strut to change its force. None of these listings prints a bleed valve. If the three numbers are still unclear, take the old tube to a supplier who will match it.

Common questions

What does 100 N mean if the listing also says 10 kg?
100 N is the push of the rod in newtons. The 10 kg line on these amazon.co.uk listings is a shorthand for that push, not the weight of a hinged door. DIHL's own 100 N furniture chart puts the door at about 1.9–3 kg. Copy the newton number from the old tube when you can read it,
Do I copy the old strut or calculate a new force?
Copy the old strut when the newton rating, the open length and the end fitting are still readable. Calculate only when the tube is blank or you are adding lift to a lid that never had a strut. SpringFix's moment formula is an estimate, then a margin, then a split across two struts. It is not a substitute for the number printed on a strut that already worked.
How do I measure extended and compressed length?
Measure from the centre of one end fitting to the centre of the other. Extended is with the rod fully out. Compressed is with the rod pushed in, which you can only do if the strut still moves. A difference of about 20 mm is enough for a bed or boot bracket to miss.
Should the end be a ball, an eye or a bracket?
Match the fitting already on the door. Cupboard kits in this set use ball plates or L-brackets. Ottoman guides usually specify 8 mm eyes. Boot struts are often 10 mm balls. AUTORCE's kitchen note uses that 8 mm versus 10 mm split as a seller rule. An eye will not click onto a ball, so a cheaper strut with the wrong head is not a saving.
Should I buy one size stronger to be safe?
No. Extra force makes a light door hard to close or throws a lid open. The NUTKIT bullet says lighter cabinet doors may be difficult to close. A Vinabo toy-box review needed a catch because the struts were very strong, and another chest was too heavy for the soft close. Match the old newton rating.

Related pages

Ottoman bed gas struts

How to fit a gas strut

Gas spring

Best gas struts for a cupboard, not a bed or a boot

Gas struts for kitchen cabinets: force and direction

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, plus the amazon.co.uk listings for these ASINs. Updated 23 October 2026.

  1. SpringFix UK gas strut force calculator (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  2. AUTORCE, how to choose a gas strut (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  3. AUTORCE, kitchen cabinet gas struts (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  4. DIHL 100 N cabinet lid stay (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  5. Camloc, gas strut dos and don'ts (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  6. Stabilus, gas spring service (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  7. HSE, Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  8. GOV.UK, General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  9. PSSR 2000, Schedule 1 (retrieved 22.10.2026)
  10. SpringFix UK, ottoman bed gas struts (retrieved 22.10.2026)