The best electric fence wires, compared.
Top pick: SolaceShine polywire 200 m, 6-strand Best value: Rutland polywire 250 m, 6-strand – Score 80 at about £12, the lowest shelf here, with 4.4 from 36 reviews and a printed 6 x 0.16 mm conductor. Updated October 2026.
Electric fence wire is polywire: plastic twine with stainless-steel filaments on a reel. It is not an energiser and it is not high-tensile line wire. None of these reels prints ohms per metre. A five-star line from one or two reviews is not evidence that the twine will hold stock. Six thin strands suit a short temporary run for cattle or sheep. Horses and long weedy lines need tape, rope or more metal. The fence still needs an energiser, a tested earth and insulators. The [electric fence wire buying guide](/hub/fencing-and-wire/electric-fence-wire/sub/electric-fence-wire-buying-guide) sets length, resistance and when to leave this set. Polytape is flat and easier for an animal to see, and it takes more wind. Polyrope is round, about 5–6 mm, and often has much lower resistance.
Electric fence wire is polywire: plastic twine with stainless-steel filaments on a reel. It is not an energiser and it is not high-tensile line wire. None of these reels prints ohms per metre.
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Personal buying guide
Question 1 of 2
How much twine do you need to tension?
The SolaceShine reel is a stated 200 m six-strand polywire at about £13.70, and the amazon.co.uk line is 5.0 from 10 reviews. The title and the size row both say 200 m, while one bullet still says each reel is 200/500 metres, so the length you pay for is not settled on the page. Colour is the same kind of clash: the bullets claim red and white, and the colour row says red. Five copied reviews praise a replacement for old wire, a third purchase, and use against animals in vegetation, and one buyer uses the reel as HF antenna wire rather than on a fence. None of those five texts describes a break or a short measure on this reel. The title names a chuck, included components say fencing wire, and the item weight is 600 g. A 5.0 from ten reviews is a larger sample than the single-star listings here, and it is still a thin trail beside the reels with thirty-plus reviews, with no ohms figure printed.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a short reel at about £13.70 and will check the 200 m line against the 200/500 bullet before you order.
Less suitable: You need one agreed length, a published ohms figure, or reviews that all describe stock fencing.
Specifications
Common questions
Can this SolaceShine reel be used for sheep?
The title and bullets name sheep, cattle, horses and crop protection. They do not state a wire height, an ohms figure or how many lines to run.
Does the listing agree on the length?
The title and the size row say 200 m. One bullet says each reel is 200/500 metres. The item weight is 600 g.
Is a chuck included?
The title names a chuck with the conductor line. Included components say fencing wire. No energiser is listed.
The XBLYL reel is a stated 200 m six-strand polywire at about £12.49, with a star line of 5.0 from two reviews and no review bodies copied. Item weight is 565 g and the package is 15 x 9.4 x 9.4 cm, which matches a short reel. The title names nylon and stainless steel, and a bullet says six stainless conductors provide lower resistance without printing ohms per metre. Included components are one electric fencing wire. The page does not fight itself on length, unlike the SolaceShine 200 m listing with its 200/500 bullet. Two stars with no text still leave the twine’s behaviour on stock unstated. It is the short-reel price when an agreed 200 m line is what you need, and the review file cannot show you a fault.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a short 200 m reel at about £12.49 and the page agrees with itself on length.
Less suitable: You need review texts, a printed resistance, or more than one strip of fence.
Specifications
Common questions
How long is the XBLYL reel?
The title says 200 m. Item weight is 565 g. Package dimensions are 15 x 9.4 x 9.4 cm, with a package weight of 564.5 g.
Does the listing give ohms?
No. A bullet says 6 stainless-steel conductors provide lower resistance. It does not print ohms per metre.
Are there review texts?
The star line is 5.0 from 2. The extract copies no review bodies.
The LDHHYH listing is a 500 m reel at about £24.99, and the title, a bullet and the included-components line all say that length. The star line is 5.0 from one review, and the extract copies no review text, so the rating has nothing you can read. The title says 6-strand polywire, while one bullet says six stainless conductors braided into three strands. A bullet also calls the twine 2 mm thick, and the item weight is 1.5 kg. Included components say 500 m electric fence rope, which is the wording on the page, not a measured 5 mm polyrope. No ohms figure is printed, and posts are not in the box. One star from a single rating does not show how the twine behaves once it is tensioned.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a stated 500 m length at about £24.99 and will treat the single star as an empty rating.
Less suitable: You are choosing from review texts, or you need the strand count to mean one build.
Specifications
Common questions
How long is the LDHHYH reel?
The title, a bullet and the included-components line all say 500 m. Item weight is 1.5 kg.
How many strands does the listing claim?
The title says 6-strand polywire. One bullet says 6 stainless-steel conductors braided into 3 strands. No ohms figure is printed.
Does the box include posts?
Included components say 500 m electric fence rope. The bullets say you attach it to posts or insulators. Those are not listed in the box.
The Yazhuo reel states 1,000 m at about £36.64, with six stainless-steel conductors woven into 15 poly strands, and the item weight is 3 kg. The amazon.co.uk line is 5.0 from one review, and the extract copies no review body. A bullet says the twine is easy to cut, splice and repair, and the box still contains only the 1,000 m wire. No ohms figure and no filament diameter are printed, so a kilometre of this six-strand twine is a long run on an unknown resistance. The package is listed as 30 x 15 x 15 cm. The page does not clash with itself on length, which is clearer than the 200/500 reels. You are buying a long stated length with a star that no copied text explains.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You have already sized an energiser for a long thin line and want 1,000 m of six-strand twine.
Less suitable: You want a review trail, or a published ohms figure, before you commit to 1,000 m.
Specifications
Common questions
How is the Yazhuo reel built?
The title says 1,000 m, with 6 stainless-steel conductors and 15 poly strands. No ohms figure or filament diameter is printed.
Can you splice it, according to the listing?
A bullet says it is easy to cut, splice and repair. Included components are the 1,000 m wire only.
How heavy is it?
Item weight is 3 kg. Package dimensions are 30 x 15 x 15 cm.
The Longzhuo reel is the busy amazon.co.uk trail in this set: 4.6 from 39 reviews at about £27.99 for a stated 500 m. Copied reviews describe a newly built fence, a steadier pulse than old wire on a pen detector, metal showing along the twist, and one note that it kept a horse and a Shetland pony in. Another reviewer says the twine is harder to see than tape and would add visible twine if it replaced tape without a wooden rail. A verified review says the advert stated nine metal strands and the packaging stated six, while the title and size row still say six strands and 500 m. One review also talks about value as if the reel were 200 m. The title names a chuck, the box lists electric fence wire, the weight is 1.69 kg, and no ohms per metre is printed. In this set it is the top pick when you want the review count that can show a fault.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want the 500 m reel whose UK review sample is large enough to show a fault.
Less suitable: You needed the nine-strand advert, a horse tape you can see at a canter, or a printed ohms figure.
Specifications
Common questions
Is the Longzhuo reel six strands or nine?
The title and the size row say 6 strands and 500 m. One verified UK review says the advert stated 9 strands and the packaging stated 6.
Does a review mention horses?
One verified review says it keeps a horse and a Shetland pony in. Another says it is harder to see than tape and may need extra visible twine if it is the only line.
What comes in the box?
Included components say electric fence wire. The title names a chuck. No energiser, posts or insulators are listed.
The ohbien 500 m reel is about £22.59, at the low end of the mid band, with a star line of 4.5 from two reviews. The extract copies one review, which says it did the job and names no fault. The title and the included line both say 500 m, and a bullet also writes 1,640 feet, the same length in feet. Six interwoven stainless wires are claimed, with a bullet that says 2 mm each, without saying whether that is the plastic twine or the metal filament. Item weight is 1.7 kg. No ohms figure is printed, and the page has no 200-versus-500 length clash. Two reviews and a single short text leave the lower price with almost no fault history. The Rutland reel, at about £12 with 36 reviews, is the best value in this set. This ohbien listing is the cheaper 500 m claim when you can accept that thin file.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a 500 m six-strand claim at about £22.59 and can accept two reviews.
Less suitable: You want a published resistance, or a review sample large enough to show a fault.
Specifications
Common questions
What does 2 mm each mean on the ohbien 500 m reel?
The bullet says 6 embedded conductive strands, 2 mm each. The listing does not say whether that is the plastic twine or the metal filament, and it prints no ohms figure.
How long is it?
The title and included components say 500 m. A bullet also says up to 1,640 feet, which is the same length in feet.
What do the reviews say?
The star line is 4.5 from 2. The extract copies one review, which says it did the job. It names no fault.
The Rutland polywire, listed under Kerbl as model 426117, is about £12 with 4.4 from 36 amazon.co.uk reviews. The title and the item-length row say 250 m of white/yellow twine, 2.5 mm, with 6 x 0.16 mm stainless conductors and a stated break load of 63 kg. One bullet on the same page calls it a 500 m spool, so the length you can rely on is the 250 m line. Only three review bodies are copied. One praises it as good value on a battery-powered fence, one says it arrived as required, and one is titled Short, with a body that does not say by how much. The manufacturer line is Kerbl UK and the country of origin is India. The amazon.co.uk extract does not print ohms per metre, though the conductor diameters are the clearest metal sizes in this set. In this set it is the best value when you want the low price and a real review count, and you order it as 250 m.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want about 250 m at about £12 and will ignore the 500 m bullet when you measure the reel.
Less suitable: You need a confirmed 500 m length, or you will price about £12 as if the 500 m bullet were the title.
Specifications
Common questions
Is the Rutland reel 250 m or 500 m?
The title and the item-length row say 250 m. One bullet says the Rutland Fencing Poly Wire Plus is a 500 m spool of 2.5 mm white electro-wire. Both lines are on the same listing.
What conductor size is printed?
The bullet says 6 x 0.16 mm stainless-steel conductors and a break load of 63 kg. The amazon.co.uk extract does not print ohms per metre.
Who makes it?
Brand name on the listing is Kerbl. Manufacturer is Kerbl UK. Model and part number are 426117. The title says Rutland. Country of origin is India.
The APACALI reel is listed at about £25.99 for 500 m of what the title calls six-strand polywire and rope, and the star line is 2.9 from two reviews. One verified review says the twine is very thin, broke easily and did not stop larger animals getting out. The other calls it a strong rope of the right diameter and length for horse paddocks. Those two texts point in opposite directions, and two reviews cannot settle which one you will receive. One bullet calls the same roll electric fence tape, while the wire-diameter row says 2 mm. Country of origin is China and the manufacturer line is CHEN ZHENGHONG. Item weight is 1.51 kg. No ohms figure is printed. At a mid-band price, the break complaint is the reason this reel sits at the bottom of the scored listings.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You already know this exact thin 2 mm twine and only need another reel of the same listing.
Less suitable: You want reviews that agree, or a page that names one conductor shape.
Specifications
Common questions
What did the two APACALI reviews say?
One verified review says it is very thin, broke easily and did not stop larger animals. The other says it is a strong rope of the right diameter and length for horse paddocks. The star line is 2.9 from 2.
Is it tape or polywire?
The title says polywire and rope. One bullet calls it electric fence tape. The wire-diameter row says 2 mm.
Where is it made, according to the listing?
Country of origin is China. Manufacturer is CHEN ZHENGHONG. Brand is APACALI.
The ohbien 1,000 m listing is the nine-strand reel at about £47.99, the highest price in this set, and the extract has no customer-review line. The title says 1,000 m, also written as 3,281 feet, with nine interwoven stainless wires. A bullet says 3 mm each, and the listing does not tie that figure to the plastic diameter or to the metal filament. No ohms figure is printed. Item weight is 3.6 kg, heavier than the Yazhuo 1,000 m six-strand reel at 3 kg. Included components are the wire only. Nine strands on this title is still polywire, the same family as the six-strand reels, not tape and not a 5 mm rope. With no stars in the extract, you are buying the specification claim on the page and judging the reel after it arrives.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a stated nine-strand, 1,000 m polywire and will not use stars to choose it.
Less suitable: You want any UK review evidence, or you are reading nine strand as tape or rope.
Specifications
Common questions
How does this ohbien reel differ from the 500 m ohbien reel?
This listing says 1,000 m and 9 strands, with a bullet that says 3 mm each. The 500 m ohbien listing says 6 strands and 2 mm each. Neither prints ohms per metre.
Is there a star rating?
The extract has no customer-review line and no review bodies.
How heavy is the reel?
Item weight is 3.6 kg. Package dimensions are 31 x 25 x 15 cm.
Nine amazon.co.uk polywire reels are on this page. The number on each card is the display score: the amazon.co.uk star rating times 10, plus the review count capped at 40. A listing with no review line scores 0. That blend is not a lab test and it does not include ohms, because none of these pages prints ohms per metre. No separate methodology note sits in the display folder. The top pick and best value badges are the awards already on those display records. The four weights below are how the written notes read a listing after that score. They sum to 100.
Review sample
40%Star rating on amazon.co.uk, then the number of reviews, capped at 40 in the score. Only the Longzhuo reel (4.6 from 39) and the Rutland reel (4.4 from 36) have a count large enough to show a fault. A 5.0 from one or two reviews, or a missing review line, does not outrank those two.
Listing agreement
25%Title, size or item length, and bullets should name the same metres and the same strand build. A 200 m title with a 200/500 bullet, a 250 m title with a 500 m bullet, or a six-strand pack against a nine-strand advert is recorded. A page that agrees with itself on length scores higher on this point.
Conductor claim
20%Printed filament size, such as 6 x 0.16 mm, is usable. Strand count alone is not an ohms figure. “2 mm each” and “3 mm each” stay unverified. No reel here publishes ohms per metre, so this weight cannot separate the set by resistance.
Shelf price
15%GBP shelf price inside this set, after the review count and the length line. The lowest price is the Rutland reel at about £12, read as 250 m. A low price per metre on a thin conductor with no ohms figure is not treated as a saving.
Buy the metres you will tension, then check that the listing agrees with itself. Strand count is not an ohms figure. None of these nine reels prints resistance. Horses and a permanent grant fence are reasons to leave polywire.
Electric fence wire in this comparison is polywire: plastic twine with stainless-steel filaments wound on a reel. It is the whole of the nine amazon.co.uk listings here. It is not an energiser, not electric netting, and not high-tensile line wire. Polytape is flat and easier for an animal to see, and it takes more wind. Polyrope is round, about 5–6 mm, and often has much lower resistance. High-tensile galvanised wire is the permanent conductor.
A cheap kilometre of thin twine is a long run on an unknown resistance. These listings do not print ohms per metre. AHDB’s 40p–60p figure is a whole three-line fence, not the reel.
Six strands is not a known ohms per metre. Shop examples outside this set differ widely. “2 mm each” and “3 mm each” are not confirmed as the metal filament.
The Rutland title says 250 m and one bullet says 500 m. The SolaceShine title says 200 m and one bullet says 200/500 m. Price the line the title and the length row agree on.
The conductor family comes first. Polywire is the short temporary line, and it is every reel in this set. Polytape and polyrope are the visible conductors. High-tensile steel is the permanent line. Resistance, not the strand count in the title, decides how far one energiser can push a pulse.
Buy the metres you will tension. About 200–250 m is one or two strips. About 500 m is a paddock system. About 1,000 m only fits if the energiser and the resistance can carry one long thin line. Red and white, or the Rutland white/yellow, helps an animal see the fence. Light twine snaps or is walked through. That can be safer than steel for a horse that hits it, and useless if the animal never notices it.
Three typical situations, each with a recommendation from this comparison.
You move one or two strips and you want a low shelf price with a real review count. The Rutland reel is about £12, with 4.4 from 36 reviews. The title and the item length say 250 m. One bullet says 500 m, so measure it as 250 m.
You want the 500 m reel whose UK reviews can show a fault. The Longzhuo reel is about £27.99, with 4.6 from 39 reviews. The title says six strands and 500 m. A verified review says a nine-strand advert arrived as six.
You need about 200 m and you do not want a 200/500 clash on the page. The XBLYL reel is about £12.49. The title states 200 m and the listing does not fight itself on length. The star line is 5.0 from two reviews, with no review text copied.
The Longzhuo 500 m reel scores 85. It is about £27.99, with 4.6 from 39 amazon.co.uk reviews, and the title and size row say six strands and 500 m. That is the top pick when you want a review sample that can show a fault. A verified review still says a nine-strand advert arrived as six. The Rutland reel scores 80 at about £12, with 4.4 from 36 reviews and 6 x 0.16 mm conductors printed. That is the best value if you order it as 250 m and ignore the 500 m bullet. Neither score is a lab test, and neither listing prints ohms per metre.
Rutland polywire 250 m, 6-strand
Score 80 at about £12, the lowest shelf here, with 4.4 from 36 reviews and a printed 6 x 0.16 mm conductor.
Editorial
Peter F. is the editor for DIY & tools at productscompared.co.uk. Comparisons in this category are checked against amazon.co.uk listings, review evidence and public UK sources.
Guides on what to look for, how to use a product, and common mistakes.
Public UK sources and the amazon.co.uk listings in this set, checked on 19 October 2026.
Expert source (DIY & tools): Lee Burkhill (Garden Ninja) (external profile) – public expert commentary used as a research source, not as a contributor to our pages.
This page contains affiliate links to amazon.co.uk (tag pcuk26-21). If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Scores use the UK listings and public sources, not a lab test.
