Resin or metal garden storage box
Updated: 23 October 2026
You have a resin chest near £50 and a steel box from about £299. The [waterproof storage box comparison](/hub/garden-furniture/waterproof-storage-box) is four plastic listings, £44.45 to £74.01, every table marked water resistant. Biohort's LeisureTime box, from £299 in Great Britain, is not an ASIN on that table. This page is the fork: when the resin chest is enough, and when the cylinder lock is what you are buying. Peter F. compared the maker pages and these extracts on 21 October 2026, with no corrosion trial. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
You have a resin chest near £50 and a steel box from about £299.
You have a resin chest near £50 and a steel box from about £299. The waterproof storage box comparison is four plastic listings, £44.45 to £74.01, every table marked water resistant. Biohort's LeisureTime box, from £299 in Great Britain, is not an ASIN on that table. This page is the fork: when the resin chest is enough, and when the cylinder lock is what you are buying. Peter F. compared the maker pages and these extracts on 21 October 2026, with no corrosion trial. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Water wording | Lock in the carton | Empty weight | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Keter Keter Kentwood 190L | Weatherproof title; table water resistant | Not stated | 5.7 kg | 8.8 | about £44.45 | View offer |
 Keter Keter Marvel+ 270L | Weatherproof title; table water resistant | Not stated | 6.37 kg | 8.9 | about £74.01 | View offer | |
 Olsen & Smith Olsen & Smith 270L | Waterproof title; table water resistant | Listed | 5.6 kg | 8.5 | about £49.99 | View offer |
On this page
What the resin chests in this comparison are
The resin rows are light, and they are not sealed cabinets. The Kentwood is £44.45, 190 litres, 110 kg printed. The Signature is £47.62, with no kilogram seat line. Olsen & Smith is £49.99, a stated 270 litres, a lock listed, and two external sizes that do not match. The Marvel+ is £74.01, with 13,398 reviews and 219.99 kg printed. Empty weight is about 5.6 to 6.4 kg, and shared reviews say an empty box moves unless you weigh it down. A hasp is not a cylinder lock. Every table says water resistant, and no IP code is printed. How to read the listings is the garden storage box buying guide.
What Biohort states on the UK pages
Biohort's UK pages describe galvanised, enamel-coated steel, a rainwater-proof shell, a cylinder lock, and a 20-year corrosion guarantee subject to their terms. The LeisureTime box used here starts from £299 including VAT in Great Britain. That is not a dearer Kentwood. Biohort says rainwater-proof and, on the pages this comparison used, does not print an IP code either. The same page says the box is ventilated and tells you not to leave cushions in it over winter because of mould. If £299 was meant to keep cushions out until March, Biohort has already refused that job. Keter's Darwin 454 litre at £145, with pistons and a stated 300 kg load, is still resin. It does not buy steel, a cylinder lock or that corrosion guarantee.
Cushions, wind and locks
Keter says dry contents. Harbour Lifestyle says slightly damp foam grows mould and that winter storage is indoors or in a bag. Biohort says no cushions in the steel box over winter. Rainwater-proof steel and water-resistant resin fail the same way if you shut wet foam inside for months. The material decides rust, weight, the lock and the rain wording. It does not decide mould. A resin chest at about 6 kg empty needs ballast. A cylinder lock stated by Biohort is a different object from a Keter hasp, and neither is a burglary rating you can quote. Drying the foam is the garden storage box leaking page.
The conditional choice
Stay with these resin listings, £44.45 to £74.01, when you can weight a light box and water resistant is an honest line for ordinary rain on dry kit. Move to the Darwin at £145 for pistons and more than 270 litres, still in resin. Move to Biohort from £299 for the rainwater-proof wording, the cylinder lock and a shell that is not about 6 kg empty, and keep cushions out all winter. Steel does not cure a damp pad.
Common questions
Is steel waterproof if resin is only water resistant?
Biohort's wording on the UK pages used here is rainwater-proof, for a steel box from £299. The four resin tables say water resistant, even where a title says waterproof. Neither side prints an IP code. Rainwater-proof is the stronger rain sentence. It is not a submersion rating.
Why does a rainwater-proof steel box still warn about cushions?
Because rain on the outside and mould in the foam are different problems. Biohort says the LeisureTime box is ventilated and rainwater-proof, and that cushions, covers and blankets should not stay in it over winter because of mould. The vents that stop a sealed tin of damp air are the same openings that make a wet pad a poor winter tenant. Steel changes the shell. It does not dry foam you shut in from November to March.
Is £299 the price of a better version of these ASINs?
No. £299 including VAT is Biohort's Great Britain starting price for the LeisureTime steel box on the page used here. The resin ASINs are £44.45, £47.62, £49.99 and £74.01 on the amazon.co.uk extracts. You are not buying a dearer colour of the Kentwood. You are buying galvanised steel, a cylinder lock and a rainwater-proof claim, with a winter cushion warning attached.
What about a piston resin box at £145 instead of steel?
The Keter Darwin 454 litre at £145 on the UK shop is that middle step: more volume, pistons, and a stated 300 kg load. It is still resin, with Keter's dry-contents advice, not a steel box and not a cylinder lock. Choose it when the Marvel+ is too short or the lid will not stay up, and £299 is more than you need. Choose steel when the rain wording and the lock are the point, not the gas strut.
Which one blows away?
The resin extracts weigh about 5.6 to 6.4 kg empty, and the shared 190 litre reviews say the box moves in a breeze unless you weigh it down. That is the blow-away case in this comparison. A steel LeisureTime box is the alternative when you do not want to ballast a light shell. The pages used here do not give a kilogram figure for that steel box, so do not invent one.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources used for this comparison, last checked on 22 October 2026. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk lines saved for this set. There is no laboratory test.
- General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 11 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 22 (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- BS EN 581-2:2015 outdoor seating tests (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- RS Components, IP ratings (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- Keter UK outdoor storage boxes (retrieved 22 October 2026)
- Biohort LeisureTime box (retrieved 22 October 2026)