Independent comparisons. We may earn from shop links. More info

Metal or plastic berry comb

Updated: 21.10.2026

You are choosing between a metal berry comb at about £12 and a plastic rake at £5 to £10, and the titles do not say which tooth will still be straight after the post. In this amazon.co.uk set the reviewed tools are the metal ones. The all-plastic listings are lighter, and almost none has a star line you can read. The full table is on the [Berry comb comparison](/hub/garden-tools/berry-comb). The wider order, including the Gardena head, is the [berry picker buying guide](/hub/garden-tools/berry-comb/sub/berry-comb-buying-guide). A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Products Compared, 20 October 2026.

You are choosing between a metal berry comb at about £12 and a plastic rake at £5 to £10, and the titles do not say which tooth will still be straight after the post.

Our top picks

Fowybe Fowybe plastic berry picker

Best overall

Fowybe Fowybe plastic berry picker
9.8/10about £5.29
View offer
Gardena Gardena combisystem berry picker

Rank 2

Gardena Gardena combisystem berry picker
9.0/10about £21.58
View offer
CKB LTD CKB berry picker, green

Best value

CKB LTD CKB berry picker, green
9.0/10about £12.32
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What is actually metal
  2. 2.What UK reviews say about metal
  3. 3.What the PP combs claim
  4. 4.Washing and the day it arrives

What is actually metal

Metal usually means the teeth and sometimes the stopper, not the whole tool. The body is plastic. CKB B09B2LBTYS prints nine metal combs, a metal stopper, a rubber grip, 460 g, at £12.32. GUGULUZA’s three colours are £12.99 and do not agree. Black-red’s spec says a metal head. Black-green’s spec says plastic, while the bullets still say a metal comb. Red’s spec calls the head plastic. Weights clash: 330 g in the bullets against 350 g or 290 g on the spec. Spesh SGC04, SGC03 and SGC01 are £12.99 with a metal comb, 320 g or 330 g, and one shared review file. The bullets say dishwasher safe, then air-dry.

What UK reviews say about metal

UK reviewers describe the metal cluster. On the CKB file, 38 of the first 50 texts are marked United Kingdom, at 4.5 from 356, used on bilberries, currants and elderberries. One comb arrived bent. Smaller berries fell through in a poor year. GUGULUZA’s shared 4.2 from 1,662 praises speed on bilberries and also describes bodies that arrived cracked. Spesh is 4.0 from 206, shared, with wires that bend and a picker that arrived broken in a bag. The conditional metal pick is on the best berry picker UK page.
Fowybe Fowybe plastic berry picker

Testsieger

Fowybe Fowybe plastic berry picker
9.8/10about £5.29
View offer

What the PP combs claim

ARMYJY is £9.20 and 160 g, with a claim of about 800 to 900 berries. EfforPrac is £9.48 and 160 g, up to 900 berries. Neither file has a review line. The 900-berry line is a listing claim. The Generic scoop is £7.89 and 272 g, polypropylene, no stopper and no star line. Fowybe, at £5.29 and 160 g, is the only rated plastic comb: 4.9 from seven ratings. The only United Kingdom review objects to the line about combing bushes with your teeth. Choose all-plastic only if you accept that thin file.

Washing and the day it arrives

Care follows the listing. Spesh says dishwasher safe, then air-dry out of the sun. Gardena’s 17400-20 is hand wash only, 234 g, £21.58, pole not included. Do not copy the Spesh line onto that head. CKB prints no dishwasher line. On arrival, a bent CKB or Spesh tine is a return, and a cracked GUGULUZA side is a return. The stroke is on how to use a berry picker. Metal is the reviewed choice if you will check it. Plastic is the cheap bet only when you can find out for yourself.

Common questions

Do metal tines pick small bilberries better?
UK reviews of the CKB and the shared GUGULUZA file say those metal combs are used on bilberries and wimberries, and that they are faster than fingers on a dense patch. One CKB reviewer still had small berries fall through in a poor year, so metal does not guarantee the gap. The PP listings in this set have no UK review that says the same, or the opposite. You are comparing evidence, not a measured millimetre.
Will the wires stay straight?
Not always. A CKB reviewer found the comb bent and uneven on arrival. Spesh reviewers say the wires bend easily, including on first use, and that tools arrived broken in a bag. Check the teeth before a trip. A bent comb is a return. Flexing a tine in a shop, as one Finnish seller suggests, is not something you can do with a posted parcel.
Why are the cheap PP tools so lightly reviewed here?
ARMYJY, EfforPrac and the Generic scoop have no customer review line in the saved listings. Fowybe has seven ratings and four texts, one marked United Kingdom. That is the whole plastic evidence in this comparison. A low price is not a hidden test. If you need UK comments before you buy, the metal cluster is the one that has them.
Which bodies cracked in UK reviews?
GUGULUZA’s shared file, not a single colour, describes bodies that arrived cracked, with chunks missing, and plastic called brittle near the screws. Reviewers say the damage was in the bag. Spesh comments describe a broken tool in transit as well as bent wires. The CKB complaint in the sample is a bent comb, not a split body. Return a crack before you travel.
Can I dishwash a metal comb?
Only if that listing says so. Spesh says yes, then air-dry and keep it out of the sun. CKB does not say dishwasher. Gardena, which has plastic teeth rather than a wire comb, says hand wash only. Do not copy the Spesh line across the category. ARMYJY and EfforPrac claim a dishwasher rinse, and they have no reviews here.

Related pages

Berry comb for bilberries

Berry comb

Best berry picker UK: pocket comb, not highest stars

Berry picker buying guide for a scoop, rake or head

How to use a berry picker without filling it with leaves

Sources

Public UK sources used for this comparison. Listing prices, stars, and review counts are from amazon.co.uk in this category snapshot.

  1. Theft Act 1968, section 4 (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  2. GOV.UK — guidance for safe foraging (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  3. GOV.UK — open access land (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  4. NatureScot — foraging in Scotland (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  5. Woodland Trust — bilberry (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  6. RHS — blackcurrants (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  7. Gardena UK — combisystem berry picker (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  8. Business Companion — general product safety (retrieved 21.10.2026)