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Metal or plastic hose reel cart

Updated: 22 October 2026

You are choosing the frame, and the hose length is already decided. A metal or plastic hose reel cart fails in different ways: light plastic flexes and walks while you crank, and a metal title can still be alloy steel that rusts on the grass. This is not a second ranking of all six listings, and it is not the capacity table. The [3/4 inch hose reel cart comparison](/hub/garden-watering/3-4-inch-hose-reel-cart) holds prices and scores. Peter F. used the saved amazon.co.uk listings, the listed weights, and UK seller notes on plating and epoxy. There was no lab rust test. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are choosing the frame, and the hose length is already decided.

Our top picks

Draper Draper 25068 45 m hose reel cart

Best overall

Draper Draper 25068 45 m hose reel cart
7.9/10about £22.98
View offer
Relaxdays Relaxdays XL 60 m hose trolley

Alternative

Relaxdays Relaxdays XL 60 m hose trolley
7.7/10about £80.90
View offer
Draper Draper 25060 45 m hose reel cart

Best value

Draper Draper 25060 45 m hose reel cart
7.5/10about £31.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What the plastic reels do
  2. 2.What the metal carts change
  3. 3.Rust is a storage problem
  4. 4.Which frame matches the hose

What the plastic reels do

In this set the plastic reels are the two Drapers and the Yosoo ABS cart. The Draper 25068 is 1.37 kg at £22.98 and is the top pick on the score. The Draper 25060 is 1.9 kg at £31.99 and is the best value. The Yosoo cart is 1.18 kg, with no stated length and no review line. A hose under tension pulls a 1–2 kg frame unless you stand on the base or fix the reel. The Gardena CleverRoll L Easy is a plastic and PVC frame with a metal hose guide, at 5.7 kg. The guide does not make it a steel chassis.

What the metal carts change

Relaxdays is alloy steel at 10.8 kg and £80.90, with four wheels and a 60 m claim. A frame near 11 kg is harder for the hose to drag. Reviews say the inlet is fixed, so the drum will not freewheel while the supply hose stays on. Metal did not buy a through-feed. SPECILITE is 5.31 kg and £69.99. The title says stainless steel and the specification says alloy steel. One of three UK reviews says the stainless line is wrong. The best hose reel cart UK page keeps the condition on the Draper top pick. The checks before either frame are on the hose reel cart buying guide.
Draper Draper 25068 45 m hose reel cart

Testsieger

Draper Draper 25068 45 m hose reel cart
7.9/10about £22.98
View offer

Rust is a storage problem

A seller phrase such as “rust proof” on a zinc-plated cart is a seller claim, not a lab result. Plating slows rust. Claber’s note on its Jumbo says epoxy slows oxidisation without entirely preventing it, and the frame should be kept dry. One outdoor Relaxdays review is one owner’s story, not a weathering test. Plastic does not rust, and it still ages in sun. Drain the hose before frost. Put a foot down, even at 10.8 kg, when you rewind on a slope.

Which frame matches the hose

Choose the Draper 25068 or the wheeled 25060 when the hose is short and you will steady the reel. Choose Relaxdays when the hose is long and heavy and you have read the fixed inlet. Do not choose SPECILITE because the title says stainless. Choose it only if you accept alloy steel, about 24 m of 3/4 inch hose, and a three-review file.

Common questions

Will plastic hold a long hose?
A light plastic reel can hold a short hose if you steady it. The Draper files, at 1.37 kg and 1.9 kg, describe walking and, on the 25060, a 50 m hose that often will not wind on. A long heavy hose needs a heavier frame, or a cart whose capacity line matches that hose. The large Draper review count is for that modest job, not a proof that plastic never flexes.
Does metal mean stainless?
Not in this set. The SPECILITE title says stainless steel and the specification says alloy steel. One of three UK reviews rejects the stainless line. The Relaxdays frame is listed as alloy steel, without a stainless claim. Read the material row under the title before you pay for a metal that will not stain.
Will a metal cart rust if it lives on the lawn?
It can. Zinc plating and epoxy are described by UK sellers as slowing rust, not as proof that the frame ignores wet grass. Claber’s note says epoxy will not entirely prevent oxidisation and that the frame should be kept dry. One outdoor anecdote is not a five-year test. Drain the hose, and avoid leaving the cart standing in a puddle.
Which is lighter to put away?
The plastic listings are the light ones: Yosoo at 1.18 kg, Draper 25068 at 1.37 kg, and Draper 25060 at 1.9 kg. Gardena is 5.7 kg. SPECILITE is 5.31 kg. Relaxdays is 10.8 kg. The light reels are easier to hang in a shed. They are also the ones that walk while you crank, unless you fix them or stand on them.
Is the Gardena trolley metal?
The frame is plastic and PVC, with an aluminium handle and a metal hose guide. At 5.7 kg it sits between the Draper reels and the Relaxdays trolley. Treat the guide as a metal part. Do not treat the whole cart as a steel chassis when you are choosing for rust or for a heavy 19 mm hose.
When is plastic the sensible buy?
Plastic is the sensible buy when the hose is short, you will put a foot on the frame or fix a wall reel, and you want the Draper 25068 at £22.98 with its large review sample. It stops being sensible when the hose is long enough to drag the cart, or when you need a printed 19 mm capacity the listing does not have. The wheeled 25060 is the same judgement at £31.99, with the extra limit that a 50 m hose often does not fit.
Does a heavier cart stop the walking problem?
It reduces it. The Relaxdays frame at 10.8 kg is much harder to drag than a 1.4 kg reel, which is why reviews compare it with plastic. It does not stop a yank on a slope if the wheels are free, and a fixed inlet means you disconnect before the drum will spin. Weight helps stability. It does not replace a foot or the right hose length.

Related pages

Hose reel cart capacity

How to use a hose reel cart

3/4 inch hose reel cart

Best hose reel cart UK: who it suits, who should skip

Hose reel cart buying guide: bore, feed and wheels

Sources

Maker capacity tables, Water Regs UK, Ofwat and the England and Wales fittings rules. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk lines saved on 20 October 2026. This is not a laboratory test.

  1. Gardena UK — CleverRoll L Easy (retrieved 20.10.2026)
  2. Garden4Less — Hozelock 60 m metal hose cart (retrieved 20.10.2026)
  3. HydroSure — 110 m x 19 mm hose cart (retrieved 20.10.2026)
  4. Ofwat — hosepipe bans (retrieved 20.10.2026)
  5. Water Supply (Water Fittings) Regulations 1999 (retrieved 20.10.2026)
  6. Water Regs UK — hose union taps (retrieved 20.10.2026)
  7. Water Use (Temporary Bans) Order 2010 (retrieved 20.10.2026)