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Wooden crate vs wicker log basket

Updated: 2026-10-16

You have two pictures in the same search: a nailed wooden crate with cut-out handles, and a round willow basket with a cloth liner. They are not the same object, and a wooden crate vs wicker log basket choice starts by noticing which one the page is actually selling. The six listings in the [wooden basket comparison](/hub/outdoor-fire-pits/wooden-basket) are four open crates, a set of tiny untreated baskets, and a painted MDF laundry hamper. None is a hessian-lined willow log basket. Specialist prices below are not amazon.co.uk prices. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have two pictures in the same search: a nailed wooden crate with cut-out handles, and a round willow basket with a cloth liner.

Our top picks

Wickerfield Wickerfield heart-handle crate

Best overall

Wickerfield Wickerfield heart-handle crate
9.2/10about £6.29
View offer
Wickerfield Wickerfield small oval crate

Best value

Wickerfield Wickerfield small oval crate
8.8/10about £7.99
View offer
Wickerfield Wickerfield large oval crate

Alternative

Wickerfield Wickerfield large oval crate
8.8/10about £10.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What the shops sell
  2. 2.What this comparison actually contains
  3. 3.Water, weight, and handles
  4. 4.Which one you are buying

What the shops sell

Stove shops in the UK most often sell a fireside basket in willow or rattan, with a hessian or jute liner. Bowley & Jackson describe round willow as the usual choice, and an apple crate as a vintage alternative, not as the default. Northern Willow's hessian-lined basket is listed from 47 × 28 × 25 cm small and 55 × 34 × 33 cm large. The seller says willow left in the rain greys and softens, and that hessian holds damp. That is care advice, not a weathering test. Firebox Stoves showed a round grey wicker basket with a jute liner at £28.78, natural wicker with a jute liner at £41.16, and an unlined rectangular willow basket at £46.27. A Northern Willow basket sat at £49, and a Somerset-made basket at £228. Those figures are not an average. A hessian or jute lining is what the shop listings mention so bark stays off the floor, and it holds moisture if the basket is left wet.

What this comparison actually contains

The kept crates have no liner, no timber species, and no log capacity. The heart crate is £6.29, about 27 cm long, wood, and marked not water resistant. The small oval is £7.99 and 400 g, with bullets that say natural wood and a specification that says artificial wicker. The large oval is £10.99, material field wood, about 41.5 cm on the long side, and the same model number and the same review texts as the small oval. The paw crate is a dog toy box at £12.99. The Nudaoz set is six baskets about 12.5 cm long. The Yaheetech hamper is painted MDF, not wicker and not a crate. Artificial wicker on the small oval is a conflict, not a translation of wood. Shop wicker usually means woven willow or rattan. A specification line can mean a synthetic weave. This page does not decide which description is true. The buying guide tells you to keep both lines rather than average them. Do not import a willow seller's line about a day's logs onto a 400 g crate.
Wickerfield Wickerfield heart-handle crate

Testsieger

Wickerfield Wickerfield heart-handle crate
9.2/10about £6.29
View offer

Water, weight, and handles

The heart crate states that it is not water resistant. That is the only water line in the set. A willow basket is not the waterproof alternative. Northern Willow says willow left in the rain greys and softens, and that the liner holds damp. Leave both objects under cover. The small oval lists 400 g, and reviewers of the shared texts would not carry it full. A shop log basket is sold to be lifted with logs in it. Cut-outs on a crate are a different handle from ear handles or a rope. No open crate here states a load. The laundry hamper states both 10 kg and 50 kg, and it is the wrong product for logs. The best wooden basket page refuses a winner across these jobs.

Which one you are buying

Buy an open crate from this set when you want a light hamper, a display box, or a pet-toy crate, and you have read the material line. Buy the MDF hamper for indoor laundry, and ignore it for fuel. Leave the set when you want a lined willow or rattan log basket. Firebox, Northern Willow, and Somerset Willow prices are other shops' prices. They are not a reason to call a £6.29 crate the same product. Logs still stay off the hearth, and the main stack still lives outside. Willow is the shop default for a fireside basket, and that does not make it fireproof.

Common questions

What do stove shops mean by a log basket?
Usually a willow or rattan basket, often with a hessian or jute liner and handles meant for carrying logs. Bowley & Jackson treat a wooden crate as a vintage alternative, not the default. The amazon.co.uk listings in our comparison are the crates, a mini set, and an MDF hamper, not that lined basket.
Why do those baskets mention a hessian or jute liner?
To hold bark and dust that would otherwise fall through a weave or a slat onto the floor. Northern Willow states that job for the liner, and says hessian holds damp if the basket is left in the rain. None of the six kept listings states a liner.
How is a slatted crate different in the hand?
The small oval crate weighs 400 g, and reviewers call that wood too thin to carry full. Shop willow baskets are sold to be lifted with logs. Crate handles are cut-outs. Willow listings talk about ear handles or a rope handle.
Can I leave a willow basket in the rain?
Northern Willow says willow left in the rain greys and softens, and that the hessian liner holds damp. That is the seller's care advice. The heart crate is separately marked not water resistant.
What does artificial wicker mean on the small oval crate?
The specification says artificial wicker and the bullets say natural wood. We do not choose between them. Shop wicker for a log basket usually means a weave of willow or rattan. If you need that weave, this listing has not confirmed it.
Which kept listing is neither a crate nor a willow basket?
The Yaheetech hamper at £39.99. It is painted MDF with a hinged lid, sold for laundry. The Nudaoz set is about 12.5 cm and is a craft pack, not a log basket. Neither is the lined willow basket the shops describe.

Related pages

How to store logs

Wooden basket

Best wooden basket: which UK listing fits which job

Wooden basket buying guide: job, size, then material

Wooden basket for kindling sticks, not a day's logs

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, plus the amazon.co.uk listing facts in the display file. Shelf prices and star lines are those stored UK figures. Specialist willow prices are a contrast, not amazon.co.uk prices and not a market average.

  1. GOV.UK: smoke control areas (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  2. GOV.UK: selling wood for domestic use in England (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  3. Air Quality (Domestic Solid Fuels Standards) (England) Regulations 2020, Schedule 2 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  4. HETAS: log storage (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  5. London Fire Brigade: portable heaters, gas fires and open fires (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  6. GOV.UK: General Product Safety Regulations 2005 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  7. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 22 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  8. Firebox Stoves: wicker and willow log baskets (retrieved 16 October 2026)