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Best outdoor socket: BG Storm, and when to skip it

Updated: 23 October 2026

You want one outdoor socket for a wall that will keep it, and the carton has to match that job. In this amazon.co.uk capture the best outdoor socket, as a hard-wired twin, is the BG Storm WP22. It is the wrong box if you needed a lead tonight. This page is from the Products Compared editorial team on 21 October 2026. Scores beside the [garden sockets comparison](/hub/sockets-and-extension-leads/garden-sockets) use stars, review count, the printed IP numeral, switches, and a lead or described terminals, with deductions for a melt report, a conflicting field, or a fitting fault. No lab was run. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You want one outdoor socket for a wall that will keep it, and the carton has to match that job. In this amazon.co.uk capture the best outdoor socket, as a hard-wired twin, is the BG Storm WP22.

Our top picks

British General BG Storm IP66 double

Best overall

British General BG Storm IP66 double
9.7/10about £9.99
View offer
RICOKEY RICOKEY IP66 double

Best value

RICOKEY RICOKEY IP66 double
9.7/10about £12.98
View offer
Masterplug Masterplug inline socket

Alternative

Masterplug Masterplug inline socket
8.4/10about £9.83
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.The top pick is a socket with no lead
  2. 2.The same score is not the same evidence
  3. 3.The cheapest row is a trailing connector
  4. 4.Skip it when you need a plug tonight

The top pick is a socket with no lead

The top pick is the BG Storm, ASIN B004R276L8. On 21 October 2026 the file showed £9.99, 4.7 from 11,139 ratings, IP66, two switched outlets with LEDs, 13 A, 250 V and 3250 W. The plug-type field says no plug. You are buying a face and a back, not a flex. It fits when the outlet will stay and a competent person connects a cable on a supply that already has 30 mA protection. This file contains no RCD. Electrical Safety First does not count a portable adaptor as the RCD in regulation 411.3.3 for a new fixed socket-outlet. Checks in order are on the outdoor socket buying guide.

The same score is not the same evidence

The RICOKEY C660, B0CWY2Z3C9, also scores 97, at £12.98 with 4.7 from 941 ratings. It is sold as socket only, IP66, with switched outlets and a storm cover. It takes the best-value place as the other clean hard-wired 97, not because it is cheaper than BG. The tie-break is the rating count: 11,139 against 941. RICOKEY omits voltage, wattage and dimensions, and it omits an RCD. One reviewer thought water had entered, then said it dripped off the lid. That note is not proof the face stays dry with a plug in. A black Darbony twin is also £12.98, but its voltage field says 110 against Type G and 13 A. It takes neither badge.
British General BG Storm IP66 double

Testsieger

British General BG Storm IP66 double
9.7/10about £9.99
View offer

The cheapest row is a trailing connector

The lowest price is the Masterplug inline socket, B006X09WDW, at £9.83, with 4.5 from 1,203 ratings. The bullets say splash-proof IP44. It is a rewireable 13 A trailing connector with no lead. You wire a flex you already have. It is not a double wall socket, and it is not this page’s outdoor socket. IP44 is splashing water, not the jet test behind IP66. Reviews report soft screws, a snapped cord-grip screw, and one unit with no internal terminals. Buy it to repair a flex. The Masterplug enclosure is the other non-twin. Neither row is the hard-wired pick.

Skip it when you need a plug tonight

If an indoor 30 mA socket is within reach, you want a plug-in twin, not this top pick. Both faces share one 13 A fuse, and no RCD is printed in those boxes. Homebuilding quotes an electrician who treats a permanent switched socket as the regular choice and a weatherproof extension box as a short-term one. A 3 A highlight, a 110 V field, or a 10 m part number on a 15 m title is a reason to read the row twice. Stay with the BG Storm only if someone competent is connecting a cable. The fork is on plug in outdoor socket or wired.

Common questions

Which staged row is the top pick, and for whom?
The top pick is the BG Storm WP22, B004R276L8, at £9.99, 4.7 from 11,139 ratings, IP66, switched, with no lead. It is for a wall that will keep a hard-wired twin, on a 30 mA supply, connected by someone competent. It is the wrong carton if you needed a flex tonight. No RCD is stated in the file.
Why does RICOKEY score the same and not take the top-pick badge?
Both score 97. The method gives the top-pick badge to the larger sample. BG has 11,139 ratings and RICOKEY has 941, at £12.98. RICOKEY takes the best-value place as the other clean hard-wired 97. It is not cheaper than BG. Voltage is not printed, and there is no lead.
Is the £9.83 Masterplug a cheaper best socket?
No. That price is the orange inline connector, IP44, rewireable, with one trailing outlet and no lead. It repairs a flex you already own. It is not a wall twin and it is not IP66. The lowest price in the set is a different object.
Does the BG box include a lead?
No. The plug-type field says no plug. You supply the cable. A 3 m or 10 m kit elsewhere in the comparison is the row with a lead fitted. Cutting a plug off another product is not part of this recommendation.
Does best here mean it has an RCD?
No. The staged BG file does not contain an RCD. The pick is the highest score on the published method, for a hard-wired IP66 twin, with the tie broken by review count. The circuit still needs 30 mA protection. A plug-in RCD is not that device for a new fixed socket.
Who should buy a plug-in kit instead?
Buy one when an indoor 30 mA socket is within the lead, you can unplug it, and you are not adding a circuit. Lengths and prices are on the comparison. This page does not rank those leads. Skip a file that also says 3 A, 110 V, or a 10 m part number on a 15 m title, until you have checked the product.
What about hot tubs or car chargers?
Do not treat a hot-tub or EV line as a rating. Kent Traders keeps both off a general outdoor socket. Two reviews in the set describe a melted outlet, one of them a 13 A hot tub. The BG row has no such bullet, and it still has no RCD in the box.

Related pages

Outdoor socket for a lawn mower

Garden sockets

Outdoor socket buying guide: check the object first

How to fit an outdoor socket: stop before terminals

Plug in outdoor socket or wired: which carton fits

Sources

Sources taken from the research digest. Listings were scored on 21 October 2026. This page did not run a lab test.

  1. IET Wiring Matters — 30 mA RCD for socket-outlets (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  2. Electrical Safety First — wiring regulations help (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  3. NICEIC — gardens and electrics (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  4. Approved Document P — electrical safety in dwellings (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  5. Northern Connectors — what IP44 means (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  6. Clarion — IP ratings, including IP66 (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  7. Electrical Safety First — extension leads and cable reels (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  8. NAPIT — burying cables and regulation 522.8.10 (retrieved 21.10.2026)