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Outdoor extension lead buying guide for a UK garden

Updated: 23 October 2026

You are about to run a mower, a pressure washer or a string of garden lights from a lead whose amazon.co.uk title says outdoor. That word is not a rating. This outdoor extension lead guide uses the seven listings in our set: six cable reels and one straight 10 m lead, from £16.95 to £44.99 in the snapshot. By the end you should know which printed fact to trust before you sort by price. The table is the [outdoor extension lead comparison](/hub/sockets-and-extension-leads/outdoor-extension-lead). The Products Compared editorial team did not lab-test these products. Figures come from those listings and from public UK sources, read on 21 October 2026. A qualifying purchase can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are about to run a mower, a pressure washer or a string of garden lights from a lead whose amazon.co.uk title says outdoor. That word is not a rating.

Our top picks

Status Status 15 m 2-socket reel

Best overall

Status Status 15 m 2-socket reel
7.9/10about £19.95
View offer
SLx SLx 90025PI 20 m

Rank 2

SLx SLx 90025PI 20 m
9.0/10about £34.99
View offer
SLx SLx RM 10 m reel

Best value

SLx SLx RM 10 m reel
8.2/10about £19.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Five checks before the price
  2. 2.What this set actually prints
  3. 3.Wound current and four sockets
  4. 4.When to stop and call an electrician

Five checks before the price

Start with the plug and the total load. A UK wall socket takes a BS 1363 plug, and a 13 A fuse in that plug is the ceiling for everything on the far end. Next, read what the reel may carry while the cable is still wound. Electrical Safety First says you unwind a cable reel to reach the marked rating, and that a wound reel is often only about 3 A or 4 A when the label is unclear. Then look for an IP code, not the word weatherproof. In the SLx guide the second digit 4 means splashing water, and IP54 adds limited dust protection. None of these seven listings prints a 30 mA RCD. The IET’s Wiring Matters note on regulation 411.3.3 treats outdoor mobile equipment up to 32 A as a case for 30 mA protection. That device is in the supply, or you do not have it.

What this set actually prints

Six of the seven are cable reels with a thermal cut-out claimed in the bullets. The SLx 90025PI is the 20 m yellow reel at £34.99, with two covered sockets, IP54 printed, and 4.6 from 4,160 reviews on that file alone. The title says waterproof. The bullets say splashproof sealed sockets. Philex’s page for 90025PI prints 960 W fully wound and 3,120 W fully extended. That wound figure is not in the amazon.co.uk table. The other SLx reels print no IP code. The 30 m table prints 36 watts against a 13 A bullet. Ignore 36 W. The 25 m Status, the 15 m Status and the £16.95 reel share one 4.6 from 21,068 line, so count that audience once. Matching a job is the best outdoor extension lead page.
Status Status 15 m 2-socket reel

Testsieger

Status Status 15 m 2-socket reel
7.9/10about £19.95
View offer

Wound current and four sockets

Only the 15 m Status reel prints both currents in a bullet: up to 13 A fully unwound and 5 A when wound. If your listing leaves the wound figure blank, you do not borrow a neighbour’s number. The Philex instruction sheet for the 30 m family prints 960 W wound and 3,120 W extended, and it says not to use those models in damp or wet conditions. That sheet is for those model numbers, not for the Status reels or the 10 m SLx. Four sockets are a spare place to plug in, not extra capacity. A mower in the Philex examples sits around 1,200–1,800 W, and a pressure washer can be 1,800–3,000 W. Where the cable should sit while you mow is the extension lead for a lawnmower page.

When to stop and call an electrician

A portable lead is the wrong fix when the garden needs power in the same place every week. A fixed outdoor socket on a circuit that already has 30 mA RCD protection is a different job. In England and Wales, new circuit work of that kind sits under Part P of the Building Regulations. If you cannot tell whether the garage socket is RCD-protected, a registered electrician can test it. Stop if the plug, the drum or the cable is hot, if you smell burning, or if plastic has scorched. Electrical Safety First also says not to daisy-chain leads.

Common questions

What should I check before the length?
Check the UK plug and the total load, then the current allowed while the cable is wound, then whether an IP code is printed, then whether the socket you will use has 30 mA RCD protection. Length is last, because a 30 m reel you leave coiled runs hotter than a 10 m reel you empty. In this set only one reel prints IP54, and only one prints 5 A wound and 13 A unwound.
Is weatherproof an IP rating?
No. Weatherproof and outdoor safe appear as title or highlight words on listings that print no IP code, including the £16.95 reel. An IP code is a pair of digits with a defined meaning. SLx’s guide treats the second digit 4 as splashing water, not immersion, and says the lid has to be shut as instructed. If the listing never prints the code, you do not have a rating to quote to anyone else.
Does a thermal cut-out replace a 30 mA RCD?
No. A thermal cut-out opens when the reel overheats. A 30 mA RCD cuts the supply if current leaks to earth, which is the device Electrical Safety First points to if you damage a lead outdoors. None of these seven products describes a 30 mA RCD in the box. The cut-out is also not an on/off switch. SLx’s own how-to says that if it trips you unplug, let the reel cool, check the load, and stop if it trips again.
Why do four sockets not mean 52 A?
They share one plug. On a 13 A fused UK plug the whole face of the reel sits inside that fuse, whether you can see two sockets or four. The 25 m Status, the 30 m SLx and the 10 m SLx are all in that position. A spare socket is useful for a light that draws very little. It is not a second kettle, and it is not a second pressure washer beside a mower.
Which listing in this set prints IP54?
The SLx 90025PI, a 20 m reel with two covered sockets, at £34.99 in the snapshot, with 4.6 from 4,160 reviews on that file. The bullets say splashproof. The title says waterproof. Those are not the same claim. No other listing here prints an IP code. A yellow drum is not the same thing as a printed code.

Related pages

How to use a cable reel

Cable reel or straight lead

Outdoor extension lead

Best outdoor extension lead: splash, reach or 10 m

Extension lead for a lawnmower: unwind on dry grass

Sources

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

  1. Electrical Safety First — leads and reels (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  2. Electrical Safety First — garden (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  3. Electrical Safety First — lawnmowers (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  4. Electrical Safety First — overloading (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  5. IET Wiring Matters — regulation 411.3.3 (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  6. NICEIC — garden electrics (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  7. SI 1994/1768 — plugs and sockets (retrieved 21.10.2026)
  8. Clarion UK — IP codes (retrieved 21.10.2026)