The best Folding trestles, compared.
Top pick: BORA Workhorse X pair – Highest score: 4.7 from 1,470 reviews, 2x4 slots reviewers use, and a 612 kg bullet at about £76.74, with the conflicting pound field kept separate. Best value: Stanley STST1-70713 pair – Best value as the highest value score after the top pick: 4.6 from 1,768 reviews at about £39.95 for doors, if you read the 450 kg details line and accept the flex. Updated October 2026.
A folding trestle here is a portable sawhorse or builders trestle you open and lock so it can hold timber, a door, or a sheet. UK shops use sawhorse, work horse and trestle for the same beam on legs, and builders trestle for a wider frame that carries boards. Plastic and compact horses sit at the bottom. Steel pairs, including the height-adjustable XT, sit at the top. Quality is the lock, whether the load line says each horse or the pair, and whether the height and the brackets match the job. A sawhorse that holds a door is not a platform you stand on. How to read load wording, height and material is in the [folding trestle buying guide](/hub/workshop/folding-trestle/sub/folding-trestle-buying-guide).
A folding trestle here is a portable sawhorse or builders trestle you open and lock so it can hold timber, a door, or a sheet.
24 products checked · 64 hrs invested · +22,800 readers
Swipe for more
1-2 of 7
Personal buying guide
Question 1 of 2
What are you supporting?
Across 1,470 amazon.co.uk reviews at 4.7, the BORA Workhorse X pair (PM-3350T) at £76.74 is the steel folding sawhorse reviewers treat as a step up from a flexing plastic horse. The bullet states 612 kg each and 1,225 kg for the pair, while a details field prints 2.5E+3 pounds, so those lines do not agree and the kilogram bullet is the figure to plan around. Integrated 2x4 slots are what buyers use to add a timber crossbar and make a portable bench, and the listing says a gravity-assisted single release opens them in seconds even though assembly is marked as required. Open size on the page is 73.7 x 63.5 x 83.8 cm and the pair is listed at 11.7 kg. Most of the sampled reviews are short praise, so fault reports are thin: one reviewer calls the feel a little tinny, without describing a break. Height adjustment is not stated, which is the limit if the floor is uneven. It is the top pick in this set when you want steel and timber slots and you will ignore the conflicting pound field.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a steel pair with 2x4 slots for a temporary bench, and the working height can stay fixed.
Less suitable: You need legs that move on uneven ground, or you want the two load fields on the page to match.
Specifications
Common questions
What load does the page claim?
The bullet says 612 kg each and 1,225 kg for the pair. A details field says 2.5E+3 pounds, which is a different number. The bullet is the kilogram claim.
Do they take a 2x4?
The bullets say integrated 2x4 slots so you can add a timber crossbar and make a portable workbench.
Is assembly required?
The listing says yes, and also says a gravity-assisted single release opens them in seconds, with instructions included.
Across 1,768 amazon.co.uk reviews at 4.6, the Stanley STST1-70713 pair at £39.95 is the polypropylene horse people use under internal doors for hinge marking, trimming and painting. The details field says 450 kg, while one bullet says 45 kg per pair, so the page disagrees with itself and you should read the label on the horse rather than average the two lines. At 6.05 kg the pair folds flat, and reviewers mention V-grooves, side hooks and a base that keeps tools to hand. One owner used two pairs under 8 ft by 4 ft plywood so both halves stayed supported while cutting alone. A repeat buyer says a newer pair flexes more in the legs than a ten-year-old set, and another would not use the plastic for heavy work. It is the best value here for doors and light sheet support if you accept that flex and you treat the 450 kg details line as the printed claim, not a tested result.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You are trimming or painting internal doors and you want a light pair that folds into a shed.
Less suitable: You need a stiff steel bench, a stated height range, or a load line the page does not contradict.
Specifications
Common questions
Is the capacity 45 kg or 450 kg?
The title and the details field say 450 kg. One bullet says 45 kg per pair. Those lines disagree. Check the label on the horse.
What are they made of?
The listing material is polypropylene. Reviews describe a light plastic pair, and a repeat buyer says a newer pair flexes more than an older one.
Do they hold a door?
Reviewers describe supporting internal doors for hinge marking and trimming, and using more than one pair under plywood. One reviewer would not use the plastic for heavy work.
Across 970 amazon.co.uk reviews at 4.6, the Evolution compact twin pack at £44.98 is the pair reviewers fold small and carry, with a title claim of up to 500 kg that the raw file does not split into each horse and the pair. A UK review says they are not height adjustable. People use them under plywood with a sander, for ply and OSB cuts, and as a temporary bench, including a mitre saw on a temporary top. Side hooks are mentioned, and brackets for a 4x2 are described as hanging loose in a slot rather than locking. Reviewers say the legs look spindly and flex slightly, which one person found useful on uneven garden ground, and another would not test the 500 kg label. There is no specification table in the raw file, so pack weight and material are not stated. Buy them when the fold has to be small and the working height can stay fixed.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a compact pair for ply, OSB and a temporary top, and the height can stay as it arrives.
Less suitable: You need a locked 4x2 bracket, a stated height range, or a load split you can read on the page.
Specifications
Common questions
Is 500 kg for one horse or the pair?
The title says the twin pack supports up to 500 kg. The raw file does not split that figure into each and pair. Reviewers repeat the label.
Can you change the height?
A UK review says they are not height adjustable. There is no height range in the saved details.
How do the linking brackets work?
Reviews describe brackets that drop through a slot for a 4x2 and side hooks. One reviewer says the brackets hang loose rather than locking.
Across 8,402 amazon.co.uk reviews at 4.5, the Amazon Basics pair at £47.23 is the high-volume folding horse for sanding doors, holding floorboards and window boards, and hanging in a shed. The title, a bullet and the details field all say 408 kg for the set, while one reviewer mentions a 900 kg side notice that is not the listing load. The details field says metal and lists 2.21 kg, yet several reviews call the build all plastic and say it does not rust. The listing says no assembly, with locking braces, non-slip feet and fold-out stoppers, and a reviewer mentions a shelf underneath. They can wobble if the floor is not flat, and height adjustment is not in the saved fields. The number-of-items field says 1 while the title says a set of 2. It is a light shed pair with a very large review count, and it is a poor match if you needed the metal the details field names.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a light pair for door sanding and board support, and you have read the plastic reviews rather than the metal field.
Less suitable: You need steel, a stated height range, or a listing whose material line matches what arrives.
Specifications
Common questions
Are they metal or plastic?
The details field says metal. Several reviews call them an all-plastic build and say they do not rust in a shed. The listing weight is 2.21 kg.
What load is printed?
The title, a bullet, and the details field all say 408 kg for the set. One reviewer mentions a 900 kg side notice. That figure is not the listing load.
Do you have to build them?
The listing says no assembly is required and that they fold flat, with locking braces, non-slip feet, and fold-out stoppers.
Across 909 amazon.co.uk reviews at 4.5, the BORA Workhorse XT pair (PM-3360T) at £90.00 is the height-adjustable steel horse in this set, with a listing minimum of 30 inches and a bullet of 612 kg each and 1,225 kg for the pair. Reviewers use the legs on uneven ground and drop about 45 mm timber, including 38 x 89 mm, into end slots so the pair becomes a mitre-saw bench with a standoff for sheet cuts. The listing says assembly is not required, yet reviewers still describe a catch that swings free and a set fold order that is easier if you turn the horse on end. The pair is listed at 13.7 kg, and several buyers found them heavier and larger than expected, and awkward to carry in a van. One end bent after the horse was stood on end and used as a fulcrum to open the legs. They do not clip together. Choose them when the ground is uneven or the working height has to move, and leave them if you want the lightest fold into a car boot.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You need steel legs that move on uneven ground, or a joined bench with a standoff for sheet cuts.
Less suitable: You want a light plastic pair for the boot, or a fold you can do without learning a set order.
Specifications
Common questions
Does the height adjust?
The listing says the twin-leg design sets the working height and gives a minimum of 30 inches. It does not print a maximum in the details table. Reviewers used the legs on uneven ground.
Can two of them make a bench?
The bullets call the pair a portable workbench. Reviewers describe end slots that take about 45 mm timber, including 38 x 89 mm lengths, so the pair can carry a top.
Do they arrive ready to open?
The listing says assembly is not required. Reviewers still describe a catch and a set order for folding the legs.
Across 1,003 amazon.co.uk reviews at 4.2, the HOMCOM B40-015 pair at £32.99 is the builders trestle in this set, not a folding sawhorse you pop open. The bullet sets the height from 80 cm to 130 cm and states 100 kg per trestle, while the details field says 200 kg, so the lower printed line is the cautious one. Folded size in the bullet is 84 x 68 x 11 cm and the pack is 9 kg, but assembly is required and reviews describe poor instructions, spanners in 8, 10, 13 and 14 mm, a Pozi No. 2 driver, and more than an hour before the pair is usable. Once built, reviewers call them stable for doors and general DIY and better than the price suggested. A board across them at the top of that range is work at height, and the listing includes no guard rails and no BS 1139 claim. It is the height-adjustable steel frame if you will spend the first hour with spanners, and it is the wrong buy if you need a horse this afternoon.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a steel builders trestle you can set between 80 cm and 130 cm, and you can spare an hour to bolt it together.
Less suitable: You need a horse that opens today, a single load figure, or a platform with guard rails.
Specifications
Common questions
How high do they go?
The bullet says the sawhorse adjusts between 80 cm and 130 cm. Folded size in the same bullet is 84 x 68 x 11 cm.
What load should you plan around?
The bullet says a maximum of 100 kg per saw horse. The details field says 200 kg. The page does not explain the difference, so the lower printed line is the cautious one.
Are they ready to use?
Assembly is required. Reviews describe poor instructions, spanners in 8, 10, 13, and 14 mm, a Pozi No. 2 driver, and more than an hour to build the pair.
Rank 7
Across 408 amazon.co.uk reviews at 4.2, the Kastforce KF3005 pair at £69.98 is a blue alloy-steel horse whose bullet rates the pair at about 1,000 kg, with the details field at 997.9 kg. Reviewers who got both horses say they are sturdy once the legs are fully open and that they fold into a vehicle without taking much room. The listing claims 2x4 support arms for a jobsite table, but a review says the timber does not fit and that tightening the bracket pulls the wood away from the horse. Assembly is required, the finish field says untreated, and one buyer received a single horse instead of the pair. There is no per-horse load and no stated height range. At £69.98 it sits near the BORA X price without the slots those reviewers praise, so leave it if the bench depends on a 2x4 actually seating.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a folding steel pair for a vehicle and you will check the brackets with your own timber before you rely on them.
Less suitable: You are buying it because the listing promises a 2x4 jobsite table.
Specifications
Common questions
Is the 1,000 kg figure for one horse or the pair?
The bullet says 2,200 lb / 1,000 kg capacity each pair. The details field says 997.9 kg. There is no separate per-horse figure.
Will a 2x4 sit in the brackets?
The listing says 2x4 support arms make a jobsite table. A review says the timber does not fit and that tightening the bracket pulls the wood away from the horse.
Do they fold for a van?
Reviews say they go straight in the back of a vehicle and take little room once folded.
Seven amazon.co.uk listings, saved on 19 October 2026, were scored from 0 to 100 in four parts: stars out of 40, review sample out of 20, fit for the job out of 30, and value in this set out of 10. Star points are the amazon rating divided by 5, times 40, rounded. There is no laboratory load test. The top pick is the highest total, once. Best value is the highest value-part score, once, and it is not given to the top pick. In sentences this page says top pick and best value.
Stars
40%The amazon.co.uk rating divided by 5, times 40, rounded to the nearest whole number. A listing with no rating line would score 0. Every pair in this set has a star line.
Review sample
20%1,000 or more reviews scores 20, 500–999 scores 16, 200–499 scores 12, 50–199 scores 8, and fewer than 50 scores 4. The count is the amazon.co.uk figure saved with the listing.
Fit for the job
30%Steel with 2x4 slots reviewers use, and a kilogram bullet you can separate from a conflicting pound field, scores highest. A door pair, a material-field conflict, loose brackets, a long flat-pack, or 2x4 brackets that do not fit, score lower.
Value in this set
10%Under £45, with 1,000 or more reviews and a clear light-DIY job, scores 10. Other stickers score from the price, the sample and the faults on the page. The top pick does not receive this award.
Choose the job before the star count. A light pair for an internal door, a steel horse with timber slots, and a telescopic builders trestle are different objects. On amazon.co.uk the seven pairs here run from about £32.99 to about £90, saved on 19 October 2026. Quality is the lock, the honesty of the load line, and whether the height and the brackets match the job. A 4.7 from 1,470 reviews is a different record from 4.2 from 408. A sawhorse that holds a door is not a platform you stand on.
A folding trestle in this workshop comparison is a portable sawhorse or builders trestle you open and lock so it can hold timber, a door, or a sheet. UK shops use sawhorse, work horse and trestle for the same beam on legs. They use builders trestle for a wider frame that carries boards. On amazon.co.uk the seven kept pairs run from about £32.99 to about £90. Plastic and compact horses sit under about £50. Steel pairs, including the height-adjustable BORA Workhorse XT at about £90, sit higher.
Catering trestle tables, camping tables and log horses are not this comparison. A folding sawhorse is a beam on legs for cutting and fitting. A builders trestle, the HOMCOM shape here, is a wider frame for boards. A standing scaffold platform is a third type, and none of these seven listings claims BS 1139.
Stanley prints 450 kg in the details and 45 kg per pair in a bullet. HOMCOM prints 100 kg per trestle and 200 kg in the details. The Workhorse X bullet says 612 kg each, and a details field prints 2.5E+3 pounds. Evolution does not split 500 kg into each and the pair. Use the label on the horse.
Manuals say not to stand on the horse, not to stack it, and not to exceed the rating. Supporting a sheet on one horse lets the saw bind. One Stanley owner used two pairs under plywood so both halves stayed supported. Call a competent person when someone is employed, the drop is beside a stair or a trench, or the lock or the frame is bent.
The load line only helps if you know whether it is each horse or the pair, and if you treat it as a distributed load on timber, not as a person on the beam. Stanley prints 450 kg in the details and 45 kg per pair in a bullet. HOMCOM prints 100 kg per trestle in a bullet and 200 kg in the details, so the lower printed line is the cautious one. The BORA Workhorse X bullet says 612 kg each and 1,225 kg for the pair, while a details field prints 2.5E+3 pounds.
Material decides rust, stiffness and what you can carry to the van. Stanley is polypropylene at 6.05 kg, and reviewers use it under doors. Amazon Basics is filed as metal and listed at 2.21 kg, yet several reviews call the build all plastic and say it does not rust. BORA, Kastforce and HOMCOM are steel. The Workhorse X pair is 11.7 kg, the XT pair is 13.7 kg, Kastforce is 12.5 kg and HOMCOM is 9 kg. Plastic does not rust in a damp shed.
Three typical situations, each with a recommendation from this comparison.
You want a light pair that folds into a shed and will sit under an internal door. The Stanley STST1-70713 at about £39.95 is polypropylene at 6.05 kg, with 4.6 from 1,768 reviews for hinge marking, trimming and painting. The details field says 450 kg and a bullet says 45 kg per pair, so read the label on the horse. A newer pair was described as more flexible than an older one.
You want 2x4 slots and a fixed working height. The BORA Workhorse X pair at about £76.74 is the top pick: 4.7 from 1,470 reviews, a bullet of 612 kg each, and slots reviewers use for a timber crossbar. A details field prints 2.5E+3 pounds, which does not match that bullet. Height adjustment is not stated.
You need legs that move. The BORA Workhorse XT pair at about £90 states a minimum of 30 inches, and reviewers use it on uneven ground and with about 45 mm timber in the end slots. The pair is listed at 13.7 kg. A catch swings free, and the legs fold in a set order. If you need 80–130 cm and can spare an hour with spanners, the HOMCOM pair is the builders trestle in this set.
The top pick is the BORA Workhorse X pair (PM-3350T) at about £76.74. It is the highest total: 4.7 from 1,470 amazon.co.uk reviews, a bullet of 612 kg each, and 2x4 slots reviewers use for a temporary bench. A details field prints 2.5E+3 pounds, so plan around the kilogram bullet, and height adjustment is not stated. The best value is the Stanley STST1-70713 pair at about £39.95, the highest value-part score and not the top pick: 4.6 from 1,768 reviews for door work in polypropylene at 6.05 kg. The details field says 450 kg and a bullet says 45 kg per pair. None of these scores is a laboratory load test, and a sawhorse is not a platform you stand on.
BORA Workhorse X pair
Highest score: 4.7 from 1,470 reviews, 2x4 slots reviewers use, and a 612 kg bullet at about £76.74, with the conflicting pound field kept separate.
Stanley STST1-70713 pair
Best value as the highest value score after the top pick: 4.6 from 1,768 reviews at about £39.95 for doors, if you read the 450 kg details line and accept the flex.
Editorial
Peter F. is the editor for DIY & tools at productscompared.co.uk. Comparisons in this category are checked against amazon.co.uk listings, review evidence and public UK sources.
Guides on what to look for, how to use a product, and common mistakes.
Public UK sources used for this comparison. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures saved for this set on 19 October 2026.
This page contains affiliate links to amazon.co.uk. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices, stars and review counts are the UK listing lines saved on 19 October 2026. We did not run a lab test.
