When I was asked by Joe from GreanBase to review the Wheelbarrow Booster, a product that would increase the capacity of my wheelbarrow by up to 300%, I couldn’t resist and I jumped at the opportunity. I use wheelbarrows on a daily basis, largely when mucking out my horse’s stable, and I knew I could put this product through its paces and to very good use.On the day it arrived it was swiftly unpacked ahead of its first outing. A simple product, often the best inventions are, it appeared well made and I could imagine it would last many years if looked after correctly. The only downside – it didn’t fit either of my barrows. At the time of testing I was using an 85 litre Bull barrow and if you look closely the plastic pan meets up with the handles meaning that I couldn’t securely fit the booster’s elastic band around the pan. Rightly, the manufacturers do state that it fits “most” barrows but it appears I have a knack of selecting barrows that fall outside of this category. I did however manage to get some purchase around the pan and testing was possible. I looked to see how others got on with similar problems and Compostwoman from ‘The Compost Bin’ blog found one way to deal with it.
The first test was to see if it could hold wood shavings. I had just taken receipt of new flooring for the stable and I needed to lift the shavings that were currently in place so I could fit the rubber matting. The barrow safely held a whole stables-worth of shavings, although we may have worked hard to get the last few forkfuls in. As you can see from the picture we overfilled the booster but despite it bulging slightly it certainly held well and made the job much easier. The first test was a success.
It’s recommended that the Booster is used for: “light-weight, but bulky garden waste e.g. grass/hedge trimmings, leaves, pruning’s, cleared vegetation. Not forgetting hay, shavings etc. around the stables.” In an effort to test it with heavier materials I filled the barrow with both horse manure and garden compost and it worked fairly well, although it wasn’t possible to fill it as much as in the first test. My main concern with carrying this type of material is that you do have to be fairly careful when filling your barrow and that upon emptying it the Wheelbarrow Booster came loose and detached, although I fear this may be more to with the type of barrow I was using and the lack of correct fit.
All in all, I found this product to be pretty good and especially handy at the stables, although it would be interesting to see a design put in to production that accounts for barrows such as the Bull barrow, which doesn't accommodate the current design. I don’t have a lawn or much hedging to trim but I imagine that the booster would come in to its own in larger gardens that require the removal of such trimmings and leaf collection, which the booster is specifically designed for.
The Wheelbarrow Booster from GreanBase retails for £15.98.
