Toughbuilt Sawhorse versus Bora Speedhorse
Toughbuilt is renowned for having a range of heavy-duty saw horses, designed for tough site conditions. Not to be confused with trestles, saw horses are considerably stronger, sturdier, and more robust. This article ‘Toughbuilt Sawhorse versus Bora Speedhorse’ will compare the range of Toughbuilt saw horses to the Bora saw horse brand, so you can decide which is best for your specific applications. It will cover:
- What are the benefits of Toughbuilt sawhorses?
- How does the Toughbuilt sawhorse compare to the Bora Speedhorse?
- What are the differences between the Toughbuilt and Bora Sawhorses?
- Verdict: Which is the best sawhorse?
What are the benefits of Toughbuilt Sawhorses?
The entire Toughbuilt saw horse range is constructed from 100% high-grade steel. The steel is zinc-plated and powder-coated to prevent corrosion and withstand rigorous site environments for long service life. All saw horses in the range fold away for convenient storage and transportation, each individually featuring a carry handle for easy handling. The rolled edges of the sawhorses also provide maximum safety and comfort. Fixing holes allow sacrificial timber to be screwed to the top surfaces, avoiding accidental damage when sawing materials.
Each Toughbuilt sawhorse has a maximum weight capacity of circa ½ tonne and up to an incredible 1 tonne when used in pairs. They can also be used as job site workbenches when board material spans a pair. The higher-end Toughbuilt sawhorses even feature slots for timber joists to underpin the worktop for ultimate stability. The top surfaces of the sawhorses are non-slip, for even greater stability.
How does the Toughbuilt sawhorse compare to the Bora Speedhorse?
The only comparable alternative saw horse to the Toughbuilt range, when it comes to quality levels, is the Bora Speedhorse. There are other types of saw horses and trestles available, like Stanley, Draper, and even DeWalt – plus there have been new brands recently arriving into the UK market, such as Excel and Minotaur… but let’s not beat around the bush here. The only real competitor to Toughbuilt for the ‘best sawhorse crown’ is Bora.
What are the key advantages of the Bora Speedhorse?
The key advantages of the Bora Speedhorse are a rapid unfolding or opening, and greater weight capacity. Bora promotes a 1.6 second set up time, compared to say 5 to 10 seconds for the Toughbuilt sawhorses. A significant benefit? Arguably more convenient, but be careful when collapsing the Bora Speedhorse, as the legs don’t always drop back into place and it can be a finger-trapper if you’re not careful. For weight capacity, when used in pairs, the Toughbuilt sawhorses can safely hold between circa 1 tonne and 1.2 tonnes, depending on the model type. The Bora Speedhorse range has a maximum weight capacity of 1.36 tonnes when used in pairs, so a few kilograms more if 1 tonne+ is not enough that is!
We’ve looked at the two key advantages of the Bora Speedhorse over the Toughbuilt Sawhorses, but where does Toughbuilt have the edge? For this part of the article, we’re comparing the popular Toughbuilt C550 to the Bora Speedhorse:
What are the key advantages of the Toughbuilt Sawhorse?
- The Toughbuilt sawhorse features pivoting feet, whereas the Bora Speedhorse has capped ends. The pivoting feet on the Toughbuilt sawhorse provide much better stability, especially on uneven ground.
- The Toughbuilt sawhorse has very clever material support pegs on one side. The support pegs allow board materials or doors to be worked on in an upright position. The Bora Speedhorse does not have this really useful feature.
- The slots for the 2×4 timber joists vary in width quite considerably, with the Bora Speedhorse slot being a few millimetres narrower than the Toughbuilt. This makes it quite difficult to insert the 2×4 timber supports when using the sawhorses as a workbench. It’s conceivable that the Bora Speedhorse has been designed to work with CLS timber, which has slightly smaller dimensions compared to standard timber joists.
- The slots for the 2×4 timber joists also vary in height quite considerably. When inserted into the slot, the timber joists sit perfectly flush with the top of the Toughbuilt sawhorses, whereas they sit annoyingly proud when inserted in the Bora Speedhorse – needing to be packed out with sacrificial timber on the top of the sawhorse to obtain an even surface all around.
- Finally, the Toughbuilt range of sawhorses comes with a two-year warranty as standard, but this is extended to an incredible 25-year warranty when the product is registered. The Bora range, on the other hand, comes with just 1 year warranty, giving Toughbuilt a significant edge when it comes to quality confidence, and peace of mind.
All the above benefits are not only applicable to the Toughbuilt C550, but also replicated on the Toughbuilt C650 and Toughbuilt C700 sawhorses. As you go up the Toughbuilt quality ladder, the saw horses have additional features and benefits – more information below.
What are the differences between Toughbuilt and Bora Sawhorses?
It’s easier to drop all this information into a table, so you can conveniently compare the various saw horse options. We’ve covered the detail of most of the differences between Toughbuilt Sawhorses and Bora Speedhorses above, but the table below gives you an easy reference point.
When upgrading from the Toughbuilt C550 to C650 or C700, you get the added benefit of height adjustable legs, increasing or reducing the working height +/- 18cm. The Toughbuilt C700 also has adjustable side arms to take either 2×4 or 4×4 timber joists – plus cutting brackets on one side to securely hold lengths of timber joists, making the cutting process much more stable and easier.
Verdict: What is the best Sawhorse?
There’s no question that the two best brands of professional saw horses are Toughbuilt and Bora. Bora wins when it comes to set up time and weight capacity, but in reality… does an extra 10 seconds a day make much difference, and is 998kg or 1180kg enough weight capacity for any jobsite application? I’d say the other more useful features that the Toughbuilt range offer, outweigh any advantages Bora has to offer, not least the staggering difference in warranty periods.
So which is the best Toughbuilt sawhorse? As you go up the range, features increase… as does the price. It’s a case of looking at the benefits versus the price and determining which ones tick your boxes in real site applications. In terms of build quality and reliability, the Toughbuilt range of saw horses is much of a muchness!
Joint Managing Director, Protrade
Craig has over 30 years of experience at Protrade, working in various departments including sales, procurement, and marketing, and ultimately becoming Managing Director in 2008. Following the merger of Protrade and Joinery Fit-Out Supplies in 2018, Craig is now the joint MD of the company.
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