I've meant to examine these for a while, since my mixed outcomes with Connected Switchgear (CSG) products last year.
On September 27 in Rexel, I didn't end up buying what I came for but found them below Hager's protection devices.
An overview of Australia's electrical accessories is in order: Our leading brand is Clipsal (owned by Schneider Electric since 2004, after which the Gerards got back in the business with their Trader brand; some electricians swear by them but I'm not so convinced), with HPM (owned by Legrand since 2007) playing second-fiddle. In the 1970s Clipsal and HPM each had a “Standard” range (both still available to some extent, but often at inflated prices) requiring fiddly plastic caps over the mounting screws (since they normally screw into an unearthed metal bracket, which could be made live by a loose wire); in the '80s HPM introduced their Excel range with removable cover plates, but its glory lasted only a few years prior to Clipsal's much-superior 2000 Series (which remains Australia's most-popular switch/socket lineup today) using a common border surround, with multi-gang surrounds available to neatly mount up to four plates side‑by‑side (or three end‑to‑end). Along the way came Clipsal Classic (C2000; a direct competitor to HPM Excel, with similar dedicated cover plates), Clipsal Slimline/Eclipse (SC2000/SL2000; thinner Classic variants, Eclipse with rounder corners) and HPM Linea (likewise), Clipsal Prestige (P2000) and HPM COMO (with large switches for aged‑care facilities) among others. Ring-Grip also had a fair run, but died out 20-odd years ago (now their name is just slapped onto cheapo appliances).
Now there's also the Clipsal/PDL Iconic (3000) series with user-swappable rockers, but it's not as well-made as the 2000 Series so I remain unpersuaded.
HPM/Legrand's Excel Life range is somewhat improved over the original Excel, but not quite enough to win me over either.
So observing my underwhelming general track record with late Australian products, can German giant Hager do better? Let's find out…
WBP4S quad outlet
One of the first Hager accessories in the local Rexel (AU$53.20), and a welcome substitute for Clipsal's C2015D4 (my unit having a very yellowed cover).
Being designed to retrofit in place of a double outlet (largely for convenience but also helpful in heritage-listed houses like the one I'm now living in, where you need to minimize any irreversible alterations), their profile is raised to accommodate the outer sockets over the wall surface. It of course has its own longer surround (thankfully also polycarbonate), with additional columns covering the standard (84mm) mounting points. Just be aware that it's slightly wider (211mm) than the Clipsal (196mm) and the optional corner fixings are further-out accordingly, so check the space before you rush out to replace your old C2015D4…
However it also has wider socket spacings (53mm between the inner sockets and 46.5mm from outer to inner, where Clipsal has the basic 45mm intervals), and built-in screw storage (rather than the C2015D4's provided screw bag).
Hager have chosen a distinctive translucent blue (or “blu”) for the rear frame; while the iMac was 25 years ago, this does reveal that the switches are double‑pole as in the Clipsal, Trader and Deta models (perhaps because the quad-outlet layout doesn't make single‑pole switching much easier anyway).
So to apply Hager's model-numbering scheme consistently, it should really be called the WBP4DS. Like the C2015D4, no part protrudes from the back.
The circular recessed area is where an extra switch goes in the WBP4XS; this pushed the terminals quite low, and indeed the inner sockets had to be spaced-out to accommodate them. Unlike Clipsal, Hager opted to keep the terminals symmetrical (as befitting the overall layout).
The screw heads do bottom-out on the terminals before their tips reach the bore, but will still grip a single 2.5mm² core solidly (provided it's twisted well) so this isn't a crippling flaw (but do verify the grip if connecting already-flattened ends, or if you do have smaller wires in some location).
The thread appears to be M4.5×0.75, in 6mm bores.
As usual in Australian outlets, the shutters are opened by the neutral pin so only protect the active.
Thankfully they are closed by proper springs, not the unsatisfying plastic-leaf arrangements in Clipsal/PDL Iconic (and many older Kambrook power-boards).
The red dot is an insert rather than surface marking (an approach common on UK sockets, but previously unseen here in Australia), so can never wear off; although I wonder if it affects the physical integrity (Clipsal rockers are thicker but still often cracked where the dot was stamped deep enough to create a weak point).
At least Hager have thickened the rocker plastic immediately around the insert. Stationary contacts are 2.6mm diameter (5.3mm²), moving contacts 3.1mm diameter to tolerate some misalignment. The barrier between switch poles could be taller (like in Omron's A8L appliance switch), but is no worse than Clipsal's. The incoming active and neutral busbars are 0.7mm brass, 4.6mm wide at the narrowest point (but 5.7mm across the top part); calculating to 0.9–1.1mm² Cu equivalent, which may seem low for up to 20A combined but should suffice (the CSG BS-POD10 survived with less than half the Cu equivalent). Socket contacts are all 0.7mm phosphor-bronze in full-wiper formation (where the C2015D4's active and neutral are a half-wiper, half-scraper hybrid which might scratch away at plated pins).
It handled 2×11A fine and survived an overload to 2×16A (at least for the 10 minutes I tested) on top of that.
WBSV1 switch (WBSP1 plate + WBM16AX mechanism)
The other item available at Rexel (AU$8.44), although Hager's ranges go up to full 6-switch plates. From the front it looks unremarkable, so let's see the back:
Hager's switch mechanism(s) are mounted by their nifty (and patented) Roto-loc system, which you can lock/release with either a dedicated tool (WBMS, as shown in the catalog) or 5.5×1.0mm bladed screwdriver in the provided slot; preventing push-back by vandals, without the fiddly screws traditionally added for that purpose.
As standard in Australian switches, they can be mounted vertically or horizontally in the same plate.
Otherwise the mechanism is straightforward; SPDT (with a breakaway “T” barrier over the second way) rated for 16AX, plus looping terminal on the left.
Some other mechanisms have different body colors (orange 20A, green double-pole, red intermediate).
The rocker has a two-layer construction (some black plastic behind the white polycarbonate) presumably to provide the stated chemical-resistant pivots and arc shield; the outlets have simple one-layer rockers.
WBP2S dual outlet
This was ordered online among three Clipsal items. The rocker shape is a bit different (two adjoining flats instead of the concave curve) for whatever reason.
The two sockets have 48mm between centers.
While riveted together (so I can't disassemble it without damage), the blue tint is light enough that I can see the active and earth contacts are brass here (only the neutral remaining phosphor‑bronze); so not quite as robust as the 4-outlet model, but still on par with recent Clipsal 2025 production (which has brass A/N, phosphor‑bronze E and is clipped together) – and the WBP2S doesn't use the solid neutral terminal as half of a socket contact, if that helps.
Shutters seem to be the same design (I can locate their springs with my magnet stack), although a bit rougher to open initially (these can take a bit of a break-in).
I decided to test the switch breaking capacity; over 10 cycles at 4800W (240V 20A) and still working (though with some black deposits on the contacts).
(IEC standard tests also use 1.1× the rated voltage, but I'll cross that bridge when I have the equipment…)
All three of these items are manufactured in China, but they aren't used in Germany so it's not like there'd be too much point making them there
Terminal screws are all plated steel, but this is already the case through most of the competition (aside from Clipsal 30M switch mechanisms).
Though I do wonder if Hager's mounting screws (nickel plated?) might be more prone to rusting than the usual zinc-plated screws…
Update: If you have the leftover mounting screws from a Clipsal 2025XA (which for whatever reason are longer than usual), those are zinc-plated and the correct length to substitute in the WBP4S. However Hager's regular-size plates have narrower screw channels which won't quite accept the Clipsal (or Connected Switchgear) screw head diameter, except for those from the newer Clipsal/PDL Iconic series.
Conclusion
Hager's Premiere switches and sockets are very solid competitors to Clipsal 2000 Series (and HPM/Legrand Excel Life for that matter, nevermind the original Excel), and the WBP4S in particular makes Clipsal's C2015D4 “Awesome Foursome” look positively lackluster in comparison.
You can, of course, stay with Clipsal 2000 Series switches and single/double outlets if you value Australian manufacturing higher than Hager's technical advantages. For me it's a close-run thing; for switches decided mainly by already having several Clipsal mechanisms and plates, and the single/double outlets are even harder to choose between – Australian made or shuttered? (Yes, the Clipsal 2025S exists; but at an exorbitant extra cost, compared to the base model or Hager WBP2S.)
Also bear in mind the mounting screw head diameters, as noted in the update above; definitely use Hager's mounting blocks with Hager accessories.
But the C2015D4 has long since been made in China (and now Vietnam) anyway, as are most of Clipsal's more-exotic items.
So as long as the WBP4S's wider form is OK, it's the clear winner. In the (hopefully few) edge cases where the WBP4S doesn't fit, you could fall back on Trader's PUBIG4 (which looks suspiciously similar to the cheapo Deta/Arlec, but hopefully with better quality control) as a second-choice C2015D4 replacement.
I'll install the WBP4S in my kitchen, upgrading from the CSG BS-POD10 there (and changing another on the same wall to the WBP2S for consistency)…