In this thread the key request was LIGHT and FLEXIBLE. Windtrax aces that, but at the cost of being very easy to kink or crush if not careful.
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Editor&#;s Note: This review was updated in May to include four new hoses we tested.
In addition to watering our lawns , gardens, and plants, we tested each of these hoses on a hose reel and noted how well they rolled up and whether they ever kinked or leaked during testing. Each hose was evaluated on its ease of use, design, durability, and value, and we continue testing the winners for six months or more to make sure they are still performing well.
We also think it&#;s important to choose a hose that is easy to attach and has durable fittings (couplings), especially if you have one spigot and need to frequently change watering tools such as a sprinkler, hose timer , or nozzle. Many of the hoses we included have a collar or handle that helps make this easier, so you can easily tighten the connection to prevent leaks without needing any extra tools.
While testing hoses in our yards and gardens, we found that it's important to choose the right size . Make sure the hose you choose is the right length to reach all of the areas you need to water (with a little room to spare), doesn&#;t easily kink, and is easy to roll up and store. Most hoses we tested are lightweight and flexible, so they are easy to drag around.
As gardeners ourselves, we know that a good hose is essential in keeping your lawn and garden looking its best. To find the best options available, we tested 34 garden hoses over the last few years in The Lab and at our homes across the country.
Best Overall
Zero-G Ultra Flexible Durable Garden Hose
PHOTO:
Amazon
$68 at Amazon
$70 at Wayfair
$70 at Wayfair
What We Like
Easily attaches to water spigot
Maneuvers well when full or empty
Crush-proof couplings
What We Don't Like
Only rated for use above 35 degrees Fahrenheit
After testing 34 garden hoses, the Zero-G Garden Hose remains our favorite. If you&#;ve ever struggled to use or move a bulky, heavy hose around your outdoor space, you'll especially love this lightweight (under 4 pounds) 100-foot hose. We tested it for six months with almost daily use, including watering the grass and flower beds, filling up a hot tub, and clearing off our deck, and this hose is proven to be a durable, splurge-worthy gardening tool.
During our initial testing in our outdoor lab, we were impressed with how easy it was to coil or uncoil. After connecting it to a spigot, winding it on a hose reel, and pulling it through our testing environment, we thought this hose was well worth the higher price tag versus other hoses that didn't perform as well. The lead-free couplings are designed to be crush-proof under loads up to 900 pounds. Plus, we loved how easily the hose connected to the spigot and felt its overall design was sleek compared to other options on the market.
The Zero-G is constructed of a heavy-duty vinyl inner tube with a durable, abrasion-resistant jacket. (It has the appearance of an expandable hose, but this version isn&#;t expandable or retractable.) It's also available in a variety of lengths and diameters should you need a different size.
We will point out that this hose is not best for colder climates as it is only rated for above 35 degrees Fahrenheit, which is slightly higher than most of the other hoses in this list. So, if you need a hose that can withstand temperatures as low as minus 40 degrees, the Eley Garden Hose, our best splurge pick, might be a better option. However, this is our favorite hose for most other scenarios and should hold up for many gardening seasons to come.
Material: Vinyl | Length: 100 feet | Diameter: 5/8 inch | Weight: 3.9 pounds empty
The Spruce / Dera Burreson
The Spruce / Dera Burreson
The Spruce / Dera Burreson
Best Rubber
AG-LITE Rubber Garden Hose
PHOTO:
Amazon
$82 at Amazon
What We Like
No kinks or leaks
Easy to maneuver and store
Comfortable grip
Available in many lengths
What We Don't Like
Slight learning curve when using nozzle
If you are looking for a traditional rubber hose, our favorite is the AG-LITE Rubber Garden Hose. This hose never kinked or leaked while testing, and we loved the comfortable grip on the handle, which made it easy to maneuver around our yard. It&#;s well-made and sturdy, yet seems very lightweight for a 75-foot rubber hose, at less than 12 pounds.
We also love the versatility of this hose. We tested it along with a wall-mounted hose reel and were able to attach it and wind it around the reel easily. We were also able to attach it to a hose nozzle and spigot without any issues. According to the manufacturer, it can withstand water temperatures as much as 200 degrees and as low as 40 degrees. Plus, it's available in many lengths, from 6 feet up to 100 feet, so you can pick the right one for your watering needs.
We only had one minor hiccup with this hose. Occasionally, when we turned it on with the nozzle on, it would point in a direction we weren&#;t expecting. But this could be because of how we were gripping it. Other than that, we found it to be a very reliable watering tool.
Material: Rubber | Length: 75 feet | Diameter: 5/8 inch | Weight: 11.44 pounds empty
The Spruce / Cathy Fallone
The Spruce / Cathy Fallone
The Spruce / Cathy Fallone
The Spruce / Cathy Fallone
The Spruce / Cathy Fallone
Best Lightweight
Giraffe Tools Garden Hose
PHOTO:
Amazon
$80 at Amazon
What We Like
Easy to connect/disconnect
Comfortable to handle
Coils up easily
What We Don't Like
Occasional kinks
For a very lightweight 100-foot hose&#;barely 7 pounds&#;we love the Giraffe Tools Garden Hose. We dragged this hose around our driveway, patio, and yard with ease, and it performed well during a variety of tasks: it was hooked up to a sprinkler and hose timer to keep our garden watered, connected to a hose nozzle to water plants, and even connected to a misting fan to help keep us and our dog cool.
This hose has a comfortable handle (sometimes called a collar) on each end that swivels and can be lined up over the coupling, which helps you thread and unthread it easily. This makes it much gentler on your fingers than it would be if you had to thread and unthread the nickel-plated brass coupling itself. We think this feature is especially useful if you use your hose for a variety of purposes and have to remove it often from a sprinkler, nozzle, wand, or timer. The collars do slide down the hose and need to be repositioned at times, but we didn't find it much of a hassle.
While admittedly, this hose was a little too long for our everyday needs and kinked once or twice, it was super easy to wind onto a hose reel for storage. We also liked that it was long enough if we ever needed to water our front porch plants, which we would never attempt doing with a heavier hose we&#;ve used in the past. If you need a smaller hose, we like that it&#;s available in a range of sizes from 2.5 to 100 feet.
Material: Polymer | Length: 100 feet | Diameter: 5/8 inch | Weight: 7.04 pounds empty
The Spruce / Jenica Currie
The Spruce / Jenica Currie
The Spruce Home / Jenica Currie
The Spruce / Jenica Currie
The Spruce / Jenica Currie
Best Splurge
Eley Polyurethane Garden Hose
PHOTO:
Eley
$42 at Eley
What We Like
Kink-resistant design
Very solid construction for a thick, durable feel
10-year warranty against leaks
What We Don't Like
Only available in gray
The Eley five-eighth-inch Polyurethane Garden Hose has everything you need in a heavy-duty garden hose: thick, durable construction, high-quality fittings, and a kink-free design. During testing, we found this hose to be solid and well-suited for heavy long-term use. While it is more expensive for its size (we tested the 6.5-foot option) compared to the other products on our list, we think it's worth the splurge.
We loved that this hose never kinked during testing. It's reinforced with high-tensile threads that resist kinking and also provide a defense against the hose bursting under high water pressure. As you&#;d expect of a heavy-duty hose, you can use the Eley in temperatures down to minus-40 degrees Fahrenheit. The crush-proof brass fittings are lead-free and corrosion-proof, but note that it does not have any special features around the coupling to make it easier to thread.
The Eley resists cuts, punctures, abrasions, and tears, so you can expect to pull this hose across cement, garden tools, rocks, and more without puncturing or cutting it. That is no surprise since the polyurethane material is the same as what you find in inline roller skate wheels. Eley backs this heavy-duty hose with a 10-year leak-free warranty for added peace of mind. It's available in multiple sizes as long as 200 feet.
Material: Polyurethane | Length: 6.5 feet | Diameter: 5/8 inches | Weight: 1 pound empty
The Spruce / Rachel Marek
The Spruce / Rachel Marek
The Spruce / Rachel Marek
Best Attachable
Flexzilla Garden Hose
PHOTO:
Amazon
$38 at Amazon
$57 at Home Depot
$40 at Walmart
What We Like
Link to HESPER
Bright color is easy to spot
Comfortable silicone handles
Does not kink
What We Don't Like
Heavy when full
After testing in our lab and a real-world setting, we found the Flexzilla super simple to use for a multitude of tasks: watering the lawn and flower beds, washing a minivan, rinsing out a compost bin and garbage cans, and adding water to a pool. This hose stands out for its bright color but also for its flexible, pliable nature. It&#;s a great pick as an attachable hose since it needs no special connectors. Also, its squishy silicone handles at either end give you a comfortable grip when connecting hoses or attaching to a spigot.
We also were impressed with how well this hose straightened out and that it didn&#;t kink during garden tasks. This is especially important if you plan to connect multiple hoses and don&#;t want the hassle of shaking loose a long, kink-filled hose that doesn't lay flat. However, we found it heavy when full, which made it hard to swing over things to maneuver into different places.
Material: Hybrid Polymer | Length: 50 feet | Diameter: 5/8 inch | Weight: 7.8 pounds empty
The Spruce / Sarah Vanbuskirk
The Spruce / Sarah Vanbuskirk
The Spruce / Dera Burreson
Best with Reel
Giraffe Tools Retractable Garden Hose Reel
$196 at Amazon
$195 at Wayfair
What We Like
Includes reel, hose, and hose nozzle
Wall-mounted, space-saving design
Retractable hose that locks in any length
Easy to manuever
What We Don't Like
Can be hard to install
Can leak if not tightly attached
If you are a new homeowner looking for your first hose and a place to store it, you&#;ll love the Giraffe Tools Retractable Garden Hose Reel. While this wall-mounted system requires setting aside time for installation, we loved the space-saving design of the retractable reel, along with the matching hose nozzle and hose.
This is a longer hose than others on our list, at 130 feet, but we found it very easy to maneuver and store. The retractable hose locks to the length you need it for and easily winds up after, so you don&#;t need to worry about tripping over a longer hose. It is one of the smallest in diameter, at 1/2 inch, but that also makes it a good choice for a compact yard.
The included nozzle has nine spray settings and an on/off handle that controls the water pressure, which we especially liked when watering delicate plants. While we did find the installation tricky (we struggled with finding the right hardware and instructions for our concrete wall, and it occasionally leaked if not on tight enough), and it is pricier than buying just a hose, we liked how easy it was to use this hose and neatly store it.
Material: Polyproplene | Length: 130 feet | Diameter: 1/2 inch | Weight: None listed
The Spruce / Meredith Luksetich
The Spruce / Meredith Luksetich
The Spruce / Meredith Luksetich
The Spruce / Meredith Luksetich
The Spruce / Meredith Luksetich
Best for Small Spaces
Dramm Rubber Garden Hose
PHOTO:
Amazon
$104 at Amazon
$32 at Walmart
What We Like
Flexible in minus-25 degrees Fahrenheit
Available in a variety of colors
Easy to store
What We Don't Like
Not a potable water hose
With a 25-foot length, this hose is ideal for watering patio plants, a small garden, or for keeping handy on your deck or balcony. The flexibility of this garden hose impressed us the most, and the rare kinks that occurred were easy to shake loose. Even in cold-weather climates, you can expect this hose to stay limber and durable down to temperatures of minus-25 degrees Fahrenheit.
After six months of regularly using this hose, we're still happy with its overall durability and ease of use. It is smaller in diameter than most of the other hoses on this list (except for our best with reel option, the Giraffe Tools Retractable Garden Hose Reel). Still, we noticed that it has a strong flow, even when coming from a rain barrel rather than a hose spigot. Plus, its small diameter and length also make it an easy hose to wind up and store.
We also like that it's available in multiple colors (we chose purple), so whether you want to add a pop of color to your small space or want something that can blend right in, you have several options.
Material: EPDM Rubber | Length: 25 feet | Diameter: 1/2 inch | Weight: 2.04 pounds empty
The Spruce / Rachel Marek
The Spruce / Rachel Marek
The Spruce / Rachel Marek
The Spruce / Rachel Marek
The Spruce / Rachel Marek
Best Heavy Duty
Stanley Fatmax Professional Grade Water Hose
PHOTO:
Amazon
$90 at Amazon
What We Like
Easy to attach to spigot
Sturdy and durable
Easy to wind up and store
What We Don't Like
Heavy
Only available in one color
If you want a hose that feels heavy-duty but is also flexible and easy to store, you&#;ll love the Stanley Fatmax Professional Grade Water Hose. At 14.37 pounds, the 100-foot hose is one of the heaviest on our list. Despite its length and weight, we were able to manually coil up the hose and store it on a hose stand, even without the help of a reel. We also noticed no wear and tear on the hose when dragging it around our property.
Like our best lightweight pick, the Giraffe Tools Garden Hose, this hose has a collar or handle that makes it easy to grip and thread onto the spigot or watering attachments. We found it easier to thread than other hoses we&#;ve used without it in the past. However, we did find it a little harder to unthread on the spigot and worry that struggling with the aluminum coupling over time might cause durability issues.
Although it&#;s easy to maneuver empty, we did find the hose pretty heavy when full, so this is something to keep in mind. Also, it&#;s only available in bright yellow. While this can add a pop of color to your landscape and make it easy to spot, this color might not be ideal if you are looking for something that blends in better with your yard.
Material: Polyurethane (PU), Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), Aluminum | Length: 100 feet | Diameter: 5/8 inch | Weight: 14.37 pounds empty
The Spruce / Kimberly Souza
The Spruce / Kimberly Souza
The Spruce / Kimberly Souza
The Spruce / Kimberly Souza
The Spruce / Kimberly Souza
Best Soaker
H2O Works Garden Flat Soaker Hose
PHOTO:
Amazon
$24 at Amazon
What We Like
Very lightweight
Durable across rough terrain
Easy to maneuver and store
What We Don't Like
Needs to be in a straight line to be effective
The H20 Works Garden Flat Soaker Hose is an effective way to water your vegetable garden or delicate plants. Made of porous PVC, this soaker hose features tiny holes from end to end that deliver water droplets to the roots of plants when placed in your garden. While this likely won't be the only hose you own, we found that it's lightweight and doesn't take up much room in storage, so it's very easy to store when not needed.
"The benefit of a soaker hose," notes Debra LaGattuta, Master Gardener and member of The Spruce Garden Review Board, "is that it deposits water exactly where it's needed: directly to the plant roots. Because the water is not airborne, there is much less evaporation, and water is applied slowly and gently to the plants."
We also found that it's very durable, which is especially important in a soaker hose because you leave it on the ground, and can cover it with mulch or soil. We put it through our durability tests in the lab but also used it in our own garden, where it held up well. It can be used in temperatures as low as four below up to 140 degrees.
Soaker hoses work best when you can lay them out in a straight line. For example, we tried using this hose to water a curved flower bed, and the water didn't travel through as thoroughly (which is to be expected for a flat soaker hose). The brand claims it dispenses 2 gallons in 2 minutes.
Material: PVC | Length: 50 feet | Diameter: 1/2 inch | Weight: 3.92 pounds empty
The Spruce / Rachel Marek
The Spruce / Rachel Marek
The Spruce / Dera Burreson
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