I’ve spent the past few days researching the best garden hoses because I need a durable and reliable one for watering plants, cleaning, and general outdoor use. I read reviews from The New York Times (Wirecutter), Consumer Reports, and Popular Mechanics, and these two consistently show up as top recommendations:
Garden Hose 100FT
Flexzilla Garden Hose
However, I’m still having trouble deciding which one would suit my needs best. I have a medium-sized garden, a patio that needs occasional washing, and sometimes use a pressure nozzle for cleaning vehicles and outdoor furniture. I’m looking for something long-lasting, easy to handle, and doesn’t kink all the time.
So which garden hose would you recommend?
Any advice or personal experience would be greatly appreciated!
Flexzilla is a good hose. If you leave it outside under elements, it will get a dirty/moldy look. If you take it under cover after each use, it will stay nice and neon green, looking like new.
Flexzilla hose has a good elasticity, it stays flexible in cold weather, which is nice.
I would recommend getting two 50’ hoses instead of a single 100’ roll, it’s much easier to handle 50’ length.
I look for a large diameter hose for best flow. And then I look for a color that doesn’t look horrendous if I leave it out in the yard. In my experience (even with commercial/contractor grade landscaping stuff) they all kink.
Get a 3/4" hose if your water volume and pressures are a concern.
I bought, yesterday a 3/4" fiberglass reinforced hose with heavy duty ends. I got it at Home Depot for $79 and 100 feet long. Its glow orange and I like that as I’m using in my orchard, and I can see it better. I was very happy with it.
With hoses you usally get what you pay for. Cheap hoses kink easily, and the ends break or get crushed. They are cheap because they use thin hose and cheap ends.
Brass ends are the best, but hard to come by. The aluminum ends they use nowadays will sieze. Just make sure you take them off one or twice a year.
My best hoses are used the most and have the least issues. The cheap one are a PITA and usually have to have new ends put on them.
I’m using the blsck flexible hose you get at Costco. Forgot the name. It appears to be surviving after 3 years.
The ends are made of aluminum which is subject to galvanic corrosion. So I wipe it with a thin coat of Vaseline once a year. This appears to be keeping it working.
Not a ringing endorsement I know. But I don’t trust any hose to last more than 5 years. Unless it is contractor grade and weighs a ton. They come with their own problems - weight and storage.
I just bought my 4th 100 foot Blubala heavy duty stainless steel hose on Amazon for around 58 dollars. I needed one for each outdoor faucet and two for the garden spigot so I could reach the entire garden area.
I have only had the first three about 1.5 years so not that long. But I have had absolutely no problems and I love them more than any hose I have ever had, even the very expensive, very heavy allegedly “no kink” hoses. Every hose I had before these did eventually kink, and the lengths I had to have to reach all the garden and flower beds made them very heavy to haul around for this old woman.
I am pretty hard on hoses and drag, stretch, twist and pull them around sharp rocks and stone beds and give them impatient yanks when they get caught on something. So far so good with these stainless steel hoses. No damage noted and I can’t get them to kink even if I try. I throw them in a pile under a bush sometimes and they look all knotted up, but a good pull and they just release the knot. Don’t know how, but I love it. Best of all they are super lightweight and I can easily carry the 100 foot hose from place to place if need be, even at my older age. They also come with an eight function sprayer with a couple extra gaskets so that is a nice addition.
The only small drawback is that, although they have 3/4 inch fittings, I think I read the interior diameter is a bit smaller than that so the water pressure is not extreme. That may be a big drawback for some, but I am willing to deal with it for the convenience and ease of use.
Sandra
A coworker recommend flexilla to me and I’ve been waiting to get one until I take back my current costco lightweight 100ft hose. Got a leak at the end where I attach different stuff. Probably my fault though. It is kinking already though, in annoying moments.
I keep my hoses out year round and use 2 types. Stainless armored for great flexibility and easy to move around. I have 130’ and another. They have small diameter inner plastic hose that is restrictive. I recently bought a less restrictive one that works better.
The other type is natural rubber black hoses Sears Craftsman. They kink, but they are impervious to the elements and are 3/4" with high flow. They are heavy and more of a pain to move.
The rubber ones are more than 10 years old and should go another 10. My oldest steel one is maybe 5 or 6 years old. The larger ID one I made sure to get with brass fittings. The older one I’ve replaced the fitting with brass on at least one end.
I really like the real rubber hoses, like the Goodyear and Continental hoses and the pricier and bigger Bridgestone/similar contractor hoses are expensive. My favorite rubber hose is the Rainbird kink free premium. Out of all of them I have it is the most friendly for moving around. These are all on the expensive side.
Side note, I would never buy another hose with aluminum fittings. It is a major headache because of galvanic corrosion.