June 1, 2023

$49 at Walmart

Teknor Apex Zero-G Hose (4001-50)

Greatest backyard hose total

$40 at Amazon

The EADUTY Hybrid Garden Hose sits coiled atop some garden mulch.

Eaduty Hybrid Backyard Hose

Greatest conventional rubber hose

Having a inexperienced thumb is not a prerequisite for additionally having an excellent high quality backyard hose round the home. A dependable hose will make washing a automobile or cleansing up undesirable particles a a lot simpler process, even if you happen to by no means use it to water a backyard.

Whether or not you are selecting one up at Walmart or Lowe’s or ordering one off of Amazon, backyard hoses aren’t onerous to get, however discovering one which’s reliable and versatile is slightly trickier. Whereas a regular 50-foot backyard hose might look easy and easy on the floor, there are many particulars to contemplate when shopping for one.

A hose’s materials, weight and water move charge all play a consider the way it operates. Some duties do require a heavy responsibility rubber hose that is able to withstanding excessive temperatures and water stress. On the flip aspect, generally a small, light-weight hose is the most effective instrument for the job.

I checked out all these components and used calculated assessments to see how seven totally different hoses in contrast to one another. I additionally checked out more-subjective particulars like whether or not a hose felt comfy to carry and if it scratched up when it was dragged throughout concrete. The purpose right here is that can assist you discover a backyard hose you’ll be able to depend on while you want it.

The Teknor Apex Zero-G Hose sits in a coil amidst some mulch.
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If you happen to have been requested to design a backyard hose, you’d most likely need it to be light-weight whereas additionally having a quick move charge. Ideally it would not kink simply and would not be a ache to screw on or off of a spigot. The well-rounded Zero-G Hose from Teknor Apex ticks all these containers, together with having the second quickest move charge, at 0.98 kilos per second. 

This hose will work nicely for informal use round your house, however it also needs to be capable of deal with a extra concerned landscaping undertaking. Not like expandable cloth hoses, the Zero-G would not broaden or retract, so there isn’t any shrinking sensation that you must accommodate for. This hose guarantees abrasion and puncture resistance, and Teknor backs up these claims with a five-year guarantee, which is a pleasant step up from the one- or two-year warranties you may discover with most different hoses.

It is a nice all-around hose for most individuals, and I particularly favored its twisting finish items to assist make it simpler to hook up with a spigot. The hose wasn’t unwieldy and needs to be mild sufficient for most individuals to maneuver it round with out bother. So long as you’ll be able to tolerate its exterior staying damp slightly longer than rubber hoses, and the comparatively low most water feed temperature of 80 levels, then I feel this hose is price its retail value.

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The EADUTY Hybrid Garden Hose sits coiled atop some garden mulch.
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The Eaduty Hybrid Backyard Hose is about as conventional a backyard hose as you will get. There’s little or no about its design or development that feels distinctive. That is not an issue, nonetheless, as a result of water flowed freely and its plastic twist grips on the ends made it straightforward to get the hose on and off a spigot with minimal effort.

This Eaduty Hybrid Backyard Hose was just like the Giraffe Instruments Backyard Hose in most methods, however it edged that one out with a light-weight design, quicker water move, and barely higher worth at $45. Plus, I most popular how its plastic twist grips stayed put and did not slide up and down the hose physique. 

This hose is able to dealing with excessive temperatures and stress bursts as much as 450 psi. Its rubber physique did not present any seen scratches after I dragged it throughout a concrete driveway, just some minimal scratches on the plastic twist grip.

If you happen to want to stay to a extra conventional rubber hose, for no matter purpose, I feel that is the one to choose. The 2-year guarantee is a bit stingy for its value, however past that consideration, I used to be glad with the product.

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The all-metal Rosy Earth Garden Hose sits in a coil next to some small shrubs.
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With a chrome steel design, the Rosy Earth Water Hose is an uncommon contender within the backyard hose class. And whereas it won’t be the correct hose for everybody, its minimal footprint and skill to by no means kink makes it superior to a standard rubber or cloth hose in quite a few use circumstances. 

Due to the hose’s metallic development, I used to be very interested by how it might fare throughout a concrete driveway. I used to be pleasantly shocked to see it did not trigger any injury, nor did it look overly worn from being dragged forwards and backwards. On this occasion, it proved to be extra sturdy than the WeGuard Expandable Water Hose and its polyester cloth cowl, which shortly started to fray. 

The Rosy Earth Water Hose by no means received overly tangled, so it all the time uncoiled shortly and was speedy to manually roll up — that facet was nice. It is not the tidiest choose, although. The metallic exterior did trigger the hose to be a bit slippery in opposition to itself and that, in flip, made it a problem to maintain the factor neat and orderly throughout storage.

Storage woes apart, this hose had a stable however unspectacular move charge of 0.86 kilos per second. It did not really feel gradual whereas filling the check bucket, however it was slower than most different examined hoses due to a narrower physique diameter. Being narrower did give it a bit extra pure stress, nonetheless.

One facet I used to be shocked by was that the hose grew to become stiffer and far much less versatile when water was flowing by means of it. It was attention-grabbing throughout my hands-on, however it did not forestall any performance. The Rosy Earth Water Hose with a retail value of $42.99 is an effective choice for people who find themselves intrigued by the expandable cloth hoses for his or her compactness however need higher sturdiness.

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Different hoses we examined

Showing the metal end of the Briggs and Stratton rubber hose after drag test

Tyler Hayes/CNET

Briggs and Stratton Rubber Backyard Hose (8BS50)

The Briggs and Stratton Rubber Backyard Hose appeared prefer it may very well be a long-term workhorse primarily based on its efficiency. If you happen to do have a more difficult surroundings the place you want a hose to work continually, this one is a stable choice with a retail value of $42.90. 

It could actually carry out in excessive temperatures, however most significantly, if one thing does occur to it, the hose has a lifetime guarantee. Although it had nice efficiency, the 10-pound hose is on the heavy aspect, it was cumbersome to manually roll up, and it did not have the nicety of twisting deal with grips for screwing the tip on and off a spigot. 

Flexzilla garden hose in bright green laying twisted on a driveway

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Flexzilla Backyard Hose (HFZG550YW-E)

The Flexzilla Backyard Hose retails for $40 and was definitely the brightest and most seen hose I examined. If the visible ingredient ranks extremely in your checklist of priorities for any purpose, this hose would make a effective selection. 

The Flexzilla hose had the quickest move charge, at 1.26 kilos per second, however I used to be continually pissed off by the twists, tangles, and kinks that shaped alongside the hose if it wasn’t babied in the way it was laid out and moved round. A part of that will have been from the extraordinarily versatile hybrid polymer materials. It felt good to carry, however it was nonetheless cumbersome to retailer in a storage and weighed virtually 8 kilos.

Showing the end of the giraffe garden hose after a drag test

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Giraffe Instruments Hybrid Backyard Hose

The Giraffe Instruments Hybrid Backyard Hose was similar to the Eaduty hose however did not stand out in any approach from that choice. It was completely effective, however I did not look after the way in which the plastic twist grips did not keep hooked up to the ends. Plus, it has a excessive retail value of $50.

showing the WeGuard expandable garden hose coiled up

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WeGuard Expandable Backyard Hose

The WeGuard Expandable Backyard Hose is compact, light-weight and retails for $29. It will work greatest for areas like a balcony or small patios. I used to be dissatisfied by its sturdiness within the drag check and its enlargement from 17 ft to 50 ft could make sure watering duties trickier.

Showing 6 hoses coiled up laying on a driveway

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How we check backyard hoses

Initially, I used CNET’s hose testing pointers to judge every product in three particular areas: connection, kink, and move charge. These performance-based assessments helped establish how the hoses functioned, and likewise how they in contrast to one another.

Every hose handed the connection check, which checked to verify none of them have been leaking when screwed on to the spigot or when used with a sprig nozzle. Every had an ideal connection out of the field. Every time I related a hose to make use of it, I additionally checked the connection to verify there have been no leaks. 

Not one of the hoses leaked on the level of connection after a minimum of 5 instances of screwing them on and off, both. The rubber O-ring will possible deteriorate over time, so there could also be leaking sooner or later, however when the hoses have been in new working order I did not see any design flaws that may result in a foul expertise proper from the beginning.

Holding the Rosy Earth water hose for the kink test

You will not have any kinks to fret about with the all-metal Rosy Earth Backyard Hose.

Tyler Hayes/CNET

Equally, all of the hoses handed the kink check, with 100% water move when holding the hose about two ft from the tip and wrapping it round my hand. Among the hoses, such because the Flexzilla and the Briggs confirmed slight kinking and made sounds to counsel that they have been on the verge of kinking, however neither of these had a slower water move.

Past the usual kink check, I did discover that water was restricted in a few of the hoses for different, adjoining causes. For instance, although wrapping the WeGuard cloth hose round my hand did not prohibit the water move, stepping on it did.

To check the move charge of every hose, I turned on the water spigot to fully open and timed how lengthy it took to fill a 5-gallon bucket to a line marked close to the highest. Then, I measured the burden of the water.

The WeGuard expandable hose spraying water

The WeGuard expandable cloth hose had the slowest move charge of the hoses I examined.

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The Flexzilla hose stuffed the bucket the quickest, with a pace of 1.26 kilos per second. For comparability, the slowest hose was the WeGuard, at 0.66 kilos per second. The Zero-G and Briggs and Stratton hoses each had a pace of 0.98 kilos per second, Eaduty had a pace of 0.96 kilos per second, and the Giraffe Instruments Hybrid Backyard Hose had a pace of 0.92 kilos per second.

The Rosy Earth Metallic Hose was slightly slower than most others, with a pace of 0.86 kilos per second. The hose has a narrower physique, which does not enable as a lot water by means of. Nevertheless, I additionally discovered that the slender design led to extra pure stress from the hose, which may very well be useful in sure use circumstances.

When it comes to sturdiness, I can not predict how these hoses will fare over time, however I did need to attempt to see as a lot preliminary put on as I may. To do that, I dragged every of the hoses throughout a concrete driveway forwards and backwards 10 instances. I wished to see how the tip items and the hose materials held up, along with whether or not the hose triggered any injury to my driveway.

Showing the fraying fabric of the WeGuard expandable garden hose

The material exterior on the WeGuard expandable backyard hose frayed virtually instantly after being dragged forwards and backwards on a concrete driveway.

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Essentially the most noticeable injury occurred to the WeGuard cloth hose, which started fraying virtually instantly. The outcomes do not counsel this hose may maintain up very lengthy getting used solely throughout concrete or pavers. 

The rubber hoses confirmed solely the faintest of scratches, most of which would not be noticeable except finely inspected. I’ve virtually no considerations concerning the longevity of the Eaduty or Briggs and Stratton hoses. The Flexzilla hose had no seen scratches on it, and the plastic tubing across the finish of the hose took all of the abrasions, however even these weren’t of consequence.

Showing light scratches of the hose body of the Rosy Earth Metal hose after being dragged on a driveway

After I dragged the Rosy Earth metallic backyard hose throughout a concrete driveway 10 instances, it had solely very mild scratches.

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I used to be most curious to see how the Rosy Earth metallic hose absorbed scratches, or did not. After dragging the hose forwards and backwards, I noticed that it undoubtedly had put on marks, however they weren’t noticeable from a distance. The metallic finish piece scratched up visibly, however the injury did not appear to trigger any useful points. Fortunately, the hose did not depart any marks or indicators that it had slid across the driveway, both.

Out of curiosity, I left all of the hoses in direct noon solar for 45 minutes to see how scorching they received. The rubber hoses received the most popular. They have been very heat to the contact however did not burn my hand. The Rosy Earth metallic hose, Zero-G hose, and the WeGuard cloth one have been every heat, however not scorching. The Flexzilla hose did not appear to warmth up in any respect.

Backyard hose FAQ

We’ll give this submit an replace each time we check out a brand new spherical of backyard hoses — for now, listed below are some solutions to generally requested questions. For extra, make sure to try CNET’s Yard & Open air part.

What several types of backyard hoses are there?

The most typical sorts of backyard hoses are vinyl, rubber, expandable, pre-coiled polyurethane, and metallic. Every of those totally different hose varieties can be utilized for quite a lot of duties, however every of those has areas it is best used for.

Expandable and pre-coiled polyurethane are usually extra fragile and higher suited to mild gardening, whereas rubber and metallic hoses can stand up to extra abuse and extended publicity to pure components.

How lengthy a backyard hose do I want?

Most backyard hoses are available in a number of lengths, starting from 25 ft to 100 ft or extra. An acceptable size for many houses is 50 ft, and it is the size we caught to for these assessments. However you may want one thing longer relying on the dimensions and format of your yard, backyard or no matter different space you are planning to make use of it in. In case your backyard hose is just too lengthy, it may decrease the water stress you may get out of it, so attempt to keep away from getting a hose that is longer than essential.

What does a backyard hose’s thread dimension imply?

A backyard hose’s thread dimension refers back to the finish connection piece. A bigger connection dimension will enable extra water by means of. For residential use in the USA five-eighths of an inch is the commonest thread dimension.

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