EnglishYou probably already have a garden hose for watering the grass and potted patio plants and washing down the sidewalk. Still, if you’re like many, that hose might have hardened over the years, developed kinks that won’t straighten out, or even sprung a few leaks. If so, don’t buy another garden hose before finding out which hoses scored the highest in my hands-on tests. I didn’t go easy on the hoses—I put them through real-world watering (and life) situations.
I also spoke with Rafi Friedman, president of Coastal Luxury Outdoors, a pool and outdoor living area company in Jacksonville, Florida, to get his expert opinion on specific aspects shoppers will want to look out for. Keep reading to learn about the new materials that go into making today’s top hoses and to find out both the pros and cons of each hose I tested. Though the Zero-G ⅝-Inch by 50-Foot Black Aluminum Garden Hose was my favorite thanks to its exceptional durability and kink-resistance, many of the products I tested were great. Discover the strengths and weaknesses of different types of hoses—before you invest in a new one—and learn how the following hoses earned their way onto our list of the best garden hoses.
How We Tested the Best Garden Hoses
While garden hoses are far from complicated products, getting a substandard one can be frustrating. I wanted to test the most popular hoses on the market and see if they lived up to the manufacturers’ hype. To that end, I tested them for flexibility, durability, and whether they could withstand a normal-to-high amount of water pressure without damage. I also carefully examined the quality of their fittings. I used a rubric and awarded each hose points based on its performance in each category.
The tests included driving over a filled hose, tying the hose in a knot and turning the water on to see if it formed a fatal kink, and pulling the hose forcefully around planters, bushes, and curbs.
At the end of the testing, the hoses that didn’t make it were eliminated, and the scores for surviving hoses were tallied and used to help determine the award categories.
I’m not sure what I thought when I started the tests, but in the end, I was amazed at how much better the quality of today’s garden hoses is over those I’ve used in the past. The ones that made this lineup genuinely deserve to be in it.
Our Top Picks
To qualify as a top pick, the following garden hoses had to be strong, flexible, and durable and come with easy-to-attach (leak-free) fittings. I tested each of the following hoses at 55 pounds per square inch (psi) water pressure, which is standard to a little on the strong side for the average outdoor spigot.
I wound the hoses in tight configurations, pulled them about the yard—and then backed over them with a car (because that happens). I put them through their paces—and the ones that survived truly earned their spot in this lineup. I feel confident that any of the following hoses will be a beneficial addition to this year’s lawn and gardening arsenal of tools and supplies.
