Best Garden Hose

What is the best garden hose? Well, it depends of your intended use. For some people, the cheapest green garden hose at your local hardware store or Walmart may do, but with hoses just like many other things you usually get what you pay for. A great garden hose will resist abrasions, mildew and stains, have high quality brass fitting, have a multi ply design, be kink resistant, and come with a long warranty. Up to 8 ply hoses are available.

There are many different kinds of garden hoses available that are "best" for specific purposes, including different lengths, thicknesses, colors, and much more. We go into the details of garden hoses on this site (or hosepipes, as they're commonly called in a few places like the United Kingdom, South Africa).

First, some basics: a garden hose is a flexible tube used to carry water, usually made of soft plastic or rubber, and reinforced with internal fibers for strength. This results in a flexible hose with a smooth outside that is easy to pull or drag. Most hoses are strong enough for cars and other small vehicles to drive over, however the ends can be easily damaged by excessive weigh or pressure, especially the cheap ones!

Typical garden hoses have diameters from 1/2 to 3/4 in. Obviously the larger diameter ones will move more water and have less pressure drop, but a 1/2" hose is fine for many, perhaps most, uses.

Garden hoses have metal threaded screw ends, one male and one female, which allow one end to be connect to a spigot and other end to be optionally connected to various garden hose fittings such as nozzles and sprayers. Spigots typically have male connectors. Garden hoses can also be connected to each other using their threaded ends to extend their reach. Small rubber washers are used at the female ends to prevent leaking, and although almost no one does, you really should replace them periodically. They only cost a few cents each at your local hardware store.

A special type of hose called a garden soaker hose slowly leaks waters from nearly invisible holes. The water comes out very slowly and wets the ground up to a foot away, watering the plants nearby. You normally snake a soaker hose around plants and rows you want to water and periodically turn in on for a few hours, usually up to 8 hours.

Drip irrigation hoses differ in that water squirts out of one side like a sprinkler. In fact some people call them sprinkler hoses. These hoses are usually placed upside down and the water squirts into the ground soaking down and out. When placed upright, the water shoots up a couple of feet or more. Drip irrigation hoses water faster than soaker hoses and are usually left shorter periods of time.

Garden Hose Storage is also an issue: they can be stored on garden hose reels, in decorative garden hose pots, and there are also retractable garden hoses and coiled garden hoses available.

And some people of course have their favorite brands. Popular brands include Swan, Flexeel, and Flexogen garden hose.