Kink Free Garden Hose

Garden hoses, especially cheap garden hoses, kink. When they kink, the water stops flowing or is at least the flow is greatly diminished, and if you try to pull out the kink with force you may permanently damage the hose.

Many hoses now advertise themselves as "Kink Free." Are they really? Any hose can kink if not used correctly, but a quality hose is far less kink prone especially if handled correctly. You can read reviews of kink free hoses here.

So, other than buying a hose that advertises as "kink free" and checking reviews or getting a personal recommendation from a source you trust, what can you do?

First realize good hoses will only kink when you move them, and move them in ways they don't like such as introducing excessive twist in them. If you lay down multiple hoses using shut off nozzles and Y-connectors and perhaps only move them at the end of the season, they are unlikely to kink. Conversely if you're constantly dragging your hoses around they are more likely to kink regardless of their quality.

For some of us this is simply reality; we will be dragging our hoses around from place to place. So other than buying a good quality kink free hose what can you do?

Lay them in a figure-8 pattern when you gather them.
Store them on a reel – they are less likely to twist and kink.
When they are new, first gently lay them out straight on a flat area, perhaps the side of a driveway, before using them.
Some folks suggest letting hoses warm up in the sun before moving them as they become more pliable and are les likely to kink. This makes sense although we haven't tried this ourselves.

Remember that any hose can kink if abused or used roughly, but a quality kink free hose is much less likely to kink in normal use. Conversely some el-cheapo models will kink badly no matter how gently you treat them. In reality maybe kink free hoses should be called kink resistant.

I can tell you I have a quality hose advertised as kink free. It is so much better than the cheapo model I used before!