The Best Garden Hoses, Tested by The Spruce

Best Overall: Flexzilla Zillagreen Garden Hose

4.8

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Our Ratings

• Design
  5/5
• Size
  5/5
• Ease of Use
  5/5
• Durability
  4/5
• Value
  5/5

The Flexzilla Zillagreen Garden Hose is durable, affordable, and versatile, making it an excellent everyday hose for your watering needs. A bit lighter than other options on this list, the 5/8-inch 50-foot hose weighs just 8 pounds, making it accessible for people of all ages and abilities. After using it to water their flower beds and lawn, wash their minivan, and rinse out trash cans, our tester noted that it was a delight to use—it was very lightweight and easy to maneuver on any terrain.

It also comes in 10, 25, 75, and 100-foot lengths, and its bright green color is easy to spot on your lawn. The brand claims the hose will withstand temperatures into the negatives, and its maximum pressure is 150 PSI. It's also safe to drink out of, which is always a refreshing treat when working hard in your yard.

This garden hose is made using a flexible hybrid polymer that ensures it lays flat and won't kink under pressure, and it has anodized aluminum connectors. After a month of use, our tester noted that the hose still looked new, even after being dragged around the yard, and it always stayed solid and pliable and never twisted. Although the maximum pressure is lower than some other hoses, it wasn't an issue while testing and shouldn't be an issue for your everyday watering needs.

Best Expandable: J&B XpandaHose

4.6

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Our Ratings

• Design
  4/5
• Size
  5/5
• Ease of Use
  5/5
• Durability
  4/5
• Value
  5/5

Expandable hoses offer a number of benefits, including that they’re lightweight and more compact than standard rubber hoses. In particular, the J&B Lawn XpandaHose is an excellent choice for anyone on the hunt for a new garden hose, as it’s reliable and easy to use. This expanding hose comes in 50-, 75- and 100-foot options, both of which feature a durable four-layer latex core and elastic fabric exterior that comes in several colors, and it expands to three times its original length during use, so the 75-foot option is only 25 feet long when the water is off.

This hose features solid 3/4-inch brass connectors on both ends, and it can withstand 174 PSI/12 Bar water pressure. It can be used in temperatures up to 120 degrees, and the 100-foot hose weighs less than 3.5 pounds, making it easy to move around your yard. Plus, the hose comes with a ten-setting nozzle that you can use to water flowers, wash your car, and more.

After using the hose all around her property to water her lawn and garden, our tester found that it is really easy to coil and uncoil, never kinks, and is easy to fold and store in the included storage bag. She did note, however, that when she tried hanging the hose on the hook that was provided, it looked messy. She found that it was better to put the hose in the storage bag and store it that way instead.

Best Lightweight: TheFitLife Flexible and Expandable Garden Hose

4.6

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Our Ratings

• Design
  5/5
• Size
  4/5
• Ease of Use
  5/5
• Durability
  4/5
• Value
  5/5

If you just have a few small tasks to take care of around the house, TheFitLife Garden Hose is an inexpensive choice that will get the job done. In addition to the 25-foot options we're featuring, it comes in several lengths, including 50, 75, and 100 feet, and you can choose between green or blue color options. 

This hose is incredibly lightweight, weighing less than 2 pounds when collapsed. When the water is turned off, this 25-foot model is just 9 feet long, making it easy to move and store—water pressure stretches it out to more than twice its original size. It’s made from a triple layer of latex wrapped in an elastic fabric, and it connects to standard 3/4-inch fittings. The hose is endurance tested up to 2000 uses under the water pressure of 145 PSI/10 Bar, and it comes with a spray nozzle that offers eight water patterns, including shower, jet, mist, and more.

After using it for a total of three hours over the course of a few weeks, this hose worked great and was powerful enough for our tester's gardening needs. She noted that for washing the car, patio, or other cleaning tasks, she would use a more powerful hose.

Best Heavy-Duty: Bionic Steel Garden Hose

4.2

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Our Ratings

• Design
  4/5
• Size
  5/5
• Ease of Use
  3/5
• Durability
  5/5
• Value
  4/5

If you tend to be rough on your hoses, you may want a product like the Bionic Steel Garden Hose, which is made from lightweight stainless steel for unbeatable durability. It has a 1/2-inch diameter and also comes in 25, 50, and 75-foot lengths, and it’s even resistant to leaks, punctures, and dragging over rough surfaces—because let’s face it: sometimes it happens! 

Despite being made from metal, this hose only weighs a few pounds, and it’s still extremely flexible and can be maneuvered around trees and other obstacles in your yard, resisting kinks and laying flat. It has crush-resistant aluminum fittings, and it offers a 500 PSI burst strength.

After a total of 10 hours of testing, including driving over it with her car, our tester especially appreciated the durability of this hose. She particularly recommends it for those that live in cold climates and want to leave the hose out all year long.

Best Rubber: Briggs and Stratton Premium Heavy-Duty Rubber Garden Hose

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This Briggs and Stratton Rubber Garden Hose is extremely durable and designed for commercial and residential use. It features industrial-style reinforcing to prevent bursting from high water pressure, and the 5/8-inch diameter coils easily and remains flexible in temperatures as low as -25 degrees. 

This 5/8-inch rubber hose is also available in 50, 75, and 100-foot lengths, and it has heavy-duty crush-proof couplings. It can be used with hot water up to 200 degrees, resists kinking, and comes with a lifetime warranty against material and workmanship defects, to boot.

Best 100-Foot: Zero-G Premium-Duty Kink Free Woven Hose

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A 100-foot hose like the Zero-G Kink-Free Woven Hose will allow you to water further from your faucet, and this particular model is designed to be lighter, making it less of a hassle to move around your yard. It has a flexible inner core covered by an abrasion, leak, and puncture-resistant outer cover, and it remains flexible at temperatures down to 35 degrees. 

This 100-foot hose is 5/8-inch in diameter and much lighter than most vinyl hoses of the same length, and it has commercial-grade, crush-resistant couplings with brass inserts to prevent corrosion. It has a 600 PSI burst, and its inner core is designed to help minimize kinking for uninterrupted water flow.